I keep seeing posters around here regurgitate the wall street/media meme that the choice is between "protectionism" and "free trade." I even saw the hoary reference to Smoot-Hawley. What is being talked about in this campaign, and what opponents of unfettered globalization are addressing, is not trade per se but "so-called" trade agreements. Actually, agreements like NAFTA, CAFTA and the WTO have little to do with trade and everything to do with investment protection and protecting multi-national corporations' search for cheap labor. No one is against trade, and no one is talking about high tarrifs. Yet this protectionist bullshit keeps getting thrown around, even by people who claim to be progressive Democrats.
Maybe these folks don't mind the massive loss of good paying manufacturing jobs in the U.S. Maybe they don't mind outsourcing of high tech jobs. Maybe they want Wal-Mart to take over all retailing. Maybe they don't mind a "race to the bottom." I tend to think not because then they would be republicans. So, if not, keep in mind that what people like Edwards are talking about is not "protectionism," but preventing the economic powers that be from using so-called "trade agreements" to feather their own nest at the expense of workers and at the expense of democracy itself.