Monday, July 31, 2006

Senator Dorgan drinks the Kool-Aid

A former ec 10 student emails me:
I am a Democrat, but I read this short book review about a new book from a North Dakota Senator and found it just a bit scary.
The article he refers to is in today's Washington Post. An excerpt:

A Rallying Cry for Democratic Populism

What would happen if the opposition party actually chose to oppose the one in power? Not just on the margins, but by rejecting outright the majority party's fundamental beliefs on trade and tax policy?

Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) urges Democrats to take on Republicans in just that way in his new book, "Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain Dead Politics Are Selling Out America." He makes a politically compelling -- if economically questionable -- case....

The title of his final chapter says it all: "Flat World? No, Flat Wrong!"

To Dorgan, big corporations are the villains and labor unions the saviors. "I understand that big is not always bad, and small is not always beautiful," he writes. But, he adds: "If the shoe fits, wear it. And it damn well better be American-made."