The Dems, free trade and immigration: the challenge to come

The earlier post about Biden’s “get tough” stance on immigration highlights the reality that Dems are goign to have to lead on immigration, rather than just criticizing the Republican approach. And this could prove tricky to the those party members who have run on more populist platforms that shun globalization in all its forms.  As Thomas B. Edsall wrote in today’s NYTimes:

Politically, the result [of the November elections] has shifted the balance of power within the Democratic Party in favor of the protectionist wing, and especially in favor of such major unions as the Teamsters, the steelworkers and the autoworkers, all key party supporters with money and manpower.

The strengthening of the Democrats’ protectionist wing is virtually certain to force to the surface a second, and closely related, internal conflict between the party’s pro- and anti-immigration wings…

A solid block of Democrats who won this month — Jon Tester, James Webb, Sherrod Brown and Heath Shuler included — is inclined to put the brakes on all cross-border activity (otherwise known as globalization): trade, outsourcing and the flow of human labor.

The full op-ed is here.

-jmc