Economist Frank Roche, who once again will attempt to unseat Republican Rep. Renée Ellmers in North Carolina’s second district in 2016, explains that a review of simple trade data demonstrates that fast-track authority has been a “net loss to the United States.”
An expert in macroeconomics and financial market analysis, Roche entered a primary race with Ellmers in 2013 after she repeatedly betrayed the conservative constituents who elected her. With only $50,000 raised for his campaign, Roche ended up earning the support of more than 412 percent of voters in his district. Encouraged by that support and observing Ellmers’ continued failure to follow through with conservative values, he is again running for that congressional seat.
On the Bill Lumaye radio show last Thursday, Ellmers promoted fast-track authority (TPA) saying, “There is a lot of misinformation out there…”
“We’re talking about American trade, and we’re talking about American jobs, we’re talking about job creation, we’re talking about higher wages,” she said. “And in order to do that, in a global society where 95% of the market is outside the United States, we have to be competitive. The United States has to be on top.”
Ellmers said TPA or fast-track authority, as it has become known, gives control of trade deals to the United States and allows for greater transparency.
Asked by Lumaye for further details, Ellmers responded, “I will tell you I’m not sure exactly the process, but the fact of the matter is if we don’t have the trade promotion authority, we literally give up our ability to have that oversight and that final say.”
Roche, however, recently said the passage of fast-track authority is not a good deal for America.
“Once again, the representative from the second district has demonstrated her disconnect between her rhetoric on the campaign trail, what she tells individual constituents in the second district, and what she actually does in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “Rep. Ellmers doesn’t understand this yet, and she doesn’t know this yet, but passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership will be damaging on a net basis to North Carolina and the second district. Period.”
Roche continued:
If you believe in American strength and prosperity, if you believe in America as a sovereign nation state, as indicated by the U.S. Constitution, then this is a bad deal for America. If you’re focused on the opportunities for American workers, American citizens, actual constituents, then this is a bad deal for America and cannot pass.
We can only look to our past as a good indicator for the future, and when we look at the past, particularly since the 1970s when fast-track authority – the unconstitutional action by the U.S. Congress to give up their power to the executive branch – when it began every trade deal passed under fast-track authority has been a net loss to the United States. One of the most recent ones was South Korea, passed in 2011, has already proven to be a net loss for the United States, when you look at the simple trade data…
Roche explained that the trade bills are ultimately a push by U.S. multinational corporations in foreign countries looking for access to the U.S. market. He said multinationals want access to consumers in Asia and want U.S. politicians to reduce barriers to those markets for them.
Additionally, he said these multinationals are always looking for low-wage manufacturing areas to export back to the U.S.
Roche continued that besides actual trade, the trade deal involves issues such as immigration, climate change, the sovereignty of nations, and control of seas.
As Breitbart News also reported Monday, eight openly gay U.S. ambassadors abroad boasted that passage of the trade bill would allow the U.S. to “export” its LGBT agenda to other countries that have yet to recognize special LGBT “rights.”
“This is not about exports, but net exports,” said Roche. “We’re already getting crushed by China in trade; there’s not much more China can do to damage us; they’ve already got full power over us in this area. We’re already a net loser to all Asian exporters, and have been for decades.”
Roche described the GOP leadership and President Obama who are pushing the trade deal as “feckless.”
“They’re mostly based on misrepresentations – almost lies – and the ultimate indicator we have is the recent exclamation by Paul Ryan – mimicking Nancy Pelosi with respect to Obamacare: “We’ll find out what’s in it when we pass it,’” he said.
Roche’s position on the trade bill is yet another opportunity for conservatives to see the sharp distinction between him and Ellmers.
This year, in particular, Ellmers came up against the pro-life base of the GOP when she led a group of Republicans – mainly women – in pushing House leadership to pull the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act from a vote on the eve of the annual March for Life in January. Ellmers complained of language in the bill regarding rape and incest reporting requirements, and later fired back at the pro-life base of the Republican Party when they expressed their ire that its members were “abhorrent” and “childish.”
Princeton University professor and conservative advocate Dr. Robert George later said that Ellmers’ failed to live up to the pro-life pledge she made to her constituents.
“I see no justification for the position that she took, especially for someone who has represented herself as pro-life, and who has accepted money from pro-life donors precisely because of her pledge to support the pro-life cause,” George told Breitbart News in January.
“I think this is, if I can use the term in the political sense, ‘unforgiveable,’” he continued. “So I hope that she will be subjected to a strong primary challenge in the next election by someone who is genuinely pro-life and that our movement to protect the lives of unborn children at all stages and in all conditions will now move forward.”
Roche is pro-life and believes life begins at conception.
“As your Congressman,” Roche states on his website to North Carolinians in the second district, “I will always fight to protect the sanctity of life and support legislation meant to end abortion.”
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