Here’s President Bush calling for more free trade at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Peru:

Tell me: What do bank bailouts have to do with free trade?  What do auto industry bailouts have to do with free trade?  What do massive tariffs on imported biofuels even as we call for more domestic biofuel use have to do with free trade?

One of the most important aspects of free trade is the economic darwinism that goes along with it.  Companies with sound business strategies succeed.  Those without them fail, and ultimately the public at large with the billions of economic decisions they make daily decides which is which is which.  But when government gets involved it doesn’t work.  When banks that aren’t responsible about who they loan money to aren’t allowed to fail that bad credit inflates the economy.  When automakers with crappy labor contracts and crappy products aren’t allowed to fail those crappy labor contracts and crappy products continue to skew the market.  When one type of energy source is chosen over others by the political elite and given special status the market, which generally allows the best products to rise to the top, is skewed.

At some point we need to remind these politicians that free trade means free trade.  That means freedom to fail as well as freedom to succeed.  Republicans, especially, because for them free trade is supposed to be a plank in their platform.  That they talk free trade while doing otherwise is a big reason why they’ve been relegated to minority status in the halls of power.