SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Astroturf Warning: TPP Critics Call Out Fake 'Progressive' Group Pushing Corporate Trade Agenda
'The fact is, you can be a progressive committed to fighting for working families or you can be for this massive job-killing trade deal written by hundreds of corporate representatives, but you can't be both.'
Apr 02, 2015
Critics of the corporate-friendly Trans-Pacific Partnership are lining up against what they call an "astroturf" operation claiming to represent progressives in favor of Fast Tracking the sweeping and secretive trade deal.
No such progressives exist, they say.
Last month, a Democratic political consulting firm founded by former Obama administration staffers launched a website dubbed "Progressive Coalition for American Jobs," which claimed to prove the existence of progressives who support trade promotion authority, or Fast Track power.
Fast Track, which will likely be taken up by Congress soon after lawmakers return from Easter recess on April 13, would make it easier for Obama to negotiate trade deals--including the massive 12-nation TPP--by preventing them from being amended by House or Senate members.
However, groups like Public Citizen, CREDO Action, and Democracy for America say no real progressives support handing over trade authority to the White House in this way.
"A consultant-run, pro-TPP astroturf campaign won't change the fact that progressives are united in their opposition to Fast Track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership," said Murshed Zaheed, deputy political director at CREDO Action, on a press call (pdf) Wednesday.
In fact, added Neil Sroka, Democracy for America's communications director, "The progressive movement could not be more united, more focused, more committed to holding our leaders accountable for the actions they take in Washington than we are right now in the fight against Fast Track authority for the TPP."
He continued: "The fact is, you can be a progressive committed to fighting for working families or you can be for this massive job-killing trade deal written by hundreds of corporate representatives, but you can't be both."
Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, encouraged lawmakers to listen to their constituents over consultants.
"Millions of people nationwide are engaging their members of Congress to oppose Fast Track because they understand the damage more job-killing, environment-gutting 'trade' agreements would mean for them," she stated.
"The grassroots forces against Fast Track are the local clergy, small business owners, union and environmental group members, activist retirees and students that members of Congress face whenever they go home," Wallach said. "Meanwhile, the millions being spent to lobby for Fast Track by Wall Street interests, pharmaceutical and agribusiness firms, job-offshoring multinational corporations and their lobby shops--along with their astroturf operations--go away after the vote."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Critics of the corporate-friendly Trans-Pacific Partnership are lining up against what they call an "astroturf" operation claiming to represent progressives in favor of Fast Tracking the sweeping and secretive trade deal.
No such progressives exist, they say.
Last month, a Democratic political consulting firm founded by former Obama administration staffers launched a website dubbed "Progressive Coalition for American Jobs," which claimed to prove the existence of progressives who support trade promotion authority, or Fast Track power.
Fast Track, which will likely be taken up by Congress soon after lawmakers return from Easter recess on April 13, would make it easier for Obama to negotiate trade deals--including the massive 12-nation TPP--by preventing them from being amended by House or Senate members.
However, groups like Public Citizen, CREDO Action, and Democracy for America say no real progressives support handing over trade authority to the White House in this way.
"A consultant-run, pro-TPP astroturf campaign won't change the fact that progressives are united in their opposition to Fast Track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership," said Murshed Zaheed, deputy political director at CREDO Action, on a press call (pdf) Wednesday.
In fact, added Neil Sroka, Democracy for America's communications director, "The progressive movement could not be more united, more focused, more committed to holding our leaders accountable for the actions they take in Washington than we are right now in the fight against Fast Track authority for the TPP."
He continued: "The fact is, you can be a progressive committed to fighting for working families or you can be for this massive job-killing trade deal written by hundreds of corporate representatives, but you can't be both."
Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, encouraged lawmakers to listen to their constituents over consultants.
"Millions of people nationwide are engaging their members of Congress to oppose Fast Track because they understand the damage more job-killing, environment-gutting 'trade' agreements would mean for them," she stated.
"The grassroots forces against Fast Track are the local clergy, small business owners, union and environmental group members, activist retirees and students that members of Congress face whenever they go home," Wallach said. "Meanwhile, the millions being spent to lobby for Fast Track by Wall Street interests, pharmaceutical and agribusiness firms, job-offshoring multinational corporations and their lobby shops--along with their astroturf operations--go away after the vote."
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Critics of the corporate-friendly Trans-Pacific Partnership are lining up against what they call an "astroturf" operation claiming to represent progressives in favor of Fast Tracking the sweeping and secretive trade deal.
No such progressives exist, they say.
Last month, a Democratic political consulting firm founded by former Obama administration staffers launched a website dubbed "Progressive Coalition for American Jobs," which claimed to prove the existence of progressives who support trade promotion authority, or Fast Track power.
Fast Track, which will likely be taken up by Congress soon after lawmakers return from Easter recess on April 13, would make it easier for Obama to negotiate trade deals--including the massive 12-nation TPP--by preventing them from being amended by House or Senate members.
However, groups like Public Citizen, CREDO Action, and Democracy for America say no real progressives support handing over trade authority to the White House in this way.
"A consultant-run, pro-TPP astroturf campaign won't change the fact that progressives are united in their opposition to Fast Track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership," said Murshed Zaheed, deputy political director at CREDO Action, on a press call (pdf) Wednesday.
In fact, added Neil Sroka, Democracy for America's communications director, "The progressive movement could not be more united, more focused, more committed to holding our leaders accountable for the actions they take in Washington than we are right now in the fight against Fast Track authority for the TPP."
He continued: "The fact is, you can be a progressive committed to fighting for working families or you can be for this massive job-killing trade deal written by hundreds of corporate representatives, but you can't be both."
Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, encouraged lawmakers to listen to their constituents over consultants.
"Millions of people nationwide are engaging their members of Congress to oppose Fast Track because they understand the damage more job-killing, environment-gutting 'trade' agreements would mean for them," she stated.
"The grassroots forces against Fast Track are the local clergy, small business owners, union and environmental group members, activist retirees and students that members of Congress face whenever they go home," Wallach said. "Meanwhile, the millions being spent to lobby for Fast Track by Wall Street interests, pharmaceutical and agribusiness firms, job-offshoring multinational corporations and their lobby shops--along with their astroturf operations--go away after the vote."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.