John Steele Gordon, eminent historian and popular guest speaker in my "History of Scandal" course, just wrote a terrific article in Commentary entitled Look Whose Afraid of Free Trade.
The short answer: the Democrats! Gordon writes that, historically speaking, this is a surprising turn-around. For most of its existence, the Democratic party has been the party of free trade, generally at odds with protectionist Republicans. (Yea, Smoot and Hawley were Republicans.) Well, things have clearly (or maybe not so clearly) turned around. As always, Gordon weaves a tight thread in his depiction of fascinating ideas through time. Great read.
Comments (1)
I always considered Bill Clinton's shepherding of NAFTA through Congress as an unexpected miracle. That and his BJ made his presidency worth the price of admission.
Posted by jd | January 31, 2008 9:00 PM
Posted on January 31, 2008 21:00