Merkley Gives Us His Reasons For Opposing The TPP

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) sent this missive to his supporters, outlining his reasons for not being able to support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at this time. I post it below because I think he stated his position very well (and I agree with him):

I have one and only one measuring stick for a trade deal: Does it create good-paying jobs and raise living standards for American workers, or not?

Right now, the United States is considering a major trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. While this is being negotiated, Congress is also considering so-called “fast track” authority to move the trade deal quickly through the legislative process.

I have some concerns.

The American people deserve an opportunity to review the deal and make their voices heard. So far, that hasn’t happened.

Second, we’re negotiating the rules of trade for the next century, but ignoring one of the single biggest factors pushing good American jobs overseas: countries like China manipulating the value of their currencies.

That currency manipulation artificially makes their goods and services cheaper and Americans' more expensive.  In Oregon, we have a word for that - cheating.  We shouldn't agree to trade deals that don't end it.

Third, the TPP and future trade deals need to let American businesses and workers compete on a level playing field.  They need to ensure strong labor and environmental standards abroad, and promise tough enforcement to make those standards real.
   

Lastly, we shouldn't set up special tribunals for foreign companies to challenge laws that protect Americans' health, safety, financial well-being and environment.  Yet the TPP includes "investor-state dispute" provisions that have been used in other agreements to sue for bans on fracking in Canada and anti-smoking regulations in Australia. 

We’ve seen time and again how trade deals pitched as boons to the economy actually made American workers worse off.  They've increased America’s trade deficit, sending more and more American jobs overseas.  Those jobs are often replaced with low-wage service jobs, driving wages down across the economy. 

Trade can't benefit America if it hurts most Americans. We need to get the rules right, and make the best interests of America's middle class overall the measuring stick. I know lots of people on both sides of the trade debate share that goal, but in my opinion we're not there yet and I'll keep fighting for American workers.

This issue is far from settled. Keep watching.

Jeff

Merkley Has A Big Lead In Oregon Senate Race

The Republican's senate candidate in Oregon (Monica Wehby) seems to be living in a dream world -- either that, or she's not averse to telling a huge lie to get voters to believe her campaign is not already in deep trouble. A couple of days ago, she told the Oregon media that she had closed the gap with incumbent Senator Jeff Merkely according to her own internal poll, and was only 2 points behind (41% to 39%). If that was true, then the race would be a dead heat (because 2 points is within the margin of error for nearly any poll).

Unfortunately for Wehby, her "internal poll" results are far from the results shows by nonpartisan polls on the race. Previously, two of these polls have shown Merkley with a double-digit lead over Wehby -- one by 10 points and the other by 13 points.

Now a new poll shows she may actually be losing ground instead of gaining it. It is the SurveyUSA Poll that was done between June 5th and 9th of 560 Oregon likely voters (with a margin of error of 4.2 points).  The results of this survey are shown in the chart above.

Note that it shows Merkley has a huge 18 point lead (50% to 32%). In addition, Merkley is leading among both sexes, all income levels, all age groups, and with both high school and college graduates. This is starting to shape up as one of the safest Democratic seats in the country.

Merkley Leads Oregon Senate Race By Double-Digits

The Oregon primary is over and we now know who the candidates are for the general election in their U.S. Senate race. The Democrats have re-nominated incumbent Jeff Merkley, while the Republicans have nominated Monica Wehby. In the first poll taken after the primary, Merkley holds a 10 point lead over Wehby (47% to 37%).

This is good to see. Merkley has been a constant progressive voice and vote in the Senate for the past few years -- especially in fighting against the GOP's abuse of the filibuster rules. And if the Democrats are to hold their senate majority, they must hold this senate seat.

This information is from the Rasmussen Poll -- taken on May 21st and 22nd of 750 likely voters in Oregon, and has a margin of error of 4 points.

Strange Bedfellows

The picture above is of "hemp" plants. They are more commonly called marijuana (or cannabis) plants -- and all varieties are against the law. Here in America (and many other countries) the plant is just considered to be a drug, and possession and sale of it is considered to be a serious violation of the law. But what most people don't realize is that the hemp plant has a variety of uses -- including paper, clothing, rope, medicine, construction materials, animal feed, and many other uses. It was grown as a cash crop in the early days of this country, even by some of our Founding Fathers.

One acre of hemp can produce as much paper as over four acres of trees can produce, and that paper is of equal or better quality than paper made from wood -- and while it takes many years to produce that four acres of trees, the hemp plant can be grown in a few months. It is obvious that hemp could once again be a valuable resource for this country -- if it was legal to grow.

And that's just what some senators want to do -- legalize the growth of hemp for a variety of uses. And those senators are some that almost never agree on anything. They are Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), teabagger Republican Rand Paul (Kentucky), and progressive senators Ron Wyden (Oregon) and Jeff Merkley (Oregon). McConnell said:

“I am proud to introduce legislation with my friend Rand Paul that will allow Kentucky farmers to harness the economic potential that industrial hemp can provide. During these tough economic times, this legislation has the potential to create jobs and provide a boost to Kentucky’s economy and to our farmers and their families."

Now the bill is not being introduced to legalize the recreational use (smoking) of marijuana. It is to give permission to grow a variety of hemp that has much less THC (the active ingredient in marijuana that produces a "high" in smokers). I don't doubt that at least two of the senators introducing the new bill in Congress (McConnell and Paul) would love to keep the smoking of marijuana illegal in the U.S. (even though it is the most harmless of all drugs, including legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco).

However, I can't help but think this bill, if it became law, would make the prosecution of federal (and possibly state) laws against the growing of marijuana much harder to prosecute. All hemp plants contain at least a small amount of THC, and it could be more difficult to prove in court exactly why the plants are being grown. When arrested, all marijuana growers will claim their crop is not being grown for recreational use --  and it would be up to the government to prove otherwise. Currently all the government has to show is that a hemp plant was being grown (regardless of its THC content).

This is a good bill -- both because the hemp plant could be a valuable resource for this country, and because it would make prosecutions for growing hemp more difficult. What really needs to be done is to legalize the growth, sale, and use of ALL hemp plants. It would create many new jobs (in an economy that desperately needs them), it would provide a new tax base that both star, and local governments need (not to mention the federal government), and it would stop the criminalization of hard-working Americans who are committing no real crime that hurts anyone.

This bill is just one more step toward ending the insanity in this country.