In the rush to pass the stimulus bill, no one noticed that some Democrats had added a sop to the Teamsters Union -- a pilot program allowing 98 (98!) Mexican trucks into the U.S. as part of NAFTA was shut down.
As the Wall Street Journal noted, the Mexican trucks in the program actually had a better safety record than their American counterparts.
In return for this violation of NAFTA, Mexico has levied import duties on dozens of U.S. exports to that country.
These tariffs, of course, hurt both Mexico and the U.S., and are unwise in any economic climate, let alone what we're experiencing now. But just how inept do you have to be to have done this? It borders on criminally stupid.
There's still a good chance that the economy can turn around in time for the 2010 election despite what Democrats in Washington have been doing. But the number and severity of the gaffes coming out of the capitol now dwarf the gays-in-the-military/Hillarycare gaffes of President Bill Clinton's first two years.
If this continues for the next four years, you can bet that Obama will be a one-term president.
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