GregsOpinion.com

Charlotte Observer | 02/04/2005 | Edwards' own trade spotlight

Speaking of our newlywedded protectionist, David Sirota, he's got a good read in the Charlotte Observer on John Edwards' status as protectionist-class hero:

Edwards was the only major candidate in 2004 who had the guts to talk about the issue of class. Edwards realized that for too long Democratic politicians have cowered in the face of Republican charges of "class warfare." He understood that with inequality, poverty and joblessness growing, economic class is the issue confronting our country.

With his "Two Americas" platform, he took it a step further, bringing up the issue of trade. Showing that you can talk about the issue without being labeled a "protectionist," Edwards railed against a Washington establishment that has passed trade bill after trade bill with few -- if any -- labor, human rights or environmental standards.

Say what? John Edwards wasn't a protectionist? ... or at least wasn't "labelled" as one? News to me on both counts.

But there's more (there's always more with Sirota at the keyboard):

Most pundits credited Edwards' success in the 2004 Democratic race to his sunny outlook and youthful looks. But in places such as Wisconsin, ravaged by trade-related job loss, Edwards' message on trade clearly resonated.

The U.S. trade deficit under this "free" trade policy has gotten so bad, the United Nations recently issued a plea for other industrialized countries to intervene for fear it might destabilize the world economy.

One might be excused for thinking the UN is now suggesting that free trade has gone too far and now calls for the US to back off this corporate-fed dogma. One little fact check you won't be seeing on David's blog is the fact that there were trade deficits before NAFTA & PNTR and there will be trade deficits after NAFTA & PNTR. Trade deficits as we know them are as much a function of national wealth as they are of liberalized trade laws ... and hurray for both. That coming from an average working stiff.

We compete - and win - by being more productive, by investing in R&D, and by encouraging innovation. We did those things magnificently in the Clinton years, btw. We closed the deal on NAFTA WITH the very protections that Sirota yearns for. When a US programmer making $50/hour competes with an Indian programmer at $5/hour, that forces a race to the top by our upwardly mobil programmer to be better, smarter, and faster. Whining about the disparity isn't merely a race to the bottom - it's a resignation to the bottom.

If John Edwards runs on that in 2008 - and I suspect he may well - he'll be the next to last to learn a valuable life lesson: America isn't afraid of competing.