Countering GOP Racism With A Class-Based Uprising Message

Earlier this week, I wrote a short dispatch about Barack Obama dancing around the issue of trade - an issue at the heart of the populist uprising on both the right and left. Now today, my syndicated newspaper column [1] explores the issue more thoroughly, showing precisely the opportunity the GOP's inevitable racism and nationalism with a populist line on trade.

[2]John McCain is taking an extremist position on the issue - to the point of doing a public event today [3] with Canadian industrialists to promote NAFTA. This extremist position presents a huge opportunity for Obama in states that have been destroyed by NAFTA-style trade policies - swing states from Maine to North Carolina to Ohio.

The problem is that Obama still seems hesitant to take a strong position on trade. He has hired one of Bob Rubin's chief confidantes as his top economic adviser, and he gives speeches depicting those who are pushing a strong fair trade agenda as Luddite protectionists.

This speaks to what we discussed last night for THE UPRISING at a big event here in Chicago at In These Times: the notion of progressive pressure as a positive force for Obama. We have to keep the pressure on Obama to take a strong position on issues like trade - and we have to use the election to leverage that pressure.

Of course, there are those who claim that any pressure against Obama imperils his electoral chances, but that's a farce. In 2006, progressive pressure on Democrats forced the party to take a stronger line on Iraq - and that stronger line helped them win the 2006 election. The same can be the case with Obama on the issue of trade - and if we are effective, we can help him both take a majority position on the issue and win the election.

Read the whole column at the San Francisco Chronicle [1], Denver Post [4], Ft. Collins Coloradoan [5], In These Times [6], TruthDig [7], Credo Action [8] or Creators Syndicate [9]. Then go pick up a copy of THE UPRISING [10] to read more about how trade policy is fueling a backlash on both the right and left.

This is an ongoing series from the national tour for THE UPRISING. You can order The Uprising at Amazon.com [10] or through your local independent bookstore [11].