Blog-IT-o ergo sum

	7/15/2005

A picture named NOCAFTA-Dallasstop.jpg

CAFTA Opponents Challenge President in Dallas

The Dallas police are shown here informing us yesterday that you can only get so close to the President of the United States with a U-Haul rental truck.

As the Charlotte Observer observed, President Bush had to face a tough audience for his CAFTA speech.

To get more than tepid applause at Gaston College in Dallas Bush speech writers thoughtfully provided the president with few sure fire lines from the war on terror.

Our local Congressmen were also less than impressed. Wavering Republicans Robin Hayes and Howard Coble avoided the event and instead took the opportunity to announce that see no benefit in CAFTA for North Carolina. 29 year-old freshman GOP Congressman Patrick McHenry whose district runs only a few miles from the site of Mr. Bush's visit issued a statement saying he stands firm on his campaign pledge to vote down CAFTA.

The only possible sign of progress for the President is that joining him on Air Force One with Sue Myrick was Charlotte basketball team owner Bob Johnson. I wonder if Democratic Congressman Mel Watt was buying the line from Bob Johnson that he was, "just hanging out." Hint: The same corporate marquee names that are backing CAFTA also toss big EEO dollars at the Black Caucus in the US House which Mel Watt is now the chair of.

While Congressman Watt did resist the incredible pressure cranked up by President Clinton to pass NAFTA in 1994, in his new position he has suddenly become weak in resisting Team Bush.

IMHO the bottom line of the Bush visit was that grassroots resistance from local activists did win the day.

Along with having our Senior Editor Will Grigg of The New American on WBT Friday morning with Keith Larson to give a prebuttal to the Bush speech, we also had two trucks roving the area: a Libertarian staffed one in Downtown Charlotte and a Birch staffed one (as mentioned above) in Dallas.

8:27:16 PM

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