In today's Fayetteville Observer, Robin Hayes is still making excuses for his CAFTA flip-flop:

"U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes - who had earlier said he was "flat-out, horizontally opposed" to CAFTA" - had already cast a "no" vote. That's when fellow Republicans made one last push for votes. House Speaker Dennis Hastert approached Hayes and asked what it would take to get his vote. China, Hayes replied. North Carolina textile plants need protection from cheap Chinese imports, he said. With China on the table, "it suddenly became a new bill," Hayes said. He got the promises he wanted and changed his vote. The trade agreement passed by two votes." [Fayetteville Observer, 11/4/2006]

Problem is, House Speaker Hastert disputes Hayes' version of events:

Rep. Robin Hayes said Thursday he changed his CAFTA vote from "no" to a key, last-minute "yes" after House Speaker Dennis Hastert promised to do more for the embattled textile industry. "He said, `You tell me what you need and we're going to do it,' "Hayes, a Concord Republican, told the Observer...

When asked Thursday what he had done to get Hayes to change his vote, Hastert, R-Ill., had a different view. The speaker attributed Hayes' switch to grassroots pressure, not to any deal. "I did have a discussion with Robin Hayes," Hastert said. "But Robin Hayes ultimately talked to his textile people. They encouraged him to vote for the bill ultimately."

In an interview with the Observer, Hayes said he did talk Wednesday afternoon with textile executives who had long supported CAFTA, and still voted against it shortly after 11 p.m. But Hayes changed his vote about midnight, he said, right after talking with Hastert in the House Cloak Room. "I had made my position very clear that there was no way I could vote for it without something major and stunning happening," Hayes said. "Then the speaker came in (to the cloak room) and said, `We have looked everywhere (for votes). It's important to us. And we need your vote. You know that if you give this vote to us, we will do any and everything we can to help the people in your district.' " Hastert spokesman Ron Bonjean said the speaker remembered their talk a bit differently: "The speaker said he told Hayes, `We need you and I know you are concerned about how this affects jobs in your district. And we will be there to help.' " [Charlotte Observer, 7/29/2005]

...which also doesn't match this Hayes tale:

"Hayes said he "was in no way under any political pressure" to vote in favor of CAFTA." [News 14 Charlotte, 7/28/2005]

"Hern, Hayes' spokeswoman, stressed the congressman decided to support CAFTA without regard to politics." [Kannapolis Independent-Tribune, 7/29/2005]

But 'China' had NOTHING to do with CAFTA and apparently was already going to happen anyway:

"Others said that Hayes got very little for his vote, pointing out that talks with China had already been on the administration's agenda. 'This was on the plate whether CAFTA passed or not,' said Lloyd Wood, a spokesman with the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition." [Greensboro News & Record, 8/3/2005]

North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Jerry Meek said, "Robin Hayes might be the most spineless politician North Carolina has ever seen. They say, 'fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.' After months of unequivocally saying he opposed CAFTA, he flip-flopped and sold out his constituents when it mattered most. Speaker Hastert publicly disputed Hayes' claims of a last-minute commitment over a year ago. It's a shame he's still misleading his district's newspapers and their readers."