"Free traders" don't have public support anymore. 

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken Monday night finds that 56% of voters support renegotiation while 39% say U.S. free trade agreements in general have directly impacted their families. Of that latter group, 73% say the impact has been a bad one, as opposed to 14% who say it was beneficial. 

Only 16% of respondents favor NAFTA – a pact which came into being in 1994 and lowers nearly all trade barriers between the U.S., Canada and Mexico -- as is, with 28% undecided.

Policy wonks want more detail, but NAFTA is the surrogate language for free trade policy that Congress continues to pursue.  To the guys at the bowling alley, NAFTA is free trade.  NAFTA is the Peru, Columbia, South Korea and Panama FTA's. 

Politicians will support the failed version of free trade policy unless the voters say otherwise.  That is why grassroots work is so important.  We all need to tell McCain and Obama, our Senate candidates, our Congressional candidates, and our state legislative candidates that we need a new free trade policy.  They are crassly strategic in angling for our votes.  We must be crassly strategic in persuading or rejecting them.  That's the deal in a democracy.

The Coalition for a Prosperous America has 10 principles to guide them.  But all you need to say is don't sign new trade agreements until you figure it out.  Trade deficits, outsourcing, currency manipulation, dangerous food, unsafe products, selling U.S. assets to pay for our deficit.  Take your pick of problems to confront them with.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Write comment

Name

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment