Reply #1: i say gep

[BrewCrew]

Thank you so much for posting this. I really appreciate it. This is an issue that’s in my heart. I know a lot of folks who have lost their factory jobs because of what I believe are unwise trade practices by our government. First, I apologize for not adhering to your “No Bashing” clause, but I must bash somebody specifically for a moment. And that bash is directed at our President, George W. Bush. You see the problem with W is that when he has a daily briefing where some Cabinet secretary says to him’ “we’ve lost 100,000 manufacturing jobs this month” or “unemployment is 6%”, he doesn’t see the faces behind those statistics. When the debate about CAFTA or FTAA comes before him, he’ll just hear the voices of corporations that line campaign’s pockets whispering about how it will benefit them, but he won’t hear the voices of the workers and families of those auto/steel/mine plants that will suffer because their job was been transported to some place where corporations can exploit labor. It’s inhumane and it must stop. It’s sad, but true. Bush doesn’t know folks who have had to picket for better wages or retirement benefits. He was born with all those things. Executive privilege I guess?

For almost 20 years now, corporations have been trading in $15 an hour jobs in the industrial heartland for $15 a week jobs in China or Mexico. I’m here to tell you that those old industrial towns have really become quite unhappy places. Not only have the factories been shutting down, but nothing is being done to revitalize the communities hurt. Most of these workers have no education past high school and not subsequently trained to do anything else. So when the factory shuts down they are just plain screwed.

OK. Enough of my rant. So who do I believe is the best candidate to reverse this trend? Well I got to go with what the records and history say and for me I believe that man is Dick Gephardt. I remember reading a news story during the NAFTA debate talking about how Dick Gephardt worked himself sick trying to kill NAFTA. Besides that, he has also led the way against unfair trade proposals like Foreign Steel dumping, China PNTR, Fast Track 1997, Fast Track 2002, and most recently the Singapore and Chilean Trade agreements. Time and time again Congressman Gephardt has been there for the workers of this country. I know under a Gephardt presidency trade agreements that send our jobs to the lowest bidder will cease.

Moreover, the guy is also advocating an International Minimum Wage. The living conditions that most these workers in China and Mexico live through is downright sickening. We need to do something to protect them also. Plus, corporations will be hesitant to fly the coup if they have to pay their workers in China and Mexico livable wages.

I think we have some good candidates on Free Trade in this field. I won’t take the time to talk about each, but will mention my personal Top 2 besides Gephardt. For example, Kucinich has been a real champion of unions throughout his career, I can say with utmost confidence that under a Kucinich administration agreements like CAFTA or FTAA would be vetoed in a moments notice unless they include protections for American workers. Edwards doesn’t seem to get the praise like Kucinich or Dick on trade, but he did vote against steel dumping, Fast Track, and the Singapore and Chilean Trade agreements. The loss of textile jobs in North Carolina has really hurt that state. He made a mistake with PNTR, but because of his roots and background I’m sure we’ll make a great pro-worker President also. These 3 they, unlike our President, do see the faces of those who have been hurt by our “green-light” trade policies. Our fight has been their fight for a long time. I’m thankful for each.