Leadership Quote by David Bonior

Calling a trade deal “the Bobby Knight of trade deals” is a deliberately lowbrow, high-impact metaphor: it yanks an abstract policy fight into the realm of televised scandal. Knight, the legendary Indiana basketball coach, was also notorious for volatile, abusive behavior and for repeatedly being “given one more chance” by institutions that valued winning over accountability. Bonior exploits that cultural script to make a procedural vote feel like a moral test.

The intent is less about China than about America’s own self-deception. By framing the deal as an abuser who keeps getting forgiven, he insinuates that the agreement isn’t a fresh start or a hard-nosed bargain; it’s a pattern. The “you abuse, you abuse, you abuse” cadence works like a chant, mimicking how allegations accumulate over time until denial becomes implausible. The punchline - “we’ll let you try one more time” - isn’t optimism; it’s an indictment of the enabler. Bonior is aiming at colleagues ready to rationalize a risky arrangement because the economic upside is tempting and the political cost of saying no feels steep.

Context matters: late-1990s/2000-era debates over expanding trade with China (including China’s WTO entry and permanent normal trade relations) were sold as engagement that would encourage reform. Bonior, a labor-aligned Democrat, channels skepticism that market access would produce democratic or labor improvements, warning instead of rewarding bad behavior. The subtext: this deal normalizes leverage imbalance - not just with China, but within U.S. politics, where corporate incentives can turn “one more time” into policy doctrine.