Rebutting a Freeper Co-worker's Argument

[Jack_Dawson]

She was going on and on about how companies are outsourcing jobs to India and Mexico and such, and "Bush is getting blasted over this, but guess who signed NAFTA? Mr. Bill Clinton." What do I say to her? I'm not that familiar with the issue.

This is the same person who said to me at a party that Bush is a decent man because he's "God-Fearing" (And this is southern CA!)

Thx.

[movonne]

1. Why do you bother with her?..just a downer

[Catch22Dem]

2. Gawd fearing?

Screw that tripe. I fear gawd about as much as I fear a hangnail. As far as NAFTA goes, yes it was signed into law by Clinton. Sticky subject on both sides. I'm not a good source of information here, but would welcome comments from others. I wonder if anyone on our side expected the outsourcing to become what it has.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. No

the problem is that the side agreements that have NEVER been enforced would have made thigns better for all.

It just takes reading the freaking treaty to realize what has not been enforced, such as the establishment of a Mexican EPA with teeth

[Eureka]

3. Well you could start by

pointing out that India isn't in North America, so it's probably got not much to do with NAFTA (keep in mind that Mexico was last seen in North America, so it's only half the answer :-) )

[bluestateguy]

4. Bush's father negotiated the treaty

It was really Reagan and Bush Sr.'s product. Though Clinton does share some blame for pushing it through Congress. Still most Republicans voted for it. Most Democrats voted no.

[arcane1]

6. so she is saying that Clinton did something right?

NAFTA is one big reason I loathe Clinton. I'd tell her that his signature PROVES that NAFTA is a piece of shit!!!!

[styersc]

7. NAFTA was developed and championed by Reagan.

Clinton did sign it in to law but had added provisions to protect the environment and workers rights which would have helped to keep our jobs home while raising the quality of life abroad. These have since been watered down by the GOP House and Senate. Kerry favors return to an amended NAFTA and WTO that re-institutes these safeguards while adding more. Kerry also favors punishing un-patriotic companies that send jobs over seas and will restrict US Gov't contracts to companies with workforces in the US.

[BeatleBoot]

8. North American Free Trade Agreement

India is not part of North America.

You could use a globe to point this out with great effect.

Secondly, as mentioned above, the side agreements were never enforced by the Bushies.

Repukes are the worst, no?

[MsUnderstood]

9. Use a globe. . .

That is a good one. . .Don't put a spin on it though, that is O'Reilys job.

NAFTA =NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT.

Signed by Clinton after being passed by congress. Last time I checked we still have that legislative branch.

[texastoast]

10. Yes, he did

And I fought against him for doing it.

Outsourcing began in the 1980s under guess-who. NAFTA was cooked up by Shrubdaddy.

This is from the Sierra Club's site:

Arguably, the Clinton Administration inherited a difficult situation. The Uruguay Round talks were well underway before it came to office. NAFTA was nearly completed. To put its own stamp on trade policy would have required major changes in agreements substantially locked into place. Key Administration officials, starting with Vice President Gore in his best-selling book, Earth in the Balance, made repeated statements that they appreciated the fundamental environmental challenges posed by trade policy. Such statements gave grounds for hope that the Administration would pursue a trade policy substantially more environmentally sound than its predecessors, correcting the errors of the past.

And this neanderthal blogger has some points as well:

My memory may be failing me, but when I try to recall the achievements of the Clinton presidency, I can name only two of any significance: Welfare Reform and NAFTA. Despite the fact that neither of these bills originated from the Clinton Administration, I do give him credit for signing them; most Democrats would not have signed either bill. These were both Republican bills that passed primarily with unified Republican support; there's no way a bill like Welfare Reform could have passed Congress until after the Republicans took over in 1994.

Note UNIFIED REPUBLICAN SUPPORT (and drafting). Clinton should have vetoed it, but it would have passed a couple of years later when Nuck Fewt came to power.