CAFTA passes 217-215
House RollCall CAFTA
By The Associated Press
July 28, 2005, 12:36 AM EDT
The 217-215 roll call Thursday by which the House approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement.
A "yes" vote is a vote to approve the agreement.
Voting "yes" were 15 Democrats and 202 Republicans.
Voting "no" were 187 Democrats, 27 Republicans and one independent.
Click here to see the gory details.
And, of course, the vote was held up for an hour...
Posted by: Scott Lemieux | July 28, 2005 at 11:53 AM
It is surprisingly partisan. Wasn't NAFTA much more non-partisan? I may be recalling incorrectly, but I thought NAFTA, while more popular with Republicans, had more Democratic support and more Republican opposition than CAFTA. Is there some material reason for this, or is it just the political climate?
Posted by: Njorl | July 28, 2005 at 12:40 PM
Njorl--
When NAFTA was put up for a vote, it was still possible to imagine that such an agreement would help ordinary people as well as the investor class, and that the agreement might lead to stronger cultural ties and greater mutual understanding between the signers. After a decade of NAFTA, I think Robert Reich is the only one who still imagines this.
Given that NAFTA was such a disaster for workers and the environment on both sides of the border, and such a boon to investors all around, it's not at all surprising to see the parties now lining up so neatly on opposite sides.
Posted by: gordo | July 28, 2005 at 11:40 PM
ANY Dem could have changed a vote and made it a tie. I can understand 2 dems from NY and 2 from Texas (from districts with docks, maybe)- but why 2 from Tennessee? Both our Dem Senators voted "si"; and our oldest incumbent Dem rep- such a veritable fountain of pork that he's beginning to resemble a market hog- did, too. They're all whipped by the shipping/ warehousing/ port interests (& Boeing). Sucks to the piggy's assmar! ^..^
Posted by: Herbert Browne | July 30, 2005 at 01:59 AM