Why was McCain really in Colombia?

So now McCain is not just touting the potential free trade deal with Colombia, he is saying that the alternative is “protectionism and isolationism [that] were a major factor in one of the greatest depressions in the modern history for this country.”
OK, so what’s wrong with McCain’s latest rhetoric?

1. Before becoming the GOP nominee, McCain would talk a lot about creating jobs for US workers. Now that he's the nominee, he has embraced the party platform of outsourcing jobs to increase profits.
   


2. Free trade is a race to the bottom – whomever exploits and impoverishes their workers the most gets the most money. FAIR trade is the correct alternative. That gets you the products you want at the lowest possible price, but without exploiting workers.
   


3. Fear mongering, that standard Republican talking point – if you don’t go along with our political agenda, Armageddon will occur. Somehow I doubt that if we fail to pass the free trade scheme with Colombia that the US will plunge into a new Great Depression.
   


4. If you speak out in favor of workers’ rights in Colombia, you or your family become likely targets for violence and assassination. Workers are extremely oppressed and attempts at organizing for labor rights are met with extreme violence. The Colombian people would benefit from fair trade. Free trade will benefit the oligarchy and the thugs.
   


5. Free trade of cocaine trafficking is a bad idea, and that’s exactly what would happen if impediments to the drug trade were removed under the hopes of making trade more open. Sure, a lot of money could be made from this, but drugs are not the answer.
   


6. McCain took this position after polls showed that this would sound favorable to US Hispanic voters. Previously he had admitted that he is not particularly knowledgeable on matters of economics. It would be better to learn economic lessons from economists, rather than political polls.