CAFTA: If you are a pro-union Democrat who lives in the South, what do you do now?

CAFTA proponents said that reduced tariffs on American exports will help our economy. CAFTA opponents said that imports of cheap foreign goods will hurt middle-class workers.

POTUS and VPOTUS, mindful that public opinion of this administration is tanking, were on the Hill twisting arms like mad.

In the end, the bill narrowly passed the House 217-215 and is headed to conference before going for the President's signature.

So...here we are.

Knowing what we know about the trade deficit with China ($103 billion in 2002, to $124 billion in 2003, to $162 billion last year), knowing that our exports to China are primarily raw materials and the imports from China are cheap finished products (hint: we're India, they're England, circa 1900) knowing all that, how do you feel about this legislation?

If you are a pro-union Democrat who lives in the South, what do you do now?

More specifically, how do you convince a middle-class worker that there is a connection between lower prices at Walmart and that worker's lack of decent health insurance?

And, for God's sake, am I the only one that finds it richly ironic that this bill passes the same week that the AFL-CIO melts down?