Partisan tangle over trade pact with Columbia

(Via NY Times.)

A drive by President Bush to win passage of a modest trade deal with Colombia erupted Wednesday into an angry partisan confrontation between the White House and House Democrats, with both sides using trade as a surrogate for an election-year battle over jobs, national security and the sinking economy.

The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, took the White House by surprise when she announced plans Wednesday to block a vote on the Colombia accord. The move effectively holds the measure hostage until Mr. Bush agrees to more economic relief for Americans.

Ms. Pelosi’s action would scrap House rules that require a vote within 90 days of the measure’s being submitted by the president. It came only two days after Mr. Bush’s effort to gain the upper hand by sending the Colombia bill to Congress with the understanding that a vote would be required this year.

At stake for the Bush administration and Republicans is a deal that business leaders have pushed for and that would provide support for a crucial American ally. Democrats, meanwhile, feel caught between organized labor, which opposes the deal and wants Colombia to do more to stop killings of union leaders, and business groups, many of which donate to Democratic campaigns.

Hastily assembling at the White House, a team of cabinet members led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. assailed Ms. Pelosi’s move as damaging ties to Colombia, encouraging anti-American forces in the region and jeopardizing the economy.

Full story here.