There's something funny about this email from MoveOn.

[Kire]

I almost didn't do this because I didn't think I could keep a straight face. But I decided that a letter from Mr. Garrett is better than no letter. I just read the script and said, "I really mean this, even though I am just reading a script". And then, the staffer just verified that I wanted to vote against it and I asked her if she knew what it was and she said yes. It felt very much like ordering a pizza.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tom Matzzie, MoveOn.org Political Action <[e-mail] >
Date: Jul 26, 2005 11:18 AM
Subject: Call today to beat Bush on unfair trade.
To: Kire

Congress will vote this week on the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Members of Congress are deciding now and they need to hear from their constituents. Please call Rep. Garrett today. Tell him to vote against CAFTA.

Congressman E. Garrett
Phone: [phone]
Dear MoveOn member,

The House of Representatives is currently debating and will vote this week on the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). The vote is too close to call right now and it will be won or lost by a razor-thin margin. Your representative's vote could make the difference.

CAFTA is the most sweeping change to our trade laws in more than 10 years. CAFTA would accelerate the loss of U.S. jobs overseas and threaten environmental protections and workers' rights, not only in the U.S. but also in the Central American countries often touted as CAFTA's main "beneficiaries."

Worse, as incredible as it sounds, CAFTA would establish new rights for large corporations to sue governments for cash compensation simply because their profits have been hurt by rules designed to protect public health or the environment. It is so bad that people who usually support free trade agreements are vocally opposing CAFTA.

In Congress, a coalition of most Democrats and a few Republicans are poised to hand President Bush a high-profile defeat on this key part of his agenda—further derailing the momentum on Social Security, Supreme Court nominations and other fronts. The vote is this week and members of Congress are deciding where they stand right now under intense pressure from corporate lobbyists.

Please call Rep. Garrett. Tell him to vote against CAFTA.

Congressman E. Garrett
Phone: [phone]

Tell the staffer who answers something like the following.

"I am a constituent and I am calling to urge Congressman Garrett to vote against CAFTA because it would hurt jobs and the environment. This is an issue I will use to evaluate your record. I also would appreciate a letter explaining the Congressman's position on CAFTA."

Then, please help us keep track by reporting your call here:

http://www.moveonpac.org/call?tg=FHNJ_05&cp_id=59&id=5847-4236489-PCLHYwycO8FpmZWh_5oP_g

CAFTA is an expansion of past controversial trade agreements. CAFTA would explode everything wrong with the current trade system. It would mean more job loss and more environmental destruction.

These and other reasons are why CAFTA is opposed by a wide coalition of virtually every union, consumer, environmental, faith, family farm and Latino civil rights group in both the United States and Central America.

Furthermore, nearly all Democrats (and some Republicans) are against CAFTA—including many of Congress' historical supporters of NAFTA and other trade agreements.

Your voice can make a crucial difference in swinging those Members of Congress who are undecided towards defeating a major Bush administration initiative. Please call your undecided Representative today.

Thanks for all you do.

–Tom, Ben, Jennifer, Justin and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Tuesday, July 26th, 2005

P.S. Here are some links with CAFTA information.

AFL-CIO on CAFTA
http://www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/globaleconomy/cafta_ftaa_main.cfm

Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch
http://www.tradewatch.org

Sierra Club on CAFTA
http://www.sierraclub.org/trade/cafta/

PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Viva Zapata!

[Kire]

1. he actually voted no

What the...

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll443.xml