For CNN, I'm Cornelius Fudge

David Weigel | August 7, 2007

Andy Roth of the Club for Growth has the video of Lou Dobbs lobbing missiles at the group and its petition that lined up more than a thousand economists and academics—guys like Tyler Cowen, Daniel Drezner, Gregory Mankiw—against economic protectionism. It's wonderful. Rather than engaging their arguments Dobbs just reads anti-China talking points and calls his enemies "employees of Wall Street."

Some of the transcript:

DOBBS: Well, they should know better, but so should he. The fact of the matter is, 31 consecutive years of trade deficits, a trade debt for this country that is rising faster than an already astronomical $9 trillion national debt.

And what I can't quite figure out amongst these geniuses who are so-called free traders is, why do they think that about a 35 percent to 40 percent undervaluation of the Chinese yuan to the dollar is free trade? Why do they think 25 percent duties in tariffs on American products entering China is free trade?

I'm a little confused by these geniuses. And I hope that maybe they will be glad to explain that to us over the course of these weeks ahead here, so that we can catch up with their brilliance.

SYLVESTER: You know, that's a very good question, Lou...

Fine, it's not exactly like the blustering of mania of Cornelius Fudge. I'd actually take Dobbs more seriously if he blamed the trade gap on dark magicks.