Bush to Push Colombia FTA - Will the Clinton Machine Help?

Reuters [1] reports that "President George W. Bush will send a free trade agreement with Colombia to Congress shortly after the March recess for a vote sometime this year, the top U.S. trade official said on Wednesday." The Politico [2] expands on just how confrontational a move this is, noting also that "a coalition of business groups pushing for the trade deal is forming “war rooms” and ramping up lobbying efforts in anticipation of the coming battle."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) has de facto veto power over this trade accord. She can lead her caucus in stopping this, and has many tools at her disposal to make that pretty easy. As the Politico notes:

Pelosi could also have the House Rules Committee free her from the obligation to schedule a vote — something that’s perfectly permissible under the trade promotion law. Or she could call the vote immediately, giving lobbyists little time to find the 30 or so Democratic votes they need to win House approval.

The X-factor will be the Clinton machine. As I reported months ago [3], a powerful group of former Clinton administration officials-turned-lobbyists is pushing the deal on behalf of the Colombian government. The Nation [4] also notes that Hillary Clinton's chief presidential strategist, Mark Penn, heads a firm is being paid by the Colombian government to push the deal as well. Whether that will be enough to sway Pelosi and other Democrats to help the most unpopular president in contemporary history ram a NAFTA-style trade deal through a Democratic congress remains to be seen.