'Fair Trade' Community Celebrates Rare Victory

[FreakinDJ]

Just in case you were wondering "How a McCain Administration would help Americas" get back on their feet in this tough economic climit

Proponents of various "Buy American" provisions that passed in the final version of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (HR-1) have claimed a rare victory. Inclusion of Buy American requirements for iron, steel, textiles and manufactured goods represents "the first major victory the Chamber of Commerce and other proponents" of free trade policies in decades, says one Senate staff aide involved in the debate. The vote represents a "sea change" in the Washington debate over trade and outsourcing, according to other Buy American proponents.

In a rare on-the-record vote on a contentious trade-related issue, the Senate defeated a provision sponsored by Sen. John McCain that would have stripped the "Buy American" requirement from the Stimulus Bill. The issue flared into a major media debate, with representatives from foreign nations actively engaged in the American political process, a development that raised the ire of U.S. domestic manufacturers and their Washington lobbyists. A statement by House Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) who said the European Union's concerns about protectionism were "justified," rankled American domestic producer interests. President Obama also forgot his "Buy American" campaign rhetoric -- including special "Buy American Vote for Barack Obama" buttons he produced -- and said that he feared the provisions might be "protectionist." That word emitting from his lips (along with his visit to a Caterpillar plant in Peoria, Ill.) was the clearest indication yet that the young president "has gotten the bum's rush by the international establishment" wanting to maintain the free-trade status quo, said another Washington lobbyist. "As far as I can tell, I don't know of one person on the Obama who is on our side."

The McCain amendment came to the Senate floor minutes after Sen. Byron Dorgan's "Buy American" amendment was adopted by voice vote. McCain offered a counter amendment to strike it from the final bill. It was defeated by a wide margin.
http://www.manufacturingnews.com/news/09/0220/buyamerican.html

[Lasher]

1. Edit the first quoted paragraph.

...the first major victory (over) the...

You copied the square brackets around the word 'over', which made the word in question disappear. Change the square brackets to parentheses. Stray square brackets give DU HTML gas.