Club Blasts Lou Dobb's Protectionism
Club for Growth Urges Congress to Ignore Lou Dobbs and Renew Fast Track AuthorityWashington - In what guarantees to be a political circus, Lou Dobbs of CNN will testify tomorrow before the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade against America’s free trade policies and against renewing the President’s fast track authority. He will be joined and no doubt parroted by fellow protectionists from the AFL-CIO, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the Alliance for American Manufacturing. The lone defender of pro-trade policies will be former U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills.
Much like Al Gore’s one-man show last week, Dobbs’ testimony promises to be long on showmanship and short on economic facts. While Dobbs claims that free trade hurts lower- and middle-class Americans, these are the same Americans who suffer the higher prices and fewer jobs that result from protectionist policies and an economy stalled by inefficiency and reduced competition. Dobbs’ economic errors are surpassed only by his audacity, awarding himself the right to dictate to the American people where to buy and sell their goods and services.
“America is an economic superpower in no small part because of its open trade policies and its participation in the global economy,” Club for Growth President Pat Toomey said. “Since this country’s inception, we have witnessed the resounding success of a trade policy that breaks down barriers and fosters the free flow of business across borders. It is no coincidence that the period of our country’s strongest prosperity coincided with a period in which we experienced the freest trade.”
“While Lou Dobbs and his doomsday compatriots whine about the end of the world as we know it,” Toomey continued, “we hope Congress will put the economic growth of this country ahead of its special interest buddies. Renewing the President’s fast track authority would be a significant first step in the right direction. Sending Lou Dobbs back to CNN would be a second.”
