<p>On Friday, the Senate voted 67-32 to give President Obama &#8220;fast track&#8221; negotiation authority for long anticipated deals with 11 other Pacific Rim nations.  ;Fast Track Authority is a powerful means of getting trade deals done quickly.  ;When a deal is negotiated Congress will have the ability to ratify or reject, but no ability to change any trade deals the President negotiates and presents for Congressional approval.</p>
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<div>Internet-media mogul Matt Drudge blasted this development in a series of Tweets, calling this the &#8220;night of Republican Suicide&#8221; and quoting:</div>
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<div>&#8220;Twisted DC: Electing Republicans is guarantee of MORE powers for Obama&#8230; Of course none of them read &#8216;secret&#8217; bill!&#8221;</div>
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<div>Drudge then attacked Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner, who supported this bill, characterizing this as &#8220;you have to pass the bill before you can know what&#8217;s in it.&#8221;</div>
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<div>We at the Punching Bag Post tend to agree with Drudge, its a very bad idea to give Obama these powers.  ; The President has demonstrated many times he has a socialist philosophy and doesn&#8217;t understand economics, trade nor capitalism, and his negotiating skills have proven wanting.  ;To put him in a position to make long term trade agreements is foolhardy.  ;But while Drudge laments the extra political power, we are anticipating long term disadvantage in international trade with our most dynamic trade partners.</div>
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