On Nov 10, 2006, at 12:19 PM, mike larkin wrote:
> http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/
> 000/000/012/931hiavy.asp
>
> ....In their emphasis on the relative conservatism of the incoming
> House Democratic freshmen, reporters have glossed over a bigger
> story: To the extent that many of these Democrats are conservative,
> they are conservative in a vaguely "Buchananite" sense, which means
> they tend to be noisy economic populists.....
Ah, that emptily floating signifier again! What do they want? Free silver? Expropriation of foreign investors and banning immigration? Better labor law and a civilized welfare state? Reading the article, it seems they're mainly concerned with trade agreements - e.g. the sheriff who ran against the Oman deal. So what are they going to do about it? Jack up tariffs? Because the rise in imports is only partly explained by trade agreements; it has a lot more to do with declining transportation and communications costs, and the spread of technology to low-wage countries.
Doug