Dean and NAFTA....I see the issue is coming up again though he is not running.

[madfloridian]

I also see someone asked which candidate this time was most like Howard Dean. My answer is no one at all, and the comparison should not be made. He was unique, and I think anyone trying to tap into what he did will most likely fail. They need to run as their own persons.

I see someone is misquoting his stances on NAFTA, and I want to correct them. It's not fair to post things that are not true about anyone.

From my research:
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Dean on NAFTA and Robert Rubin.

http://www.slate.com/id/2086258

This article is by Chris Suellentrop in 2003

But one thing bothers me about Dean, and I raise it with him. He wants to renegotiate NAFTA to include labor and environmental standards—his lone departure from Clinton-style Rubinomics. Dean even says: "I actually had this argument with Bob Rubin, who totally disagrees with me, of course. But I think it's because Bob is fighting the last war. He said they use those arguments to try to undo NAFTA. I said, I know they use them to undo NAFTA, but now you've got NAFTA, and you're going to have NAFTA, now think about what this problem is. He said, you're right about the problem. Your analysis is right. I just don't have the solution. I'll get back to you when I do. I haven't heard back yet." (Dean's theory in a nutshell: The structure of wealth in the United States before labor unions resembled that in Third World countries today, so in order to create middle classes in the developing world, we need to bring labor unions to them.)

Won't Dean's plan make the price of goods go up? "Yeah," he says quietly. "But so what?" My 25 minutes are up. We've arrived in Osceola, the site of Dean's next talk, and I'm being ushered out of McFun by Dean's staff. But I think Dean realizes he's ended the interview on the wrong note because he quickly adds: "Because in return for making the price of goods go up, you've fixed the illegal immigration problem, you've fixed the drain of jobs problem, you've created a middle class that can buy American exports. There's a lot you get for that." Now it really is time for me to go. "I've got to make a phone call," Dean says as I step outside."

Rubin told Dean he would have trouble getting money from the financial community if he continued wanting changes in NAFTA. Dean argued he was right, and Rubin never got back to him on it.

Here is more from On the Issues about his stances.

http://www.issues2000.org/2004/Howard_Dean_Free_Trade.htm

We ought to change NAFTA- globalization only halfway done

Q: What do you make of NAFTA?

A: We ought to change NAFTA. We've only done half the job with globalization. You've globalized the rights of big corporations to do business anywhere in the country, but what we now need to do is globalize the rights of workers, labor unions, environmentalists and human rights. If you do that, you raise the standard of living in other countries. And what happens is our jobs stop going away because the cost of production goes up.

Source: Democratic 2004 primary Debate in Greenville SC Jan 29, 2004

Enforceable & enforced labor and environmental standards

Q: Should the US seek more free or liberalized trade agreements?

A: I want strong, enforceable trade agreements and a trade system bound by clear, continually improving rules. I will push for solid, enforceable labor and environmental standards in all existing and future trade agreements. I will vigorously enforce the agreements we enter into and defend U.S. trade laws when our competitors challenge them.

Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, "Trade" Jan 25, 2004

We've globalized corporations; now globalize worker rights

Q: America's farmers need open markets for their crops around the world, but other American workers want a level playing field. How would you balance those interests?

DEAN: There's no reason we can't do both. NAFTA and the WTO only globalized the rights of multinational corporations, but they did not globalize the rights of workers. They are not going to globalize human rights, environmental rights, the right to organize. That needs to happen. And if it doesn't happen, NAFTA and the WTO simply aren't going to work. Right now, we're exporting jobs.

We need to have a level playing field. We need to have the same kinds of environmental protections, labor protections, human rights protections and worker protections if we're going to have open borders. That will not disadvantage exports.

Source: Democratic 2004 Presidential Primary Debate in Iowa Jan 4, 2004

Let this year's candidates be who they are. Let's not compare them to each other or to those in 2004. And let's be honest about their stances.