In recent months, nearly 100 newspapers in the United States have endorsed the Colombia trade agreement. So have many top Democrats, including Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago. And Mr. Uribe, who was already popular in Congress, was widely lionized after the dramatic rescue of hostages in Colombia on July 2.
Yet the trade agreement remains a long shot, because of opposition by American labor unions, Democratic leaders in Congress and Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
“I am not optimistic that the Congress will have an opportunity to review the bill this year, unless something unforeseen or dramatic occurs by the administration,” said Representative Charles B. Rangel, the New York Democrat who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. “I don’t think they handled this correctly.”
As the price for approval of the Colombia deal, Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker and a California Democrat, demands specifically that the administration expand programs for American workers. She blocked the agreement from coming to a vote in April, infuriating Mr. Bush.
It's about time that Democrats in Congress took a firm stand on a trade deal and refused to play ball until they extracted some concessions for American workers. Beyond that trade unionists have a nasty habit of turning up dead in Colombia and the government has a nasty habit of not solving the murders. There's no reason to hurry through deals negotiated by our lame duck President. We're less than 6 months away from having a new administration in place and an expanded Democratic majority in the Congress. Let's put a hold on these deals and pass a better package in January.
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