About 50 energized Democrats joined Congressman Dale Kildee and I on the corner of Dort Highway and Davison Road this morning in Flint (click for a link to a story from WEYI about the event). We were just outside the rusting gate of the old AC Delco plant. Back in the fifties and sixties, during shift change, it was one of the busiest corners in Flint with thousands of workers streaming in and out of work.
Today, you are lucky to see anyone on the sidewalk outside the AC plant. What a surprise to Flint drivers to see signs of human life back at the corner, horns were beeping as Obama signs were lifted in salute. The occasion: Senator McCain's trip to Mexico to talk trade. Remember back, during the Michigan primary when Senator McCain told Michigan workers, "I have some bad news for you, there is going to be more job loss". Now we know why, Senator McCain has become Senator McSame.
Michigan has lost more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs over the past eight years due to the unfair trade policies of the Bush Administration. Michigan cannot afford four more years of shipping American jobs overseas. As Senator Jim Webb points out in his recent book, A Time to Fight, "Our current tax laws actually protect American corporations that move operations overseas, deferring taxes on any profits from these overseas operations unless the profits are brought back into the United States. This of course encourages American corporations to invest more heavily in additional overseas operations, further reducing opportunities for American workers."
This election is about more than just change, it is about survival of the American middle class. In my mind, patriotism is about saving the American Dream, and in that fight the only presidential candidate that I count on my side is Barack Obama. He will only support trade agreements that have strong labor and environmental standards. He will actually enforce existing trade agreements. He will help outsourced workers find new jobs, and we will provide retraining assistance before workers lose their jobs.
That is the partnership that Michigan needs if we are going to reverse the downward tail spin that our economy is in. That is why 50 Genesee Democrats returned to the abandoned street corner at Dort Highway and Davison Road in Flint. It is important to remind people where America was really built and what it is that we need to protect.