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Continued here: 45 times Clinton pushed the trade bill she now opposes - CNNPolitics.comFormer Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, seems reluctant to take a firm position on an issue dividing her party: whether President Obama should have fast-track trading authority for the immense trade deal he has been negotiating, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. With some progressive voters eyeing her with some skepticism, and facing a challenge (such as it is) from candidates on her left, she is being advised to tack in that direction.
President Obama has been pushing hard for the deal, while Democrats in the House of Representatives on Friday revolted and voted against a key part of the legislation. One told me, "there was a very strong concern about the lost jobs and growing income inequality," adding, pointedly: "Ms. Clinton should take notice."
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Here's why the TPP is such a big deal 03:24
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She clearly did. After first dodging the issue, on Sunday in Iowa, Clinton said that "the President should listen to and work with his allies in Congress, starting with (House Minority Leader) Nancy Pelosi, who have expressed their concerns about the impact that a weak agreement would have on our workers, to make sure we get the best, strongest deal possible. And if we don't get it, there should be no deal."
Clinton said, "there are some specifics in there that could and should be changed. So I am hoping that's what happens now -- let's take the lemons and turn it into lemonade."
But as members of the Obama administration can attest, Clinton was one of the leading drivers of the TPP when Secretary of State. Here are 45 instances when she approvingly invoked the trade bill about which she is now expressing concerns:
1. January 31, 2013: Remarks on American Leadership at the Council on Foreign Relations[/paste:font]
"First and foremost, this so-called pivot has been about creative diplomacy:Like signing a little-noted treaty of amity and cooperation with ASEAN that opened the door to permanent representation and ultimately elevated a forum for engaging on high-stakes issues like the South China Sea. We've encouraged India's "Look East" policy as a way to weave another big democracy into the fabric of the Asia Pacific. We've used trade negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership to find common ground with a former adversary in Vietnam. And the list goes on."
2. January 18, 2013: Remarks With Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida
"We also discussed the Trans-Pacific Partnership and we shared perspectives on Japan's possible participation, because we think this holds out great economic opportunities to all participating nations."
3. November 29, 2012: Remarks at the Foreign Policy Group's "Transformational Trends 2013 Forum"
"...let me offer five big-ticket agenda items that we absolutely have to get right as well. This starts with following through on what is often called our pivot to the Asia Pacific, the most dynamic region in our rapidly changing world. Much of the attention so far has been on America's increasing military engagement. But it's important that we also emphasize the other elements of our strategy. In a speech in Singapore last week, I laid out America's expanding economic leadership in the region, from new trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership to stepped-up efforts on behalf of American businesses."
"...We are welcoming more of our neighbors, including Canada and Mexico, into the Trans-Pacific Partnership process. And we think it's imperative that we continue to build an economic relationship that covers the entire hemisphere for the future."
