Aides say Clinton now has about 170 of the 218 House votes needed to pass the treaty. But one senior administration official concedes that the president is eager to get the NAFTA vote behind him - win or lose. The issue alienates key segments of the traditional Democratic base -organized labor and environmentalists-as well as Ross Perot’s followers, but doesn’t really excite other voters. “Everybody has an interest in getting this thing done before Thanksgiving,” says the official. “The prevailing view is: ‘Let’s get a vote up or down’.”
Organized labor remains a major obstacle. When Clinton speaks to the AFL-CIO this week in San Francisco, aides say he won’t give them “an in your face” lecture on the merits of NAFTA, but will gently argue that it’s good for workers in the long run. But labor is threatening to use NAFTA as a litmus test and to field candidates against any Democrat who votes for it. As a result, some pro-NAFTA House Dems are balking. They’re afraid of “committing political suicide,” says a senior administration official.
