McCain Talks Trade With Ohio Autoworkers

Republican Candidate Tells Workers He's For Free Trade, Government Investment

(AP)  Republican John McCain on Friday told autoworkers in an economically depressed area of Ohio that he supports free-trade agreements many of them feel cost jobs, but also government investment to help produce the electric cars of the future.

His confession and commitment followed a tour of a General Motors factory that produces the gas-thrifty Chevrolet Cobalt. Company officials recently announced they will add a third shift - and 1,400 workers - in August so they can build the cars 24 hours a day.

GM has also announced plans to build in 2010 the Chevrolet Volt, a vehicle that will travel 40 miles by battery power but have a seven-gallon gas tank extending its range to 140 miles. Most commutes are within the 40-mile range.

McCain praised both developments as he also made the pitch for an energy strategy that calls for more oil production, development of a revolutionary automotive battery pack and conservation by the federal government in its buildings and its huge auto fleet.

"We must develop vehicles such as are being developed here," the presidential contender told employees attending a town-hall meeting just steps from the assembly line. "We can lead again in the automotive industry and that can lead to thousands of jobs."

The Mahoning Valley is a Democratic stronghold that blames its economic woes on the kind of free-trade policies that McCain supports.

The region lost 16,600 jobs from 2000 through 2007, almost all of them in the manufacturing sector. Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the same GM factory in February to announce a plan to reduce the influence on special interests on government decisionmaking.

While McCain received a respectful welcome from a largely union audience, one employee firmly asked him about trade pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Central American Free Trade Agreement - both of which workers believe have triggered job shifts to Canada, Mexico and Central America.

McCain supports the agreements but Democratic rival Barack Obama has threatened to unilaterally re-open NAFTA if labor and environmental concessions are not made.

The worker who asked the question, 37-year-old Raymond Francisco, moved his family to Ohio after GM closed the sport-utility vehicle factory where he worked in Linden, N.J.

"I don't believe that every trade agreement is totally fair, and we do have mechanisms in these agreements where you can bring suit where unfair practices exist," McCain told Francisco. "I would say that if and when we conclude additional free trade agreemnts, perhaps we could do a better job of setting up and implementing mechanisms that would address unfair or violations, basically, of the free trade agreements that we make."

McCain added: "But I do believe that there are some realities of life, and that is that when we practice protectionism and we erect barriers to the products from other countries, they do the same to us and then it leads to economic consequences. I think that was the case in the 1930s. I think that our protectionism and isolationism led from a recession to a deep depression."

At another point, a woman asked McCain how he aimed to helped the industry itself.

The senator pledged federal funding for research and development efforts, but, again, said he would not coddle the industry. At another point, he said point-blank he would not favor a government bailout package for automakers.

"Once we develop that technology with pure research and development, then we've got to hand it over to the private enterprise - the automotive companies. I do not think we should be in direct competition," the senator said.

It was such a tactic, he said, that led to the government-developed Internet triggering a private enterprise boon.

Later, speaking with reporters aboard his campaign bus, McCain said he is spending a "great deal of time" seeking his running mate, but he still is not sure when he will announce his choice. Nonetheless, he said the timing would not be influenced by when Obama announces his vice presidential choice.

"I think that as soon as I can reach a point of decision, we should go ahead with it. I don't think that should affect the timing. ...It should have everything to do with our process and priority," said McCain.

[jack3213]

There is never going to be "one Party" so better get into reality and realize the best the USA can succeed at is both parties working together. Obama & Clinton want ONE party- and that is just not reality. Working over the ailes and compromising is the key to accomplished issues and the safety of this country. McCain knows what that means. MCCAIN 2008-2012

[wardoglrs]

Vote Bob Barr for prez and Wayne Root for vice and end this charade of BS politics

[watcher269-2009]

Here''''s REAL NEWS -- Must be hard to have all that money and not pay your bill.

Newsweek is set to publish a highly embarrassing report on Sen. John McCain, revealing that the McCains have failed to pay taxes on their beach-front condo in La Jolla, California, for the last four years and are currently in default, The Huffington Post has learned.

Under California law, once a residential property is in default for five years, it can be sold at a tax sale to recover the unpaid taxes for the taxpayers.

The McCains own at least seven homes through a variety of trusts and corporations controlled by Cindy McCain.

UPDATE: Newsweek''''s story is now online. The report notes that the McCains paid the bulk of their back taxes yesterday, but continue to owe additional taxes:

When you''''re poor, it can be hard to pay the bills. When you''''re rich, it''''s hard to keep track of all the bills that need paying. It''''s a lesson Cindy McCain learned the hard way when NEWSWEEK raised questions about an overdue property-tax bill on a La Jolla, Calif., property owned by a trust that she oversees. Mrs. McCain is a beer heiress with an estimated $100 million fortune and, along with her husband, she owns at least seven properties, including condos in California and Arizona. [...]

[samsel3]

In March of 2008 a Cambridge, MA. oil & Gas consulting firm issued a report to Congress. In that report the Congress was told that the laws of supply & demand no longer apply to oil. Demand is constant with only small fluctuations at any given time. Although world demand will increase their is plenty of supply. BIG OIL currently leases millions of acres of oil & gas land & offshore sites that they could be pumping. However, it is not in their economic interest as they have enough supply at this time. Big oil does not want to loose profit by increasing supply , after all selling oil products is their business. Additional offshore and Alaskan wilderness leases are not necessary, Big Oil just wants additional control of these areas for future marketing. The Saudi''s and Big Oil are very happy with the Bush & Cheney energy policy which eliminated Iraqi world oil market manipulation. Saddam kept prices down by selling cheap thus preventing the Saudi''s & Big Oil from getting the prices up. Bush & Cheney opened Pandora''s box & now things will never be the same.

[samthetvcat]

---"Remember, corporations are there to make a profit any way they can and look out for their SELF-interest. That''s fine, but a democratic government is supposed to look out for its PEOPLE''s interest, not for the Chinese or Indian people''s interest."---
Posted by incog-nito

---"McSame''s adherence to the Reagan "trickle down" view of economics will eventually result in the exact same conditions they preach as the result of "communism", that is, a nation of slaves working only for the benefit of the "party elite", the only difference being that the "party" will nave a different name, the "Rich People''s Party".---
Posted by brianbwb

Great posts! Trickle down isn''t working because the corporate elite have gotten LAZY. Their profits over the last decade have come thanks to government regulation not thanks to any ingenuity on their part. That''s not true economic growth - enough with the coddling!

Also I think the rebate checks show that purchasing power is as vital to the economy as corporate growth. If the goal of ''free trade'' agreements was to knock down wages here at home, clearly this concept is in need of a correction . . .

[samthetvcat]

---"Even here, the U.S. is falling behind compared to countries like China and India, where higher education is prized and there is a surplus of highly-qualified, college-educated people just waiting to take over formerly American jobs. And the formerly U.S. corporations are more than happy to supply them."---
Posted by incog-nito

Yeah, it''s alarming. Those Chinese and Indians are so smart and work so hard, but they''ve got something extra as well that we culturally seem to lack - something like 25% of all US tech startups are started by Indian immigrants . . . percentage-wise that sounds like it might be disproportionate.

I like Barack''s idea of running on a ''turn-off-the-tv'' and ''read-to-your-kids'' platform. I wonder whether there''s anything he can do about this whole culture that elevates girls who make *** tapes like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian to star status. And the Spears girls are a disaster. Boys apparently aren''t doing so great in school, and female role-models are kind of on a two-track system . . . I don''t know how we go about fixing it but maybe we need better role-models in this country?

I guess the idea of insisting trade agreements have labor and environmental standards is to hopefully even the playing field and put more money in the pockets of the Chinese etc so that they have more $ to buy American goods. But yeah, still not sure what it is we''re supposed to be selling them in return.

[voltaire333]

McSame is tired and confused. He''s forgotten what he use to stand for. Let''s not go back to the old crusty ideas of the GOP, which have been nothing but band-aids while our country falls apart. Let''s head toward the future, and build a country that can compete globally. Let''s pull together and help Obama clean up Washington, and rid it of the dumb, lazy fat cats who live there now!!

[incog-nito]

edintex: Funny how some people always manage to blame one side while exonerating the other. BOTH parties are responsible, because they BOTH are heavily influenced by corporate interests. It''s not just the auto industry or manufacturing. EVERY sector will be affected, except for the service sector (want fries with that?). The semiconductor and technology industry is being slowly dismantled and moved overseas. Radiology scans are being reviewed online by someone in India, etc, etc. The flip side of this is that some jobs are actually being IMPORTED into the U.S. except with much lower pay, anything from nurses to the guy doing your landscaping.

Some people say, well, but Americans can still innovate and move to even higher skilled jobs. The fact is, there''s always a substantial percentage of people who don''t want or are not suited for high-skilled, college-educated jobs, or simply cannot afford the education needed. Even here, the U.S. is falling behind compared to countries like China and India, where higher education is prized and there is a surplus of highly-qualified, college-educated people just waiting to take over formerly American jobs. And the formerly U.S. corporations are more than happy to supply them.

[edintex]

I say MORE "free trade" agreements are needed. Who REALLY cares about those autoworkers jobs anyways? When oil was $10 a barrel in the 80''s, and many hundreds of thousands of oil industry workers were out of jobs and loosing their homes, there were NO hearings or investigations on capitol hill. Nobody cared that small and mid sized oil companies were going out of business. Nobody cared when the oil companies WARNED that the results of what was happening at the time would result in what is happening today. We are ALL paying dearly for those days of $10 oil. So don''t listen to what the oil companies have to say again. Maybe then oil can go up to $200 or $300 a barrel. Can you say WORLD WIDE DEPRESSION? I hope you all are happy now, you liberal brainiacs!

[amazedd]

GO MAC 08!