Obama steps up battle with liberals on big trade deal

A clearly irked President Obama today lashed out at liberal congressional Democrats relying on “ad hominem attacks and misinformation” as a means of sinking the Asian trade deal that he's presenting on Capitol Hill for approval.

"What I am averse to is a bunch of ad hominem attacks and misinformation that stirs up the base but ultimately doesn't serve them well. And I'm going to be pushing back very hard if I keep hearing that stuff," Obama said during a surprise appearance this morning on a conference call with Labor Secretary Tom Perez and a small group of reporters.

The increasingly contentious battle over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement between Obama and members of Congress who are playing to the Democrats’ liberal base emerged earlier this week. The president seeks “fast track authority,” which means the accord with Australia and several Asian nations would receive prompt consideration in Congress without amendments.

On Tuesday, in an unusual format on MSNBC’s “Hardball” – speaking to a panel of non-reporters – the president had a blunt response when asked about the TPP criticisms of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat who has become the darling of the progressive wing of the party.
“She’s just wrong,” he responded.
On Thursday he compared some of the left's “dishonest" attacks on trade to the "death panels" smear during the Obamacare debate, according to Talking Points Memo.

Obama insists that the TPP would be far more progressive than the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) because it includes enforceable labor, environmental and human rights protections. He promised that it would be "the most progressive trade agreement in our history" and a big improvement on the status quo.

The president has also warned that scuttling the TPP would cede a big advantage to China as the world’s second-largest economy tries to set the rules for trade practices across Asia and the Pacific Rim.

Of all the criticisms, Obama said this morning, "The one that gets on my nerves the most is the notion that this is a secret deal," he said. "Every single one of the critics saying this is a secret deal, or send out e-mails to their fundraising base that they're working to stop a secret deal, could walk over and see the text of the agreement."

The president noted that the TPP text has been available for weeks and some components are still being negotiated. Congress will have months to review it and decide whether or not to approve the deal.

While Obama has solid Republican support for the plan, several Democratic senators have loudly criticized the TPP, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada whose response to fast track authority for the proposed pact was "hell no."