Articles and commentary are beginning to appear online concerning the passage of CAFTA. According to reports, CAFTA initially lost by five votes but the House Republicans held the vote open for an extra hour in order to secure the needed votes for passage. This mid-night extension of the vote allegedly involved plenty of arm-twisting and deal making by the Bush administration and the House Republican Leadership. Many of these side deals involved sugar, labor protection, textiles, and China, although it remains to be seen if these deals will be honored. A recent report by Public Citizen shows that 89% of the side deals negotiated to gain votes for previous trade deals have been broken.
More on CAFTA - Media Mouse There is also a list of the 15 Democrats who voted for CAFTA on Media Mouse.
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