since most voters don’t understand economics very well and don’t realize how economically destructive they are. They allow governments to favor certain special interest groups and curry favor from them, and to redistribute income, in a way that is less obvious and transparent to most voters.

Reagan was a committed free trader. Not everything he did was perfect, of course, but I’m sure he’s been rolling over in his grave as he’s watched his party ditch free trade and devolve into a party of big-government protectionists over the last decade.