I absolutely agree with you 100%. Free trade has destroyed the steel industry in Eastern Ohio and Western PA. If Palin took the side of Reagan Democrats on this issue, it would be to our benefit as a country.
Why should Americans be forced to buy expensive steel from inefficient, overtaxed, overregulated domestic suppliers?
Why do you want taxpayers to pay for a vast addition to the welfare state, in the shape of featherbedded steelworkers?
Protectionist trade policies are what allowed unions to flourish and turned the US auto industry into the abomination that it is today. There’s no incentive for efficiency or improvement. As you fall behind more and more you just cry to the government for more protection. Meanwhile, it’s American consumers who are paying the price.
What you’re advocating is a nanny state for business.