By: Frank Shannon

The Clintons have raked in millions of dollars from special interest groups including $325,000 from a group that pushed for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The National Association of Manufacturers, which paid Bill Clinton a hefty fee just one month before Hillary Clinton launched her candidacy in April, lobbied for the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

NAM endorsed the controversial trade agreement three months before turning to Bill Clinton, calling the deal “a significant improvement over the status quo” for corporations. Clinton also took in $300,000 from Oracle Corporation after his wife entered the Democratic primary. Oracle lobbied hard for the trade agreement.

Hillary Clinton once called the Trans-Pacific Partnership the “gold standard” of free trade and said she would support the deal before she became a presidential candidate.

However, Hillary Clinton came out against the trade deal in October under pressure from her rival, Bernie Sanders, and his progressive supporters. Sanders denounced the agreement early in his campaign, arguing the deal benefits major corporations at the expense of American jobs.

Then there’s the Chinese connection with the Clintons.

I am not talking about the illegal Chinese donations to Bill Clinton’s campaigns. You may recall the bags of cash that showed up in the White House from Johnny Chung and other Chinese donors. Remember the Buddhist Monks who donated money to the Clinton campaigns? That was then, and now these Chinese donations make their way to the Clintons through their Foundation.

One donor – Rilin Enterprises- pledged $2 million in 2013 to the Clinton Foundation’s endowment. The company is a privately-held Chinese construction and trade conglomerate and run by billionaire Wang Wenliang, who is also a delegate to the Chinese parliament. Public records show the firm has spent $1.4 million since 2012, lobbying Congress and the State Department.

Since Bill Clinton changed policies toward China, America lost 57,000+ manufacturing businesses and 8+ million manufacturing jobs in the two decades that followed. Is it a coincidence that China has enriched itself at our expense once the Clinton China policy went into effect? Can we trust another Clinton when it comes to trade deals with foreign nations?

There is still a Washington Cartel who is dedicated to Globalism and the insane doctrine of making the U.S. the first post-industrial nation in history. I am not willing to take that risk. I prefer Trump over Sanders or Hillary, and there is a huge gap between Trump and Sanders.

Sanders would never get his socialist agenda past Congress and the American people. But, at least he sees the serious threat posed by trade deals that continue to ship our manufacturing capacity overseas.

Frank Shannon served in the U.S. Army, was an engineering/operations manager for AT&T for 27 years, was the owner of a small Colorado manufacturing business for 23 years, served as Colorado Chair of the Coalition for a Prosperous America and moved to Mesquite in 2013.