Romney finds something to slap Reagan's name on

In all the mush to be found in the presumptive GOP nominee's campaign pledges, Mitt Romney's Plan for a Stronger Middle Class is the mushiest.

It's a tract filled with bumpersticker slogans like "energy independence" whose paltry details don't include even a hint of how this is to be achieved other than clearing the path for more fossil fuelery. And then there's the chicken-in-every-pot stuff that would embarrass a cliché: "Give every family access to a great school and quality teachers." Yowser.

But the crème de la merde in this huckster's "plan" has got to be the "Reagan Economic Zone."

Of course, every Republican office-holder from now until the 23rd century must name something after the 40th president. Ronzo himself must be groaning in his grave every time his moniker gets stuck on something else. The only surprise is that Reagan fetishism has yet to garner its own television channel. Or perhaps there is one and my cable provider has failed me.

The Bain buccaneer, big thinker that he is, wants to put the GOP icon's name on something really big even though the Great Communicator probably couldn't an wrangle endorsement from the tea party these days. So he came up with the Reagan Economic Zone. It's not new. He's been hawking this idea for 11 months.

The idea is that the zone will encompass nations around the world that commit themselves to free markets and free trade. The Reagan Economic Zone would be a 'powerful magnet that draws in an expanding circle of nations seeking greater access to other markets.' This would, of course, exclude China and Russia but not Israel even though the latter, with its universal health care, is probably more socialist these days than either of those two giants.

Romney's plan is nonsense. But give it credit for being grandiose nonsense.

He is apparently unaware that there is already an organization dedicated to liberalizing access to markets around the world. It's called the World Trade Organization. It has big problems, not the least of which is the pain it causes American workers. Not a few environmental and worker advocates believe the WTO ought to be eviscerated and something more human- and planet-friendly put in its place. But despite the critics' accurate assessment, the organization is the culmination of decades of trade diplomacy and provides a multilateral forum for nations to bring their issues to be sorted out. That's very attractive to world leaders and businesspeople. Nobody wants to be left out of the club even if the dues are onerous and the bylaws pernicious.

A Reagan Economic Zone could be counted on to espouse even worse free trade and free-from-regulation policies than the WTO, no doubt much to Romney and his cronies' liking. But against an international entity hammered together over 60 years, the R.E.Z. has little chance of attracting many members. Like most of the rest of Romney's proposals, this one is pure boilerplate. Exactly what you'd expect from a life-long political cipher whose best feature, according to Grover Norquist, is that he'll sign whatever is put in front of him.