His reversal was so rapid that I'm surprised he didn't suffer whiplash.
I am referring to the rapid U-turn that Senator Tim Kaine, tapped today to be Hillary Clinton's running mate, made on the Trans Pacific Partnership. Until the moment he was picked by Hillary, Kaine was strongly for the TPP. And then today he suddenly saw the light and, hallelujah, he now proclaims to "oppose" the TPP. I put "oppose" in quotes because he now opposes it as much as Hillary pretends to oppose it. However, Huffington Post reporter Michael McAuliff relayed Kaine's new found TPP opposition without the slightest hint of skepticism...which later opened himself up to mockery on Twitter.
...a Clinton aide told The Huffington Post that Kaine had told the former secretary of state that he would oppose President Barack Obama’s signature trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, in its current form. The aide said that at some point in Kaine and Clinton’s two conversations prior to the selection ― which she made Friday night, eight days after the first meeting ― he agreed with her that a trade deal had to meet certain criteria on protecting wages and national security, and that the TPP did not.
Kaine has supported legislation known as Trade Promotion Authority, for fast-track authority, which expedites trade deals like the TPP, but in relaying his opposition to it to Clinton, he formally came out against the TPP on substantive grounds.
Wink! Wink! Hey Hillary. I am now every bit as "opposed" to TPP as you are. Wink! Wink!
Of course, just about everybody knows this convenient TPP reversal will again be reversed after the election. The fact that McAuliff reported it with a straight face set himself up for some well deserved mockery on Twitter:
Oh whew! So relieved now. —Said absolutely no one with half a brain and a decent memory.
Really, then why did he vote for it and fast track authority before. Seems he is a flip flopper also.
Perhaps Michael McAuliff should consult with Jonathan Chait of New York magazine who is fully aware that Hillary is only pretending to oppose the TPP.
There is a long tradition of Democratic presidential candidates posturing against free trade on the stump only to reverse themselves in office. Hillary Clinton’s announcement today that she opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership would seem to fit snugly within that tradition.
...she praised the agreement over and over and over, even calling it “the gold standard in trade agreements to open free, transparent, fair trade, the kind of environment that has the rule of law and a level playing field.” Now Clinton has repudiated a treaty with which she has closely associated herself.
She has framed her opposition in carefully hedged terms that leave her multiple escape avenues. “As of today, I am not in favor of what I have learned about it,” she said, going on to add, “I don’t believe it’s going to meet the high bar I have set.” Is anybody going to believe that she will actually oppose the treaty as president? Sure, she might slightly mollify some supporters in labor, who would like cover to support her candidacy even though they disagree on the agreement. But she will also do more damage to her overall credibility and reputation for conviction — which happens to be the biggest single problem she faces right now.
Exit question: Can Tim Kaine pretend to oppose the TPP and wink at the same time?
