The Democratic Party's policy of coming to power is facing a crisis, so be wary of American economic nationalism.
Idiots-at least many idiots-are out. Therefore, the political question to be discussed next is: What will the Democrats who share power with * * * and the party chairman do now? Although it may be too early to answer this question, what we have seen is enough to make us particularly alert to such a trend: economic nationalism.
Many Democrats who have won congressional seats from Republicans are described as moderates or social conservatives, and they are closely related to the future Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy? There will be disharmony between nancy pelosi. Perhaps a more appropriate name for them should be "narrow Democrats." Most of them oppose free trade, globalization and any form of moderate immigration policy. The victory of these democrats made it possible for others to make their reactionary voices heard. Some new members of the Democratic Party may even be stupid enough to use their theories to govern the country.
There is an important difference between "economic populism" and "economic nationalism". Many Democrats who won on Tuesday emphasized some well-known populist themes: corporate misconduct and the plight of the working class. In 2000, Al? Al Gore ran for president as an economic populist. Incredibly, in 2004, John? John Kerry actually ran for office with this attitude. Raising the minimum wage (Republicans are stupid and didn't advocate this issue during the campaign) is a typical populist stance. Then there is opposition to Bush's tax cuts for the rich. However, in the place where the Democratic Party's campaign offensive was the fiercest this year, people heard a very different message of economic nationalism. Nationalism also starts from the same premise, that is, the working class is in a bad situation. However, instead of blaming the rich at home, it focuses on the poor abroad. The number one economic nationalist today may be Lu? Dobbs-He endlessly opposed free trade, outsourcing, globalization and immigration on CNN.
The most famous nationalist candidate this year is Sherrod? Sherrod Brown who defeated incumbent Senator Mike in Ohio? Mike Devin. Since George? Since George W. Bush became president of the United States, Ohio has lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs. Brown is the author of The Myth of Free Trade: Why American Trade Policy Fails. The following is a short paragraph from his TV campaign advertisement: "In order to defend American jobs, Sherrod? Brown dared to face his party leaders and opposed the signing of trade agreements between the United States and Mexico and China that led to the loss of countless jobs overseas. " For some reason, economic nationalists never seem to complain, although competition from the Netherlands or Ireland has also led to the loss of jobs in the United States. Their angry targets are always China and Mexico, and occasionally they attack Dubai, Oman, Peru and Vietnam.
People have heard similar themes in other key contests for Senate seats. In Virginia, James, who clearly won? James webb publicly condemned business outsourcing, shelling * * and party candidate George? George Allen voted to allow more "foreign guest workers" to enter the state. In Missouri, champion Claire? Claire McCaskill's comments on immigration of current Senator James? James Tarant refused to give in. "Unfair trade agreements cost Americans good jobs and hurt workers and communities in Missouri," she said in a campaign advertisement. "We should encourage enterprises to stay at home now, instead of rewarding them for moving overseas." In Michigan, Democratic Congresswoman Deborah, who faces strong competition? Stabeno was re-elected. She promised to set up a federal office to investigate and expose unfair trade practices of foreign governments.
In the campaign for many key seats in the House of Representatives, nationalism with a more distinct position has become a major feature. Democrats called for the suspension of trade agreements and the cancellation of existing ones, and some also called for the imposition of protective trade tariffs on China. These candidates also confuse illegal immigrants with terrorists and demand a fence on the US-Mexico border. In Pennsylvania, the Democratic challenger won. They accused the incumbent and party member of voting for the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which caused Americans to lose many good jobs, and accused them of being weak on the issue of illegal immigration. In Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina and Wisconsin, candidates who advocate "fair trade" also won seats in the House of Representatives previously occupied by Republicans and Republicans.
Economic nationalism is not the patent of Democrats, nor is it their new theme. Protectionist forces within the Democratic Party first appeared in the 1980s. At that time, they linked the decline of American manufacturing with imports. Over the years, senator Richard? Gephardt has always been the embodiment of protectionists. But in the presidential election of 1992, Democrat Bill? Bill Clinton made an important decision to support the North American Free Trade Agreement. Clinton took a stand of supporting free trade and globalization throughout his presidency. Although there was great resistance in Congress, it set the direction for his party. Clinton has always believed that the government should solve the negative consequences of free trade by adopting a worker retraining plan to ensure that benefits such as medical care and portable pensions are decoupled from employers. However, the human capital part of Clinton's globalization agenda has not made any progress, which is also part of the reason for the current anti-globalization sentiment.
Given this year's election results, it seems unlikely that the new Congress will extend President Bush's "fast track" trade negotiation mandate. This authorization expires this summer. For the Doha Round of global trade negotiations, as well as bilateral trade negotiations between the United States and South Korea, this result is even worse. Democrats in Congress may try to impose punitive tariffs on China again to punish what they call "currency manipulation". If the mid-term elections in 2006 brought new protectionism, it may be a bit too much, but free trade really no longer dominates Capitol Hill.