He says that trade tends to be popular along the coasts and big cities while middle America and the South are wary. He cites a poll that shows while the coasts are excited about their place in the global economy of the next 30 years, the heartland would just as soon take the economy of the last 3 decades. In some sectors, the rhetoric of trade agreements may have been oversold. Many folks don't even hear the word anymore. Never mind that the best economists in the world don't believe it exists.
Folks turn on their radio, and they hear it.
It's an easy scapegoat when someone loses their job, when a company's profits are down. But this popular resentment of trade is a dangerous path for our economy and America's place in the world. You know, I understand that the concerns are real, and I'm not going to stand up here and promise you that if we get fast track, the sky's going to open up and all our problems will be solved. Adoption of fast track will produce no miracles. But rejection of it would be an economic and political disaster.