“Pondering the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.
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Dean Baker: Will the Trans-Pacific Partnership Turn Silicon Valley Into Detroit?
The proponents of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) like to describe it as a free-trade deal for the 21st century. That might be a good sales pitch, but it’s not accurate. The TPP has little to with reducing trade barriers, which in most cases were already low. The TPP can more accurately be described as a piñata, that is chock full of special deals for the corporate interests who negotiated it. It will likely do more to impede trade than promote it, and in the process it creates rules that potentially override democratic decision-making at all levels of government.
The connection between Silicon Valley and Detroit (sorry Detroiters) comes in Article 18.78, which requires countries to have laws allowing companies to protect trade secrets and imposing criminal penalties for violators. The language in this section is broad, but it can certainly be interpreted as implying that governments allow for the enforcement of “non-compete” agreements. Non-compete agreements prohibit employees from quitting their job and working for another company in the same industry for a substantial period of time.
Katrina vanden Heuvel: Against Trump, Clinton should resist the temptation of triangulation
Despite the obvious threat to the country posed by Trump’s nomination, many Democrats cannot help reveling in their apparent good fortune. Trump has splintered his own party and, with his record of bigotry and misogyny, handed Democrats a powerful weapon to deploy against Republican candidates in competitive races nationwide. But Democrats should tread cautiously as they devise their game plan for the general election. Although Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) plans to stay in the race until the convention, Hillary Clinton is extremely likely to be the Democratic nominee. For Clinton and the rest of the party, though, Trump’s nomination could present a dangerous trap.
Given Trump’s historic unpopularity, some will argue that Clinton should tack to the center in an effort to win over disaffected Republicans and independents. Already, there have been reports that Clinton “is looking for ways to woo Republicans turned off by the brash billionaire,” and her backers have reached out to Republican donors seeking their support. Yet while the Democratic establishment may be tempted to wage a campaign of “triangulation” — the centrist strategy that Bill Clinton made famous in the ’90s — moving to the center now would be a lousy idea.
Richard North Patterson: Why Bernie Lost — And What to Do About It
The first part is simple. Hillary Clinton got more votes.
3 million more popular votes, to be precise. This margin will not significantly change between now and the end of the primary season. Nor will her margin in pledged delegates, close to 300, awarded proportionally state-by-state. By the normal metrics of any primary contest, Bernie Sanders has lost.
Why? This, too, is not hard to answer. The more vexing and important question we will save for last: what should Sanders and his dedicated followers do in November and beyond. [..]
(T)he only realistic way for Bernie’s legions to save the village is by continuing what they started. Keeping engaged with the Democratic Party — which, however imperfect, is the only realistic vehicle for positive change. Fighting for a platform which embraces progressive goals. Supporting candidates who reflect their values. Pressing for changes in the nomination process. Making themselves ever more important within, and to, the party. Holding it to its promises. Combating Super PACs and strengthening the role of small donors. Accepting that, in politics, one never gets everything one wants. And never forfeiting their purchase on power in exchange for impotent anger.
As for Bernie Sanders himself, I believe that he will act on the truth he stated so clearly — that Hillary Clinton is infinitely preferable to Donald Trump. And so should those who look to him for leadership. Not simply because it’s true, but because it matters to the future of our village.
Eugene Robinson: Trump refutes Trump
How do you nail a blob of mercury to the wall? That’s a problem the Democratic nominee — likely Hillary Clinton — will have to solve in running against Donald Trump, most of whose positions on major issues are, shall we say, elusive.
I say “most” because Trump has been steadfast on three of his most nonsensical promises: banning Muslims from entering the country, forcing Mexico to pay for a border wall and deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants. Many of his supporters surely know he could not possibly do any of those things if elected president. But some don’t — and would feel betrayed if Trump suddenly dropped the whole xenophobia thing.
On other issues, however, trying to pin Trump down on what he believes or intends has been an exercise in futility. This is a problem not only for Clinton but also for Republicans who would like to support Trump for the sake of unity but want some idea of where the party is being led.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is bound and determined to go into the history books as a villain. [..]
The whole thing is a microcosm of the larger stupidity the religious right has shown in picking this battle in the first place. And make no mistake: It was right wingers who picked this fight. Trans people were already facing plenty of stigma and discrimination before, to be clear. Still, this is the right deliberately choosing to escalate the issue, by turning what was not really something most people thought much about — trans people in the bathroom — into a nationwide hysteria.
It’s extremely obvious what’s going on here. Ever since last summer, when the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states, the Christian right has become a bit unmoored. They had lost not just the legal battle over their signature issue, but also in the court of public opinion. The majority of Americans now support same-sex marriage. Just as importantly, the normalization of it has made it hard for the religious right to keep at their armageddon-style rhetoric on the issue, as more Americans realize that the world really won’t fall to pieces because the nice gay couple down the street is married instead of just cohabiting.
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