David Perdue Built His Career Outsourcing American Jobs to China

If Georgia Republicans were really serious about embracing Donald Trump's "America First" trade rhetoric, David Perdue would be the absolute last person they would nominate for the Senate. He is one of America's poster boys for offshoring jobs to low wage nations in Asia.

New York Times: "The man who has lately voiced support for some of President Trump’s signature tariffs built his career as an unapologetic, free-trading practitioner of the outsourcing arts. As a top executive at companies including Reebok, Sara Lee and Dollar General, he was often deeply involved in the shift of manufacturing, and jobs, to low-wage factories in China and other Asian countries."

Outsourcing isn't always a bad thing; it's often necessary to be successful in a global market and Americans seem to the like the cheap stuff Dollar General sells. Moreover, Perdue's business career was a perfect fit for Ronald Reagan's Republican Party. Free trade has been a signature issue for the GOP for the last 50 years. So, that's not the point.

Since Trump's rise in 2016, Republicans have claimed that white rural voters supported his candidacy because of his policies to assist working class Americans that have been harmed by globalization. There is quite a bit of evidence that Trump's success with those voters had more to do with race and religion, but if you take them at their word, why in the world would Georgia Republicans support an outsourcing wizard? And, it's not that Perdue has tried to hide his free-trading credentials; he used to be proud of his close ties to China and fully embraced globalism.

Washington Post: "When Republican David Perdue ran for the Senate six years ago, he spoke proudly of his years as a corporate executive in Asia. He made no apologies for having said that he “spent most of my career” relying on the outsourcing of jobs. He fended off attacks that he had enriched himself as companies he led relied on offshore production, and he won the Georgia seat."

Perdue's Senate race with Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff is going to be close, probably very close, but if white working class voters really oppose globalism, if that's what actually motivates them, it shouldn't be. David Perdue's career represents everything they say they are against. He is the ultimate free-trader and he has proudly cut manufacturing costs by sending American jobs overseas.

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By: Don Lam & Curated Content