BOSTON — When it comes to interpreting the Democratic Party’s stance on international trade, the South Carolina delegation to the Democratic National Convention got a lesson in pragmatism from Inez Tenenbaum, the Democratic candidate running to fill Sen. Ernest “Fritz” Hollings’ seat.
Tenenbaum, who is running against Rep. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.), came to Boston to talk with delegates about her race.
“I’ve been to every Democratic convention since Jimmy Carter in 1976, and I think it’s important for people in your party to see you when you’re running for office,” said Tenenbaum, 53, who is state superintendent of education. “When I was in Boston earlier this week, we met in the Marriott Hotel, where the delegation is staying, and I spoke to them over breakfast. People need to understand the nuances of trade. You can be a progressive as I am, while at the same time understanding we should enforce the trade agreements we have in play, particularly with China and the GATT agreement and WTO.
“I think we ought to have quotas on apparel and textiles from China so we are not allowing them to dump and decimate the textile industry in South Carolina. We should extend to 2008 the quotas on apparel and textiles, and not let the quota come off China textiles, as they are scheduled to end by the end of this year.”
Tenenbaum said she forged strong relationships with local mill workers as state superintendent of education, working with the South Carolina Manufacturing Alliance as a partner in state education programs.
“I have approached trade in a real pragmatic, balanced way,” she said. “Our textile companies have been very supportive of education reform in the state.”
She cited Crandall Bowles, chairman and chief executive officer of Spring Industries; Roger W. Chastain, president of Mt. Vernon Mills in Spartanburg, and Smyth McKissick, president of Alice Mfg. in Greenville, as executives and firms with which she has worked. Tenenbaum is also hoping for support from Roger Milliken.
“He has been very supportive of education reform,” she said of the textile titan who has championed domestic manufacturing for years. “He hasn’t yet said who he will endorse,” said Tenenbaum, adding she is hopeful Milliken will support her.
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Most of all, Tenenbaum, a former attorney, is sure her views do not contradict those of presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry.
“I am talking about fair trade agreements, a level playing field and fair trade,” she said. “We’ve lost 56,000 textile jobs in South Carolina since 1994 when NAFTA was signed. Yes, Sen. Kerry is pro free trade, but he also said he would be a tiger at the WTO to enforce trade agreements and that’s what we’re saying. We need environmental and fair labor standards, and we need to have management of currency as part of restrictions enforced by the WTO. That doesn’t go against anything Kerry says about trade. People need to understand there is a lot of nuance. You need a managed approach and make sure American companies are getting the best deal in the agreement.”
As for her opponent, DeMint staked out a strong free-trade stance in June when he defeated former Gov. David Beasley in the Republican primary runoff in which Beasley attacked him for ignoring the plight of South Carolina mills and textile workers.