MIAMI, FL– Influential Alabama Senator Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who has emerged as the preeminent thought leader of the conservative nation-state movement, told voters that “now is the time for the GOP” to unite behind Donald Trump’s realignment of the Republican Party, and “embrace this opportunity to win working Americans on a platform of rising wages, American jobs, and the national interest.”
Sessions said that Trump is the only candidate who will be able to stop Obamatrade and enact trade deals that prioritize the interests of the American people. Sessions delivered a clear warning to Ohio voters in particular.
“The TPP will hammer the automobile industry in Ohio and American workers nationwide,” Sessions declared. At Thursday night’s debate, Trump “stood alone in his consistent opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership and foreign currency manipulation,” Sessions said.
Sessions explained that Trump’s “determination to protect American workers from reckless trade and immigration policies will grow the Republican party and position us to win in November.” Sessions writes:
Hillary Clinton has embraced a radical and extreme open borders agenda that, properly exposed, will make her un-electable. Sessions writes. Combined with Clinton’s praise for the TPP, we are in a prime position to draw millions of new Democrat voters into the Republican Party. Now is the time for the GOP to embrace this opportunity to win working Americans on a platform of rising wages, American jobs, and the national interest.
Sessions, who has endorsed the GOP frontrunner for President, praised Trump’s performance in Thursday night’s debate, pointing out how the policy-focused debate delineated the key differences between Donald Trump’s nation-state focus as opposed to the globalist worldview held by John Kasich, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
“At Thursday night’s debate, there was a crucial conversation about whether America’s trade and immigration policies ought to serve the people’s interests or the special interests,” Session wrote.
In contrast to Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich have all expressed support for Obama’s globalist trade agenda, which will erode American sovereignty. Marco Rubio cast the 60th and deciding vote to fast-track Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement — an agreement which Rubio has said would be a central “pillar” of his hoped-for Rubio Presidency.
Ted Cruz similarly wrote an op-ed with Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) in the Wall Street Journal describing the TPP as an “historic” agreement that would “mean greater access to a billion customers for American manufacturers, farmers and ranchers.” Cruz then voted to fast-track Obama’s TPP.
When Jeff Sessions sounded the alarm about the implications Obama’s trade agenda would have upon American sovereignty, Cruz publicly dismissed Sessions’ concerns, describing Sessions’ assertions as “not accurate” and “simply false.” However, as public opposition to the Obamatrade began to mount, Cruz eventually reversed his vote at the last minute citing specific concerns about provisions regarding immigration and the export-import bank. Cruz’s campaign now says that he does not support TPP “in its current form”— suggesting that he could support a slightly different version of virtually the same trade agreement.
Moreover, by promoting Fast-Track so heavily, Cruz could be seen as a lynchpin to its ultimate passage, as it was ultimately enacted without a vote to spare. In other words, while Sessions was trying to rally those final votes needed to stop the deal, Cruz was out publicly undermining Sessions’ message. And when Cruz originally voted to Fast Track Obama’s TPP, as well as the immigration-increasing Trade in Services Agreement, it was believed to be the final vote that would be cast. It was only because of a procedural collapse in the House that the Senate held a re-vote.
Moreover, both Cruz and Rubio have voted to allow currency manipulation to continue. Last year, both Cruz and Rubio voted down an amendment spearheaded by Ohio’s Senator Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) to address the illicit trading practice of currency manipulation.
In a 2011 interview, Cruz was asked about his expressed unwillingness to support a modest measure that would crack down on currency manipulation. Cruz said that he opposed what he described as “protectionist” measures that “resonate” with the angry, unemployed Americans. “Look, protectionist arguments, particularly when you have unemployment, they resonate because people are out of a job and they are ticked off,” Cruz said. “I understand the concerns about China and I think we need to be vigorous in dealing with China, but I think it is a mistake to try to start a trade war with them.”
John Kasich has said that he believes enacting TPP is “critical.” This is perhaps surprising considering how Kasich’s home state of Ohio could be negatively impacted by the trade deal.
According to analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, in 2015 Ohio lost 112,500 jobs due to the nation’s trade deficit with TPP countries.
In particular, the Wall Street Journal writes that TPP would harm the U.S. automobile industry. Citing a study by Peter Petri, a professor of international finance at Brandeis University, the WSJ writes that “The TPP could boost imports by an extra $30.8 billion by 2025, compared with an exports gain of $7.8 billion.”
This perhaps explains why, while the Japanese auto industry has “hailed” the TPP agreement, American automakers such as Ford have come out against it—recognizing the unfair advantage it will give their foreign competitors.
This is significant because “Ohio is at the center of the motor vehicle industry with 72.2 percent of [North] American light vehicle production either in Ohio or within 500 miles (805 kilometers) of its borders,” according to an Ohio government report. “Seventy-five of Ohio’s 88 counties have at least one motor vehicle industry establishment,” the report states.
In addition to Trump’s pro-American trade platform, Sessions also praised Trump for speaking “with clarity and conviction about the need to reform our guest worker and immigration programs to protect American workers.”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/03/12/jeff-sessions-gop-time-unite-behind-trump-beat-hillary/
