The snakeoil salesmen are selling... but the likely voters are not buying.  Republican voters say, by a 2 to 1 margin, that current trade policies have been bad for the U.S. (WSJ/NBC poll, pdf file).   

"Take your medicine... it is good... don't mind the taste," say our leaders.  But we are figuring it out.  Job losses, industry declines, farm sectors (apples, for example) left tattered, lost sovereignty, poison food, environmental degradation.  The medicine tastes bad, and is bad.  Maybe it was the diethylene glycol in the cold medicine, that sweet tasting poison, and they don't want us to know.

"You must compete," they say.  "Americans can compete against anyone, hip hip hooray!"  But we know competition is not the dynamic when GE wants to put its factories on a barge to move factories to whatever currency manipulation, tax subsidy, low regulation haven is best for the week.

For presidential candidates, where there is outsourcing there are campaign contributions.  If they can grab the money and befuddle the voters with good feelings, victory is at hand.  But the voters have, by definition, the vote.  There are a lot of voters, and not so many outsourcers.

Duncan Hunter and Ron Paul have been the strongest on trade. 

Chris Dodd is sponsoring legislation, good legislation, on currency manipulation. 

Sam Brownback has talked tough on China, calling for tariffs and "getting in their face."   So he recognizes the issue, though is not terribly nuanced about solutions.  Brownback has been horrible on agriculture, siding with multinational meat packers against farmers every chance he gets.

John Edwards wants currency manipulation addressed, and criticizes the NAFTA model, but hedges by saying we "can't put our head in the sand."  True.  But I don't think putting our head in the sand has been proposed. 

Obama and Clinton have not said much, but have co-sponsored a bill to rein in currency manipulation.  The bill has no teeth.

If the front running Republican presidential candidates have said anything on trade, I missed it.  Maybe this poll will cause them second thoughts.

UPDATED:  Obaman's chief economic advisor is Austan Goolsbee, who does not believe the trade deficit is a big problem.  Silence explained. 

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