Poster boy for term limits, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, is off the mark on trade tariffs.  

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa is currently in his seventh term in the U.S. Senate!

Seventh term!

Seven terms is 42 years!

He was first elected in 1980, 39 years ago!

He is 85 years old.

Like I said…, a poster boy for term limits.

I don’t care if these career establishment politicians are republicans, democrats, or disingenuous “independents;” serve your state or your district…, serve a couple terms, then get out and give someone else a chance. The longer these people are entrenched in Washington, the more corrupt and full of themselves they get.  Period.

Too be fair…, Senator Grassley and I generally agree more often than not, but he’s just been in politics way too long.  It’s time.

Stephen Gruber-Miller of USA TODAY reports that, “Chuck Grassley says he tries to remind Trump that tariffs ‘brought about Adolf Hitler’”

He goes on to say that, “Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley on Wednesday blamed a 1930 tariff law for bringing about the Great Depression, the rise of Adolf Hitler and World War II.”

‘“As I like to tell the president when he says he likes tariffs, I try to remind him that Smoot-Hawley brought about the Great Depression, brought about Adolf Hitler, brought about World War II, brought about 60 million people losing their lives as a result of it,’ Grassley said. He was speaking to the National Association of Farm Broadcasting about tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.”

First of all Mr. Grassley…, let’s be clear…, President Trump has never said he “likes” tariffs.  In fact, he has said exactly the opposite.  He has said he would be happy if all tariffs were removed and there really was “free” trade.

President Trump is only proposing raising tariffs in cases where our trading partners refuse to treat us fairly, after years of one-sidedness I might add.

This scenario is quite different from the Smoot-Hawley Act, of 90 years ago, that you love to refer to.

The Smoot-Hawley Act INITIATED and ESTABLISHED U.S. tariffs with other countries around the world.

President Trump is only attempting to level out the tariff playing field with countries that have been taking advantage of us and our inept leaders for decades.

And yes, Mr. Grassley, Smoot-Hawley may have contributed to “bringing about the Great Depression,” but you attribute the rise of Adolf Hitler, World War II, and the deaths of 60 million people around the world to it as well?

That, I believe, is what people refer to as a stretch!

Hitler’s inherent evilness and his unquenchable desire for power and control were enough to stand on their own. Toss in another madman, Mussolini in Italy, who was happy to tag along, and then add the Empire of Japan to the “axis of evil,” which was also looking to expand its control in the world, and we have a “perfect storm.”

I’m sorry Mr. Grassley…, but all of this was not caused by a tariff increase of up to 20%.

“[President] Trump last week said he would hike tariffs to 25% on $200 billion in Chinese imports after trade negotiations stalled. Chinese officials said in return it would raise tariffs up to 25% on $60 billion in U.S. goods. Trump’s administration also seeks to place tariffs on another $325 billion in Chinese goods.”

“Grassley said on Wednesday that the United States then reduced its tariffs and that poverty has dropped worldwide since the end of World War II.”

“I like to tell the president that globalism has helped everybody. Freeing up trade has helped everybody,” Grassley said.

How would you know Mr. Grassley…, we haven’t had “free trade” in decades and decades…, unless you’re referring to our end of the bargain being free, while the U.S. loses hundreds of thousands of jobs, hundreds of thousands of manufacturing plants, and most of our respect around the world.  Is that the “free trade” that you’re referring to?  Is that what you would propose we do in order to avoid World War III; bend over and let our “friends” and our enemies screw us over?

I think I’ll take a pass on that and see what President Trump do.

WINNING!

 

This article in USA TODAY originally appeared in the Des Moines Register: Chuck Grassley says he tries to remind Trump that tariffs ‘brought about Adolf Hitler.’

 

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