Following two years of simmering controversy, the U.S. Senate last month voted to approve an international treaty opening up trade relations between the United States and the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador. As expected, the 54-45 vote fell more or less along party lines, with Sen. Mark Dayton voting against the measure and Sen. Norm Coleman for it. It might well have been a non-headline except for one thing: In the months leading up to the June 30 vote, in a rare breaking of ranks with the Republican Party, Coleman had loudly and adamantly... More >>>