  Dave Johnson: Washington Times Against Protectionism Before They Were For It
Reported by Huffington Post on Tuesday, 17 November 2009 (on November 17, 2009)
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President Obama is visiting Asia, and is blasted over and over about America\'s supposedly \"protectionist\" policies.
\"China on Monday accused the United States of increasing protectionism...\"Think about it, the country with the massive trade surplus accuses the country with the massive trade deficit of being \"protectionist.\" Call it The Audacity Of Projection.
Our trade opponents have learned that all they have to do is shout the word \"protectionist\" and their American enablers will quickly run from doing anything that might help American companies and workers. But what happens later, when the consequences start hitting home? Do the \"free trade\" shouting, foreign-competition enablers take the blame and accept responsibility when Amercan dollars are spent overseas and American workers lose jobs and American factories close? Who could have known that they would point the finger at the President instead of themselves?
Here is what I am talking about:
On February 8, 2009, during the debate over the stimulus package, the conservative Washington Times joined the \"free trade\" chorus, denouncing the package\'s proposed \"Buy American\" requirements as the same kind of \"protectionism\" that conservative mythology says caused the Great Depression: EDITORIAL: How to cause a depression,
...Tucked within the economic stimulus bill the House passed last week was a clause requiring state and local public works agencies to buy American iron and steel for their reconstruction projects, and the Senate expanded it to all manufactured goods.
[. . .] The stimulus bill has a way to go before it reaches Mr. Obama\'s desk, but if strong \"buy American\" mandates are present at that time, he will have no choice but to veto the bill. Otherwise, he will be forever known as Barack H. (Hoover or Hawley) Obama.Conservative free-traders got what they demanded. In response to these and other cries of \"protectionism!\" the Senate backed away from the Buy American clause, changing it to vague language requiring that the money be spent in ways consistent with existing treaties.
Since this wording gives the President some discretion in how the money is spent conservatives started demanding the President spend it ... outside of the country. For example, a Washington Times editorial on March 24, EDITORIAL: The Mexican-American War of 2009, ended by blasting President Obama for wanting American stimulus dollars to stimulate America\'s economy:
\"Wasn\'t Mr. Obama going to be the \"international\" president who was going to get the rest of the world to love us? The path to improving relations does not involve destroying jobs in other countries as well as in our own.\"So now it turns out that many stimulus dollars are being spent according to the wishes of the \"free trade\" conservatives, with money to purchase wind turbines creating jobs in Europe and China, and who could have known, the very same free-trade conservatives are JUST OUTRAGED that President Obama is sending American stimulus dollars out of the country! For example, a Washington Times editorial on November 13, EDITORIAL: Stimulus creates jobs in China, begins,
Of the $1 billion in clean-energy stimulus money spent since the beginning of September, $850 million has gone to foreign wind companies. It doesn\'t take a bunch of experts at a hastily planned \"jobs summit\" to discover this isn\'t the way to bolster employment in America.
Indeed, the 11 U.S. wind farms that received stimulus money from the Treasury have imported 695 of the 982 wind turbines to be installed, creating 4,500 jobs overseas. That\'s far more overseas work than the stimulus money has created in the United States.Yes, how DARE they not require that American stimulus dollars be spent in America! This from the very same Washington Times editors who earlier in the year demanded exactly that.
Who could have known that conservatives would attack President Obama for the consequences of giving in to conservative demands??!! The Washington Times was against protectionism before they were for it. Call it The Audacity Of Hypocrisy.
The lesson to be learned here is to stop listening to these conservative, \"free trade\" clowns. They are only interested in making the rich richer at the expense of the rest of us and will say whatever advances that goal. We should start just doing what is right for the country, our workers, our factories, our companies and our jobs.
This post originally appeared at Campaign for America\'s Future (CAF) at their Blog for OurFuture as part of the Making It In America project. I am a Fellow with CAF.
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