McCain: Unapologetic NAFTA Supporter

(AP)  Republican presidential candidate John McCain in one of his strongest endorsements of free trade called himself "an unapologetic supporter of NAFTA," an agreement that many Americans feel has cost them jobs.

"I reject the false virtues of economic isolationism," McCain told the National Council of La Raza, a major Hispanic organization. "Any confident, competent country and its government should embrace competition," he said. "It makes us stronger."

The Arizona senator has often defended free trade, but his speech Monday was among his most detailed and full-throated commentaries.

"Lowering barriers to trade creates more and better jobs, and higher wages," he said. "It makes goods more affordable for low- and middle-income consumers."

Citing his recent visit to Colombia and Mexico, McCain said he understands "how vitally important it is to the prosperity and security of our country to strengthen our trade, investment and diplomatic ties to other countries in our hemisphere." He said he fully supports the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Central American Free Trade Agreement and the Colombian Free Trade Agreement.

Congress approved the NAFTA agreement with Mexico and Canada in 1993 and the agreement with six Central American nations in 2005, but has blocked the agreement with Colombia.

"I believe a hemispheric free trade agreement is a worthy and necessary goal whose time has come," he said of a proposal he unveiled during the campaign.

Acknowledging that some Americans do lose jobs "to foreign competition," McCain said he has proposed "a comprehensive reform of our unemployment insurance and worker retraining programs."

"And for workers of a certain age who have lost a job that won't come back," he said, "if they move rapidly to a new job we'll help make up the difference in wages between their old job and the new one."

McCain's Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, has been much cooler to free trade agreements and wants to revisit some aspects of NAFTA.

McCain said he has earned the trust of Hispanic voters by championing an immigration reform bill that nearly killed his presidential bid. Obama, he said, failed to take a similar stand on the politically explosive issue of illegal immigration.

Obama has criticized McCain for turning against his own immigration bill.

Reminding the group that Congress failed twice in the past three years to overhaul the nation's immigration laws, McCain said he did not want to try a third time until the government can "prove we have the resources to secure our borders and use them."

McCain said the two failed bills, which he supported, would have dealt "practically and humanely" with illegal immigrants "without excusing the fact they came here illegally or granting them privileges before those who have been waiting their turn outside the country."

Critics of the 2006 bill he backed, however, said it would have granted just such privileges to some illegal immigrants. It would have allowed those who have been in the country five years or more to remain, continue working and eventually become legal permanent residents and citizens after paying at least $3,250 in fines and fees and back taxes and learning English.

Obama told the La Raza gathering Sunday that he supports up to a 50-percent tax credit for small businesses providing health insurance to their employees, a program he hopes has special appeal to Hispanics and other minority groups struggling for a toehold in the U.S. economy.

[johnmcsame]

johnlameshame is obssessed with muslims because his daughter is married to a muslim boy ...and john is p-issed off of the fact that his grand childrens are going to muslims...and he is dying inside every day...

Posted by pointbreak14 at 09:32 PM : Jul 15, 2008

pointbreak14, thanks for making my point. As a muslim yourself you should know. If my daughter married a muslim man, her children would be muslims. There is no two ways about it. I noticed the thought that they could be brought us as Christians or Atheist did not occur to you because the whole world knows that the children of a muslim man automatically become muslims.

It was a slip of the tongue but you proofed by point that Obama was born a muslim. Most of the liberals who post on this blog are ignorant about this. They probably don''''t know any muslims.

[l00ker]

Wonder what McPain, Bush and Obama even, is going to do about all of young teens who can''t find summer work, or part time after school evening work. If you go into McDonalds and Burger King, where youth employment is part of the American experience, you can barely get your order taken correctly, with all of these illegals who can barely speak english. Moreover, you are more than led to wonder what name you''re being called in spanish, while your order is being taken and filled. As dear old Dave - Wendys founder - said, where''s the beef?

[l00ker]

We had all better WAKE UP AND accept the idea that we are on our own. The people in Washington Dem. and Rep. alike do not have our best interest in mind. They are only interested in lining their own pockets, and taking all they can get.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by Joan1v at 03:21 PM : Jul 15, 2008



Indeed, and all we have to do is rid ourselves of these parasitic racketeers, and we''ll all be just shy of home free. If you want something done?...

[Stratmaster7]

McCain is on the wrong side of every freaking issue. I wonder if he is willing to take a manufacturing job for $1.50 an hour to show how "competitive" Americans can be with foreign laborers?

[joan1v]

We had all better WAKE UP AND accept the idea that we are on our own. The people in Washington Dem. and Rep. alike do not have our best interest in mind. They are only interested in lining their own pockets, and taking all they can get.

[six-six-seis]

Bring on the Amero, quick..

[txgrouch2006]

I remember back in the ''90''s when we had our globalization training at work - we were told that the white male would disappear from the workforce by 2010.

I remember turning to the guy next to me - and, noticing that he wasn''t white, I looked to the nearest white guy I could find, who was sitting across the room. I looked at him and asked, "Where are you planning to go?" He just shrugged.

Well - HERE WE ARE.

Gez they were right.

[johnstossel]

If McSame worked for a living he would be singing a different tune. hungry 1968 hit the nail on the head!!

[txgrouch2006]

This election has come down to Archie Bunker versus Steve Urkel.

Archie is - well, just plain Archie.

Urkel is smart, and he means well. But, geez, he needs to get a little older. And quick.

Whaddaya gonna do?

I''m voting for Urkel. I''d rather take my chances on someone who can get over being too young, than have someone who will ALWAYS be Archie.

You know what I mean?

[indyvet66]

Are you better off today than you were 8 years ago?

Senator McCain voted with President Bush 95% of the time during the past eight years. So much for being a Maverick.

If you like President Bush and think he has done a good job, then John McCain is your man.

If you''re one of many Americans who thinks that the war in Iraq was a mistake or believe that the Republicans have run the economy into the ground and think that the chaos George Bush and John McCain unleashed in our foreign affairs has something to do with the price of gas at the pump... then you have Bush%u2019s partner John McCain to thank.

No one worked harder than McCain to get Bush elected then reelected.

And no one originally promoted and advocated for the Iraq war than John McCain. John McCain%u2019s original sin was supporting Bush and going to war in the first place. That decision cost of more than $1 Trillion and 4,000 American lives. The economy is in big trouble and McCain now wants to perpetuate Bush%u2019s tax cuts for the wealthy.

Again, if you like the results of the past 8 years, then vote for McCain, because you will get more of the same for the next 8 years.

So, are you better off today than you were in 2000?

If not, then I respectfully suggest you vote for Barack Obama in 2008.