Every once in a while, Julian Sanchez makes an excellent point. From Dobbsian Encounters:
One thing that never fails to piss me off about debating free trade is that you invariably will get a few halfwits out there who respond with something like: “Well, if your job were threatened like mine has been, you’d sing a different tune.” In other words, they’re advancing the notion that somehow when you’re nakedly advancing your own narrow interest in a public policy argument, you’ve somehow got an air of authenticity — somehow deserve to be taken more seriously rather than less. It doesn’t even occur to them that they ought to, you know, be ashamed at arguing like this.