Yes, Some on the Right Oppose the WTO
Max Bergman is amazed that many of the reasons the black helicopter crowd opposes LOST are also applicable to the WTO. So, if the Right is so worked up about sovereignty, they should oppose the WTO, right?
The fact is that the WTO regulates global trade and polices its member’s adherence to WTO regulations. If maintaining all aspects of U.S. sovereignty is the right’s number one priority than they simply can’t support the WTO. And if they don’t support the WTO, than you have to question the right’s commitment to free trade, since the whole purpose of the WTO is to enable free trade. If the right is really so scared about the erosion of U.S. sovereignty than they should join all the left wing anti-globalization activists and protest the WTO. That would be quite a sight.
Well, Max, sorry to break it to ya, but the populist-nationalist right opposes both the WTO and LOST. Pat Buchanan isn’t a big WTO fan, nor are Alan Keyes and Phyllis Schlafly. 60 percent of Republicans think free trade has been bad for the economy. What we have in both the LOST and the WTO/free trade debates in the GOP is a split between the corporate elites and the populist masses. The corporate wing just wants more markets to sell stuff, and a steady regulatory infrastructure to facilitate the selling of their wares and expansion of their businesses. Thus, the WTO and LOST. The populist-nationalist wing is more concerned with America’s sovereignty and generally being incredibly skeptical of anything having to do with foreigners. It’s a very uneasy alliance, and I imagine that big portion of Ron Paul supports comes from the populist-nationalist wing of the party, which overlaps significantly with the anti-Iraq war wing.
If you asked me before the primary got heated up, I would have expected someone like Tom Tancredo to be the Ron Paul like insurgent candidate. Bashing Romney, Guiliani and Bush as “globalists” who will sell out America to illegal immigrants, international trade and international organizations could probably garner around 10 percent of the primary vote. Too bad Tancredo is absolutely nuts. But I assure you that in the coming years, the populist-nationalist wing of the GOP will realize , much like the Religious Right, that it’s the corporate paymasters who ultimately control the GOP and that there isn’t really much of a place for them in the coalition.
