The new nativism.(Forward Observer: Politics meets economics)

Guess what these developments have Gin common?

* Immigration is quickly becoming the number-one issue of the 2006 Congressional campaign.

* CAFTA, an innocuous trade agreement with five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, last year passed the U.S. House by just one vote.

* Although there was no national security threat, Congress stopped the proposed purchase of Unocal, a California oil company, by CNOOC, a Chinese one.

* An uproar stopped a globally respected company based in the United Arab Emirates from taking over terminal operations in six U.S. ports--despite approval of the deal by intelligence agencies and the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security.

* Sentiment for a huge tariff on Chinese goods is running strong.

All are examples of the New Nativism, a reaction to globalization that shuts doors and limits access to what's foreign: people, goods, services, even ideas. It has thrived over the past decade in Europe with the rise of anti-immigrant parties and figures like Jose Bove, the French Farmer who campaigns against McDonald's and genetically modified foods.