1. Actually, no. We're not in a nonstop era of political brawling, we're in a moment of kabuki conflict. Obama's USTR rep Michael Froman systematically lied to labor. Why shouldn't they take a good deal on the table?
2. The endless bromides against NAFTA 2.0 are put forward by political operatives who (a) pay very little attention to institutional details and (b) are unwilling to reckon with the very possible reality that a Dem President will be worse than Trump on trade.
3. The fake concern for farmers over Trump's 'trade war with China' represent obvious opportunistic bullshit. And dangerous bullshit at that. Nearly all rhetoric from political operatives about the politics of NAFTA 2.0 is dishonest, and everyone involved knows it.
4. While progressive fakers have hot takes on NAFTA 2.0, actual people have to live with the results of policy. Is it a good deal? Mixed. But let's not act like this is some political error. It's not. The political error is coming from operatives who think policy is irrelevant.
5. Pelosi negotiated real concessions that were better than what Obama would have delivered. Much better. An end to a global super court for corporations, for starters. But admitting this is to admit Obama was a bad President who didn't want what you want. We can't have that.
6. Mitch McConnell is already slow-walking NAFTA 2.0 and pharma is blasting the deal. Plenty of useful idiot progressives are going to attack the deal because they are funded by corporate interests, just as many want Bezos to get defense contracts to show up Trump. Bad faith.
7. Democrats had eight years to renegotiate NAFTA, a promise both Obama and Clinton made in the 2008 primary. Obama delivered the turd-blossom Trans-Pacific Partnership. Pretending that trade policy is purely partisan is the height of privileged nonsense and ignorance.
