Anti-trade pitch a tough sell in CA

[maddezmom]

Anti-trade pitch a tough sell in state

KERRY, EDWARDS MUST TOE LINE IN EXPORT-HEAVY CALIFORNIA

By Laura Kurtzman

Mercury News


As the leading Democratic presidential candidates campaign in California this week, the anti-trade rhetoric they have used across the Rust Belt could prove troublesome.

Amid an economic recovery that has yet to produce many new jobs, trade pacts like the North American Free Trade Agreement have become a prime target for the two top contenders for the Democratic Party nomination, particularly Sen. John Edwards. He is staking his claim to beat Sen. John Kerry on a populist appeal to fight the amorphous forces of globalization that have cost Americans jobs.

Yet California, the nation's second-largest exporting state, depends on trade to keep its economy humming. Offshoring, the trend toward moving skilled jobs to places like India, may be stoking the fears of some. But analysts say California voters also know the benefits of free trade. So do political donors, particularly in Silicon Valley, where many owe their fortunes to open borders.

``I think there's a protectionist element in California, but this is a state that lives or dies by trade,'' said Garry South, a California Democratic strategist who advised Sen. Joe Lieberman before he dropped out. ``If I were a Democratic candidate, I would be a little careful of bashing trade in California.'' Trade is likely to surface as a topic in tonight's debate in Los Angeles
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more: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/8045130.htm

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

1. It's certainly good that no one is "anti-trade"

!

[maddezmom]

2. the debates tonight will certainly be interesting

I'll bet gay marriage and NAFTA will be 1st couple of questions.

[tinanator]

3. outsourcing and illegal labor arent

and thats the same can of worms