I worry about the extreme left and extreme right positions that are being thrown around. The choice between unfettered free trade and protectionism is a false choice. The problem with the current system is its assymetry and "race to the bottom" tragectory.

The US removes barriers to US imports but China and Japan erect barriers to importing into their countries. Chinese companies operate freely in the US, yet US companies have to give majority control to Chinese partners for their divisions operating in China.

US companies export jobs to China and India because of low wages and low worker & environmental protection. Asian companies employ workers in near-slave labor conditions. For US workers to compete, should they have to work for $2/hour minimum wage on dirt floor factories?

A better approach would be to establish the value of worker hours on an even scale. Consider safety, environment, health and retirement benefits, as well as salary. When we import something from a country whose standards are inferior to our own, we charge a duty for the difference. These countries would rather pay their workers better than to give the money to our government. Wages and conditions in those countries would improve until they've raised to our level.

We need trade regulations that favor workers across the world, not just the CEO's of international companies and politicians.

We should promote tariffs with a documentary using Alex. Hamilton's play and or ideaology as well as exhibiting the Reagan Legislation that
that facilitated the abandoned USA factories and job loss to countries like China.
In my opinion, Globalization is unpatriotic.

Honestly, I don't think the "party platform" does nothing nor does it mean anything. It can list everything wonderful that people want to hear, but it really means squat because it is non-binding to any nominee. HRC can yes Bernie and his supporters to death. If she gets elected, it's a whole new ballgame...just look at Barack Obama and the Dems who actually controlled both houses in 2009 / 2010. They removed the public option, they disallowed Medicare to negotiate pharma prices for beneficiaries, they didn't put the Wall Street crooks in jail, they supported and approved the Panama Trade Deal while telling the public they were going to have the wealthy pay their fair share, and now Obama is pushing the very worst trade deal of all..the TPP. Where is the fight for the economic interests of working people? Party platform be damned. Bernie Sanders is a new deal democrat that we desperately need while Hillary is a subscriber to the third way agenda...exactly what we DONT need or want.

Big corporations want cheap labor.

Hillary is for sale to big corproations.

She will say anything for a vote , but you can

bet her deeds will be the same as Obama.

Not a single word about a much needed WPA for the high

tech age?

ct

"What I mean is that Democrats need to start talking about trade and economic issues like Trump does."

And then we the people would see even more clearly that the Democrats are lying and saying things to get elected which they will ignore and forget when in office. Already Clinton is lying about what she supports when her record shows just the opposite: wars, neoliberal (and neoclassical, austerity) economic and foreign policies, gutting welfare and the economy, mass incarceration to private prisons, civil rights and privacy violations, etc.

It doesn't matter what Democrats any any more than what Republicans say because they all lie through their teeth and work for the rich plutocracy and war mongers. There's only so much lipstich that can stick to pigs. Maybe Trump won't start WW3 and destroy the world, and maybe he will break from the Republicans and turn out to be an actual libertarian and realpolitiks guy (not good but better than neolibs or neocons).

But going by Clintons record, and even what she says now, she will start and support more wars and regime-change coups, (as with Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Honduras) and likely destroy the world (in a war with Russia), collapse the economy even more, further destroy privacy, deregulate banking more, consolidate the media monopoly more, and put more people in prison. She's still a 'Goldwater Girl at heart, and virtual war criminal.

It's too late, Thom -- the jig is up and more and more people are catching on and looking for real alternatives (such as socialism of some sort). Campaign rhetoric or the Democratic platform mean nothing because after the election it's back to business as usual. Fool me once, fool me twice, fool me three times ... there comes a point when even Charlie Brown wises up to Lucy and the football (and maybe votes Green or real socialist (instead of the pseudo-socialist of Sanders, who is more just a new deal social democrat)).

We have met the enemy and it is the duopoly party -- two branches of the same gang. 'Everybody knows'!

I think Thom is telling it all. I am not a brilliant person but even I can see what the networks are doing (i.e. MSNBC, CNN) focusing on Trumps mis-steps they miss the fact that the Republican party has show these same views, hate mongering, anti-minority, social security hating, healthcare bating and a total distain for the safety net that Trumpet boy really is all about. His books expose some of these same views, of course he changes in them as much as he do in public. The man is about himself, his wealth and power.....AND HE IS TELLING YOU THAT!!! But what fools if they think he is actually going to help them one iota....as Malcolm X so graciously stated: they have been had, they been took, hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok....and they can't see it because of their hate.

Trump is a very dangerous man Thin skinned, bad temper, a bully, can not take any criticism without losing it... Trump boasts, has no compassion, is ignorant on foreign affairs & well may start a nucleat war when he is pi$$ ed off..which is often. Trump wil do greatl harm to our country . He will NOT raise min wage, will chose far right wing anti middle class judges ..who have lifetime jobs. Imagine Trump having access to nuclear code ! Trump & GOP depends on ignorance & fear to gain / retain power. Look at the people of KY ..who for 30 yrs keep voting for McConnell .. One of the most arrogant , uncaring, politicians of all So called 'public servants' Politicians get very wealthy on our dime while ignoring our wishes & doing what they please . Families, eduation, social security, medicare , poor kids, old, sick, elderly, mentall ill mean nothing to the GOP> US has too many GOP governors , becasue people do not vote in mid term elections, They must go asap .

I want to join the "Thank you, Bernie" party. I live in Oregon City, Oregon, and became a precinct committee person in the Clackamas County Democrats, and then a House Leader in my precinct because of Bernie and his call for us all to become involved. I became a delegate to the Oregon State Platform Convention for the same reason. Then, last weekend, I was elected from my Congressional District Convention to be a Bernie delegate to the Oregon State Democratic Party Convention. Because of Bernie, I am in this for the long haul and will continue to fight for the political revolution we Berners want. To that end, I am now active in the Brand New Congress movement and already working on the 2018 election cycle.

So you deny that there is working class racism passed on from generation to generation?

Thank God that ’Tain’t Ted

{… a rhyme and an image}

Rise from thy bed

and take thou thy med

and face what thou dread: -

- ’Twill be Trump whose swelled head

might in our governance imbed.

{Well, thank God that ‘tain’t Ted,

who’d do Worse the aforesaid.}

… Image of Cruz:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LWxih9z5iXU/VmzzB-aWF7I/AAAAAAAA-2o/jJi0rGIAOFk/s400/Ted_Cruz_Mephistopheles.gif

==============================

The only man more dangerous than Trump to society right now is Paul Ryan. Mitch retreated to his hole months ago.

@bigdoginaz

I didn't know anything about the Norwegian Airline issue that you mentioned, so I had to do a little research. Apparently, the DOT is operating under the US-EU Open Skies Agreement that was initiated in 2007, and the second phase initiated in 2008 (see Wikipedia.) The 2007 Open Skies agreement superseded a previous Open Skies agreement. The second agreement, according to wikipedia, was more favorable to America. The prior Open Skies Agreement is, I believe, 20 years old.

Sanders, followed by Hillary, called for Obama not to approve the Norwegian Airline deal for fear that there would a "race to the bottom"--airlines would outsource their workforce to pay the lowest wages and increase their profits as a result. Richard Trumpka (AFL-CIO) and Edward Wytkind (AFL-CIO) wrote an article about this in Politco.

Although the direct impact would affect Norwegian Airline workers in Norway, the fear is that this would become a business model that other airlines would follow possibly undermining American airline workers in the future.

Norwegian Air is able to replace their workforce with a foreign workforce by using Norways version of an H1B visa. Being that Trump has never been elected to a public office, he has no record of anything for you to measure. However, when it comes to H1B visas, he has used H1B visas improperly to hire non-Americans to do jobs Americans should have done. Basically, Trump has done exactly what Norwegian Air wants to do in order to boost its profits. Indeed, Trump outsourced the production of his clothing line for cheaper labor. You seem to care about unions a lot. Honestly, I doubt you'd find a less union friendly candidate than Trump. But, don't take my words for it, look at who the unions support. However, you're free to vote against your own self-interests.

Again, you don't sound like a progressive. When you say you favor Trump's list of SCOTUS appointees over M. Garland, you are clearly not a progressive. You may say you are, but in substance, you're not. No need to guess how Trump feels about global warming, he is on record saying that he doesn't believe in it. You cannot even pretend to be an environmentalist and support Trump at the same time. I'm surprised you're claiming to be pro-union when you're saying you'd select Trump over Hillary. It's laughable. :)

Personally, I have no qualms utterly smashing anyone who's willing to vote for a racist hypocrital Trump. You can take your dislike of Hillary, Obama, Osama bin-Laden, Kim Kardashien multiply it by 100 and you'd be 1/10 close to my hatred for Trump. Trump will never be President of America. Ever. Anyone with Trump as a surname will never become President of America.

However, I do agree that HIllary is not much of a liberal. I call her a centrist Democrat and a product of oligarchy. I'm hoping that movement behind Bernie will generate a big enough swell, that the entire Democratic Party will move much further left, including Hillary. Bernie, as Thom Hartmann has noted, is using his influence to impact the DNC platform and rules. As a very proud progressive, who never takes crap from any Republican racist, sexist, chauvanist, islamaphobe, fake acting proud to be an American, so long as that America doesn't consist of people of different colors!!, I will proudly cast my vote for Hillary and the change being ushered in by Bernie and his appointees. That's being a true progressive. Feigning to vote for Trump is NOT being a progressive. That's being a hypocrite.