Dealergate and the MSM
I talked about Dealergate on Fox and Friends this morning. Will try and get the video clip up later today. I made sure to credit bloggers Doug Ross and Joey Smith, who took the lead in probing the relationship between political considerations and Chrysler dealerships targeted for closure, also Hot Air, which is where the F&F producer saw the story.
The bloggers are continuing their intriguing work. Doug has a new post here shedding more light on Mack McLarty/Robet Johnson’s dealerships. Joey has more info on Lithia Motors here.
As I’ve stated from the beginning, there is still much to be researched on this issue. Given Obama’s Chicago gangland propensities, anything corrupt is possible.
Some professional journalists, however, have shown obstinate unwilligness to get to the bottom of the decision-making process.
The Washington Post’s business columnist Steven Pearlstein was asked about the story yesterday in an online Q&A. He scoffed:
Boonsboro, Md.: A bit off the topic, but have you or anyone at the Post investigated this? Chrysler dealers shut down in Obama bankruptcy are mostly Republican? It seems a crosscheck of dealerships to be closed versus donations shows almost all the dealers to be closed donated to Republicans. http://hotair.com/
Steven Pearlstein: Oh, please. What percent of all auto dealers are Republican? I bet its (sic) pretty high.
Well, why don’t you use all your professional journalism training and find out the answer, Mr. Pearlstein? And why don’t you look at the flip side of the question — as “amateur” bloggers have been doing — and investigate the circumstances of the protected dealers?
Pearlstein is not alone in dismissing the blogosphere out of hand. The impulse to denigrate blogs is borne of professional protectionism.
Ace reflects on the conservative blog-MSM dynamic:
Here’s a dilemma for conservatives. The MSM will not investigate any of these claims, ever. So what is a conservative to do? If a conservatives admit that this line of inquiry seems unlikely to turn up malfeasance, the MSM uses such statements as pretexts to not bother to even check, and uses such statements against conservatives who are agitating for additional investigation — “Even conservatives think this is unlikely, so you guys are obviously crazy…”
Of course I want this looked into, of course. It’s my guess it’s a non-story, not my expert opinion.
But the MSM is so ridiculously biased that they make honesty a dangerous and politically counterproductive business.
The only way to even get the MSM to do their jobs and take a look is to pressure them by claiming Worst Scandal Eveh, even if we don’t all necessarily buy that. But we have to claim that in order to spur any sort of media interest whatsoever. (That interest, of course, coming in the form of stories like Conservatives Now So Crazy They Think Obama Is Closing Chrysler Dealerships for Political Advantage, which isn’t exactly the headline we seek, but that’s the best we can hope for from the MSM.)
A few quick points: I do think that eventually, the MSM will come around to investigating. If they find anything at all that confirms the politicizing of the process, they’ll either whitewash it, downplay it, or take credit for exposing it with little or no credit to the bloggers who first started digging. They’ll also ignore the fact that some of us early on have made the caveat from the start not to make too-broad claims.
I also don’t think it’s necessary to over-sell the story in order to get more mainstream coverage. The fact is, Missouri senators have already pressed the White House for more transparency on the closure decision-making process.
Do the rest of the MSM’s business journalists take Pearlstein’s arrogant “Oh, please” position that the answers are not even worth pursuing?
***
Jim Hoft has further info/commentary.
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That might also be an interesting point to look into….
Never mind that the Constitution provides the government with no authority to close private businesses that are operating within the parameters of legality.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/les-leopold/fear-and-looting-in-ameri_b_208153.html
O/T but is this were we are heading? Stripping all rich people of any money over 100 million???
Marxism.
The MSM is too busy following those important, hard-hitting, vital stories like, what other pictures did Miss California pose for? What else “enchants” Duh One about the Presidency? Just how high is Duh One’s approval rating among illegal aliens? How will Colin Powell beat Rush Limbaugh in this war of words?
I’ve been racking my little brain for some notion of contract or bankruptcy law that would allow a party to a franchise contract to selectively abrogate duties under the contract, especially when the parties targeted were net income producers (as I assume independent dealers would largely have to be).
I can’t think of any. This makes absolutely no sense to me.
THAT, for a journalist of any professional integrity and curiosity, SHOULD BE ENOUGH.
When you find something that makes no sense, THAT IS A BIG, FAT RED FLAG.
I think it may be wise to avoid politicizing this argument for the time being. It seems as though there is a highly motivated grassroots movement trying to sort this out on their own. If this issue is going to grow legs, let it come out with facts and not political rhetoric flung by those who simply want to be in the news.
This could be the incentive for people to act, not just sit on the sidelines.
Thanks for saying it better than I could.
Regardless of how the dealer issue plays out as data is correlated, there still is the major point about the priorities they are trying to shift around as to bond holders and such.
I would be totally surprised if the bankruptcy court reverses on well settled law as to the pecking order for how people are ordered for recovery of their investments.
Thank you for the high compliment.
Investors Business Daily on the bond holder issues
There is nothing professional about them.
MSM: “Hey, it looks like Susan Boyle is having a meltdown!”
Actually, the manufacturers spend a lot of money on dealerships. There are incentives on the cars themselves, marketing and branding incentives, and financing of cars and parts in inventory.
Judging from what I’ve read, I’d guess that they are removing dealerships that cost more than they produce for the manufacturer, which doesn’t mean that the dealership itself isn’t profitable.
They may also be excluding certain politically connected dealerships from consideration and possibly removing a few just for payback, but I guarantee that it won’t be enough for an investigation to pan out.
As far as adding new dealerships, they may be using this as an opportunity to expand into areas where there was previously a right of first refusal conflict or similar legal or financial obstacle that bankruptcy has removed.
Personally, I want to know who is making the cutting decisions and what criteria they’re using.
The owner of our local Chrysler dealership (very successful, long time in the community) has been running ads urging folks to contact the White House and Congress to protest. I can’t remember if it was his ad, or elsewhere that I heard that dealerships don’t cost Chrysler money, in fact they MAKE money for Chrysler b/c of yearly franchise fees(?), even if they never sell a single car.
Something smells ROTTEN.
Pearlstein might dismiss bloggers out of hand (what is HE doing with a blog, if that’s the case, undermining his own omniprescience?), but before long the useless fishwrap that’s the Washington Post might end up dismissing HIM as well, since their stock is falling along with their sales.
“Something smells ROTTEN.”
Sorry but if you think you are smelling something rotten now you have not been paying attention all along.
Politicizing, closing successful dealerships, leaving open dealerships of folks on “his” side is quite consistent with everything Obama has said and done since day 1.
Its not rotten so much as it is simply the norm for him and his Jeremiah Wright kind of thinking.
In Establishment-Speak:
In English:
“Even
conservativesVichy Republicans think this is unlikely, so you guys are obviously crazy…”That is the role for today’s GOP and they are eagerly falling over themselves to accommodate. For the GOP, conservatism is a fund-raising principle, not a governing principle.
John D….
The problem with your insight is it presumes there is some formalized plan that actually makes some economical sense. There is no economic or business sense to the dealings of Mr. Obama. It is political, socialist, Jeremiah Wright “sense” that explains Obama’s actions.
Your attempt to look at car dealership closings from sort of business perspective is flawed from the outset because this is NOT what is happening. This is not about business/profit/success.
I just think it’s hilarious clowns like Steven Pearlstein in the MSM would forgo the ultimate career accolades one would think a news tool would be looking t achieve in place of Obama worship and lifetime protection.
Did anyone ever find out why the GM CEO was fired, but not the Chrysler CEO???
jsmiddleton, I have never doubted for even a single second that Obama and the shadowy figures that he surrounds himself with have only one goal – to destroy America. That is why whenever I hear pundits speak about his “naivete” or “intentions” I yell at the TV “HE IS NOT TRYING TO HELP ANYTHING!!” The notion that Presidents past have at least had a semblance of acting in the country’s best interests has evaporated with this new tyranny, ushered in by the apathy and self-indulgence of too many.
Believe me, things have smelled to high heaven for a LONG time.
Well done, Michelle!
All of this sleeze needs exposure.
One of the big pieces being left out of this auto industry dialog is the role of credit institutions. Car dealerships in general are not in the business of selling cars. They, like many other “businesses” are in the business of selling financing. To that end the loans that are floated to dealerships by banks and finance companies are huge. The typical car “buying” experience is nothing but shuffling cards on the table in terms of who is paying back debt.
So finance company “B” floats the dealership a bazillion dollars in credit to sit those hundreds of cars on their big lot for us to buy. We go in and “buy” a car and guess which finance company our car loan is most often steered to? Not always of course.
Its a parasitic relationship and the finance dance in terms of every aspect of it in today’s car industry is a big part of the mess we are in now.
Yet it gets very little coverage and explanation. At least I don’t hear it or see it.
jsm #18,
You said it better than I.
Saw O-BOZO bragging about his 1st 4 months as PREZ… You have got to be kidding me!!! Saw FULL PAGE AD in my RAG this AM, defending the closure of some dealers of CHRYSLER… Signed on by a bunch of CHRYSLER DEALERS… I wonder who paid for this piece of PROPAGANDA??? As to MSM ignoring this story, what more do you expect from them??? Expect to see someone out there directing traffic… KEEP MOVING, MOVE ALONG NOW, NOTHING TO SEE HERE, KEEP MOVING… If we don’t kick some MAJOR BUTT in 2010, we are in for a TOUGH ROW TO HOE… Elections have CONSEQUENCES!!!
Agreed. I hope by “we” you mean “conservatives” and not “Republicans.”
Every bit of that is wrong. No component of cost listed goes away if a dealer has the store or the the manufacturer has the store.
Additionally, while the builder will “floor” cars and trucks sometimes, I think that virtually all parts inventory and most vehicle inventory is paid for by the dealers. COD.
Excellent point. The auto industry problem is really an extension of the banking industry meltdown that is mostly a government corruption story.
I was pointing out the fact that dealerships are also a cost to the manufacturer. If you’ll notice I ended my comment with this:
If they can’t or won’t give up this information, or the actuality doesn’t match their criteria, then a Congressional investigation is in order.
Then again, we have seen some pretty ballsy actions against the Constitution and the rule of law lately.
“- to destroy America.”
I am going to offer you a different point of view on that. When Obama says he is committed to doing what it best for America and Americans I believe him. He is dead set on doing what is best for what HE defines, what HIS vision is for America. When he says he is working towards a better America, he is.
What was lacking in the campaign and is still lacking today is for someone to nail him on his definition of “America”. One of the reasons I’m looking forward to this current Justice hearing is IF some Republicans will grow a spine we will see for ourselves what Obama’s definition of “America” is.
Most of America won’t like it. Most of America will act surprised as if they are just learning something “new” about Obama.
He is working towards building the America he envisions. He and lots of others. The perfect utopian dream of the left and all that America means to him and his buds.
I do not agree that he is intentionally attempting to destroy America. He is attempting to make America into what he and lots of others define as “America”.
That America is different than the America we as conservatives want. Different than our founders wanted. The sad reality is however that the America Obama wants is not that much different that what America has been for a couple of decades. Obama is just taking what has been for some time and turning up the heat if you will.
One reason why I think the fight is going to get much worse before it gets better. Its not like we have a bunch of people who are sold on conservative ideas in our country. We even have former “leaders” of the Republican party being Democrats and then complaining that we call them Democrats as in Colin Powell for an example.
This car dealership issue and the coming Supreme Court Justice thing are all going to be quite interesting to continue to watch.
“I was pointing out the fact that dealerships are also a cost to the manufacturer.”
And I was pointing out that “cost” is irrelevant. “Cost” assumes the decision is being made in a context of “business”. It is not. “Cost” is irrelevant. Putting “cost” in the formula assumes a type of decision, a context for the decision, that is flawed.
Nothing about this decision has anything to do with business, cost, profit, etc.
So to speculate that well maybe “cost” to the car industry is a factor in the decision making process is flawed because COST is irrelevant.
“I want to know who is making the cutting decisions and what criteria they’re using.”
Wouldn’t that be nice. Wouldn’t it be nice if they did what they said they were going to do and that is track all the money in the stimulus package so we as tax payer could know where the money went.
Neither are going to happen.
Since when has the rule of law meant anything to the liberals. It will not be long and the government will be shutting down all businesses it doesn’t like.I don’t see much help for business coming from the Republicans either. All you have to do is listen to the GOP strategist and you will know why.
“I don’t see much help for business coming from the Republicans either. All you have to do is listen to the GOP strategist and you will know why.”
A sad reality.
jsmiddleton, again well put. I am perhaps extending the point that his redefinition of America is one of destruction. He may perhaps truly believe he is being altruistic and patriotic by taking us down the path that we have been sliding into for some time. But I simply don’t believe that he is trying to make a “better” America. I believe that he is guided by insidious, self-serving motives, and not by a grand idea of what America can be. Remember Michelle O’s statement: “For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country.” If she wasn’t proud until then, how did she feel about America? I have no doubt that her husband echoes that bitter sentiment in his heart, despite his flowery words and despite the many opportunities afforded him by this great country. He has chosen to surround himself with evil, angry, destructive people who have been and continue to be his mentors. This is a deliberate choice, a path of destruction rather than true greatness that will, if unchecked, destroy this country.
Let’s say the manufacturer is spending $10,000 on advertising in the dealer’s market, and $5,000 on marketing materials (brochures, banners, etc.) and the dealer receives a $2,000 incentive for each new car and the manufacturer makes $4,000 profit on each car. If the dealer only sells 2 cars, that is a net loss of $11,000 to the manufacturer. Now let’s say the manufacturer is financing those cars and the dealer is paying floor plan interest. The manufacturer now has thousands of dollars tied up in inventory at a time when he needs cash to make payroll and credit at that level is hard to come by.
Then there’s the subject of warranty work. Great for the dealerships, not so great for the manufacturers. Not to mention the number of people who won’t seek warranty work because there isn’t a dealership close enough any more.
There are hundreds of items to consider. It isn’t a simple cut and dry equation, which is exactly why I said we need to see the criteria and who is applying it. The potential for revenge/preferential treatment is there and there are already accusations. Exposing that information is the only thing that will clear it up. Of course, the Dems know that time and a complicit MSM make all scandals go away.
But, but… this is the most transparent administration evah!
“destroy this country.”
I’m going to take the long view, not the short term view. In the long run the hurt Obama and his buds are already doing to this country will not destroy this country. The end result will be a good outcome as people get a true taste of what they have been told for years they want, feel like they want, think they want, and when they finally get it, taste it, see what it actually looks like, will reject socialism and leftistism and get back to the values of our founders and regain true freedom.
There is hope. And that hope is easiest to see when taking a long term view.
We are not doomed, not headed for destruction, it isn’t “over”. This is a proverbial bump in the road.
That is how I see it too. His camp sees free markets as evil. They have not been enlightened about the virtues of well-regulated market-pricing mechanisms. They see greed openly expressed and pretend it only exists in free markets. A well-regulated market counter balances that greed with fear. It’s the fear part that has been missing and which is now being soothed without fixing the problems. Socialists are always gaining power by “kissing the boo-boo” when the patient has a broken back.
Obama is no different than the doctor who injects an injured professional athlete with a pain killer so he can keep playing. The athlete may not feel the pain, but he IS injured and shouldn’t be playing.
If Team Obama (including the Vichy Republicans) don’t start fixing something soon, they will soon discover that anesthetizing a patient only delays the inevitable and makes it worse.
Me too John, especially the criteria for the Buddy of the Clintonistas on how he managed to hold onto his…..
gee, I wonder….. lmao
this admin is a giant clusterfudge, any dope can spend money and Odopey is the king.
http://www.abanet.org/publiced/hispanic_s.html
O/T the new supreme court nominee is a member of LA RAZA.
The hispanic KKK.
The pendulum always swings. The further left they push it, the faster it will swing back.
“That is how I see it too.”
One of the things I did not, and continue to not understand, is the way conservatives picked McCain apart on this or that issue and at the same time lost sight of this bigger matter in terms of governing. McCain’s definition of or view of “America” is solidly conservative. Sorry but it is. Did he do some stuff that leads one to scratch his proverbial head? Sure. Absolutely.
The vision or definition of America is a much bigger deal in terms of how a President conducts himself, policy decisions, etc. Just why it is Republicans and conservatives could not support a person whose vision of America was and still is sympathetic with their own and instead risked allowing someone with Obama’s view of America to take the White house is still beyond my understanding.
Hopefully the pain we and our country are experiencing because of it will fix the kind of thinking on our parts that led to it happening.
Doubtful though.
Obama is working very constructively to accomplish what he and others envision “America” to be. In their minds what they are attempting to accomplish is the best America imaginable. So when they act all hostile about any resistance to their attempts, that hostility is sincere and deeply felt.
Conservatives need to wake up to that and realize what we are dealing with.
Gotta wonder just how many conservatives are equally committed to the conservative world view so as to generate the same level of emotions and response in the face of opposition?
John, I KNOW you are smarter than to say what you did!
Every cost to the manufacturer is present if you remove the local independent dealer from the picture! Possibly excepting any purely local advertising the maker does, which I think is negligible.
Makers have the inventory costs, now matter where their products happen to sit. If anything, the dealer network helps them to buffer those costs by paying for inventory when delivered.
Warranty work is a liability to the maker, no matter who does it.
As in where are the conservative leaders screaming about this car dealership closing process? Where are they?
If it were conservatives in power and we were closing ONE abortion clinic, you can imagine the outcry.
Yet there is silence. Makes one wonder.
According to her profile at the ABA website, Sonia Sotomayor litigated automobile dealer relations law. Apparently, she is also a member of the National Council of La Raza.
Interesting.
“Possibly excepting any purely local advertising the maker does, which I think is negligible.”
It is enough to keep local TV and radio stations on the air. Not sure negligible is the right word. The impact of that loss of revenue is yet to be fully felt locally. Just you wait Henry Higgins, just you wait.
Wonder what local folks will do when their local affiliates can’t afford to keep on the air and so General Hosptial, Days of Our Lives, Jerry Springer and Oprah are off the air?????
Damn, John!!! That is just silly! Are you saying that auto-makers pay for all local advertising? NO contribution from the locals???? That radio and TV rely exclusively on AUTO DEALERSHIP ads to stay alive????
If this reporter were a REPORTER, he would investigate, no matter where the trail started. Lazy? I suppose so. But it’s also sad that he has no intellectual curiosity. I believe the President is a micro-manager and that somehow he has had a say in what businesses stay open. He has no experience with business but, he can’t resist playing King-maker. It fits his personality. Wonder if he’ll just turn his attention to `more pressing matters’ when it fails? He won’t care though. More people will have to come hat-in-hand to HIS Gov’t, his Creation. The megalomania is on the rise.
We can’t trust President Obama’s motives (he seems to have an alterior motive for everything) so EVERY issue should be investigated…not with bias. We would lower ourselves to the level of the opposition. Hey, we have a clear field. The MSM won’t start this. `Some things you do for those who come after you..’ Our duty has ever been to leave this Country better than we found it. The battle is on. We cannot sit back and throw spit balls or water balloons. And I for one do not intend to…
“Damn, John!!! That is just silly!”
Not sure who John is but the answer to your question is “yes” and it is not silly.
One of our local radio stations, an oldie but goldie station, has been around for ever. I mean ever. I dare say 90 percent of its advertising is local car dealerships.
When the money dries up from advertising because dealerships are closed down, local TV and radio is going to take a big hit.
That’s not rocket science.
I think we have reached a point where the far-lefties in complete control can do whatever they want. Doesn’t matter how illegal or just plain wrong their actions are, nor whether they admit to the actions…or not.
Generally, they just deny everything and keep on going left at warp speed. The few that care are left discussing the last insult to America, while the next ones are happening and/or being planned.
Very depressing.
JD and JS, agreed. I don’t believe all is lost, only that Obama’s motives are NOT what he believes is in the best interest of this country.
Let’s hope the pendulum swings pretty quickly.
I really don’t want to rehash last year’s election but I completely disagree with your assessment on McCain and the GOP. McCain is notable only for his habit of fighting like a champ to get the ball at the one-yard line only to deliver victory to the opposition and become a hero for the liberals, “the maverick”.
If you haven’t noticed, conservatives are doing much better without the GOP. All of the things the noseholders are complaining about regarding Obama started under Bush and/or once were known as “McCain/Kennedy”, McCain/Leiberman”, “McCain/Feingold” or some other mavericky monicker.
Let’s move on. Most of us who post here are conservatives, not Republicans. You submit excellent commentary. Why not free yourself of the tiresome baggage and join the winning side? The GOP is only going to survive if it rids itself of its current corrupt leadership. Don’t make it harder by defending them.
Using your logic, it would be advantageous to have as many dealerships as possible.
I understand your point, but in practice it’s not the same as in theory. Kind of like how it’s easier to write 1 $1000 check than 1000 $1 checks. What’s the difference? It’s still $1000.
We also haven’t discussed other incentives. Audi has the Business Basics Bonus which is a per dealer cost and I know other manufacturers have similar programs. How else do you think dealerships can sell fleet cars for $150 over cost?
In any case, this seems to be a political decision disguised as a business decision and that’s what’s important.
Bob, don’t be depressed. I believe there were a fair number of Voters that didn’t like that McCain was our Party Champion (but pls remember Party Chairs opened up Primaries to all). I do think there were a fair number of Bring-It-All-Down-Man votes for Obama. Have you noticed how quickly the Obama bumper stickers have dissapeared? (I live in the Bay Area and political bumper stickers USUALLY abound. And one would think that after such a miraculous event, they would have stayed longer. Only a hardy few remain). I have seen the Political Class in this State shake in their shoes. All is not lost. Remember Congress backstepped on immigration? that was just in the last few months.
Let not your heart be troubled.
The GOP seems to think it doesn’t need us conservatives, until they are trying to shake us down for some $$$.
I disagree. I believe all is lost at this point. 100+million americans are brainwashed into believing every word the media says. The media is completely controlled by the liberals.
Obamas intentions are to destroy America in that he will do whatever it takes to make his own godhood by taking whatever he can steal from the American people, dropping this nation into sub-third world status in the process, while committing racial genocide of anyone perceived as white.
It would take an absolutely bizarre and miraculous recovery in 2010 elections just to make sure we have a 2012 election (which I firmly believe we will not see). In the event that the American people suddenly become un-brainwashed and elect a *real* conservative as president in 2012 (if it happened), it would take 16 years of hardcore conservative presidency and dominance in congress to even make a dent in the damage that has been done. Especially since they would have the ultra left Supreme Court to deal with.
There is no peaceful way out of this situation.
Why does any conservative, regardless of party affiliation, think it is the MSM’s “job” to report cronyism, corruption, malfeasance/misfeasance of office, lies, disclosure of government secrets, etc.?
Where are all the patriotic Americans hiding? Are they all cowering in fear, worrying about what those in opposition will say or do to them should they speak out, or better yet, take legal action in appropriate venues?
I’m no Constitutional lawyer, but, correct me if I’m wrong, the Founding Fathers created a Document that was purposely written for the common man to be able to read, and comprehend. They didn’t use the language of trickery, or legalese to hide “special rights,” or questionable interpretations. Did they?
I strongly believe the language used to write our founding document, the U.S. Constitution, is clear in it’s meaning. It says, what it says. The only reason anyone would try to re-interpret it’s words, is to try and bend the meaning to support a special cause. For example, the greatly despised Second Amendment. It’s intent is blatantly obvious. The public must have the right to defend themselves from criminals, harvest game to feed their families, and to protect themselves from governmental tyranny. The last being the most important (Many of our forefathers fled the tyranny in Europe, and fought the Revolutionary War against a tyrannical King.)
Any person with a lick of sense can see what’s happening in our government. The change we were promised has taken form. Victimhood is celebrated anew. Gone is personal responsibility and accountability. The politics of race, sex, and emotion rule the day. The Destroyers of Democracy have turned America into a country of victimized, immoral simpletons, who believe they are entitled to the wealth created by others, and distributed by the government. The U.S. government is rapidly approaching a vile, ever-criticized condition of governance called “Fascism.”
The liberals are always quick to point to certain Republicans, and call them Fascists, apparently not understanding what the state of Fascism actually is. The most overlooked aspect of Fascism is that “the people” are allowed to own businesses, but the government tells them how to run them. Today, Obama and his Democrat buddies are doing what…?
I think many here believe that those in power are daily violating the Constitution, despite each and every one of them, swearing an oath to “support and defend” it. Why are they being allowed to do it? Where are the Defenders of Freedom and the American way?
I pray that some patriotic Americans, get some “stones”, and use every legal method at their disposal to indict these criminals. Put America first for a change! The conservative knows that without liberty, they will have no future…Newt…Milt…Sarah…Bobby…and any other conservative “servant” need to take action NOW! Not after they have their forums taken away and criminalized.
I apologize for bloviating…I’m just a little p*ssed.
So now there’s a story that may uncover political motivation behind the termination of certain individuals. In the face of this, the MSM and Dems have NO INTEREST in looking further into this.
Wait a minute. Back when they thought there was a story behind Fmr. President Bush and politically motivated dismissals of federal prosecutors, the Dems and the MSM were ALL OVER IT!.
And those firings were purely at the president’s discretion and therefore a non-issue. The same can not be said for these dealership closings. The Oval office has no say in the matter.
I hope when Dems are back in the minority, the Republicans grow a spine and make the Dems pay for their despicable behavior.
They do if:
1. They’re Hope-a-Dope supporters; and
2. They already suspect they wouldn’t like the answers.
But that’s what the donkey media have been all about since Hope-a-Dope threw his hat in the ring. They see their job not to “inform” the electorate, but to get donks past the electorate.
And if that means turning a Nelsonian Eye toward eyebrow-raising evidence of Hope-a-Dope’s gangsterism, then that’s what they’ll do. If donks will be donks before they are Americans, then it’s easy for donk “journalists” to be donks before they’ll be objective professionals.
You know, after the 2004 election I had the exact same hope…
ACORN = Obama’s Brown Shirts.
Black Panthers = Obama’s Gestapo.
JonB, it’s one thing to recognize the plain truth of the situation, but another to allow that truth to dictate your emotional state. We must recognize the enemy before we can defeat him. But recognizing means taking hold of these awful truths and not letting them take hold of us.
Contrary to some of the above, I don’t think they’re out to “destroy the country” at the moment. They are out to destroy the Republican Party, which is part of the reason they went after Wall Street and the auto companies (especially the dealers), the number one and two sources of campaign funds for Republican candidates.
Very true, and well stated.
Fascist economics is galloping forward now.
It has to be stopped.
The whole plan to “cut dealerships” shows how the car executives have lost power completely. In a world without Obama they would cut no delarships no matter how bad off their companies were.
As one of the closing Chrysler dealers correctly pointed out, Chrysler makes a profit off him even if he never sells a car. There are dealer fees he pays to Chrysler.
To get out of a financial hole you need to sell cars. How do you sell cars when you chop 1/3 of your dealers (who are of no cost) and cut advertising by 1/2? It is in a word; INSANE.
I have said this before and I am dead serious. These are the same people who managed to lose 18 million dollars in 7 years running the Capitol restaraunt. Obama has NEVER spent a day in the private sector. These clowns think they can manage two major corporations? Laughable!
Just load up on Toyota and Honda stock and enjoy the good life courtesy of The One!
The next sector of the economy to be collectivized is HEALTH-CARE.
“Don’t make it harder by defending them.”
You need to read a bit closer Phil.
“These clowns think they can manage two major corporations?”
Again the reminder about context in terms of who these folks are. You come from a point of view that carries many assumptions. A practice which leaves conservatives looking like deer in a set of headlights over and over. Your assumption is Obama thinks in a similar fashion as yourself in regards to things like running General Motors. Your question is moot. Remember the way he wants to run GM, health care, the financial institution IS successful. His definition of success is 180 degrees different than success in the private sector has been defined for generations. It is bad and evil that people make a lot of money. It is success when there is no one that appears to be taking advantage of the little guy. If the “little guy” is poor and broke its because someone took advantage of him/her.
Equal and widely distributed poverty is a good thing because everyone is equally poor and destitute.
It is a good thing in the minds of Obama and his kind that they have no experience nor success in the private sector. That lack of experience pads their resume, not reduces its impact.
We really have got to get way back to beginning or basic assumptions IF we are going to take Obama and the left on. We use the same words and even concepts on the right and the left but they mean very different things.
Until we get what they mean and offer valid and understandable arguments to their core beliefs from which their actions stem we will not make any progress.
Again the hearing for La Raza’s pick for the Supreme Court is a great opportunity to start this defining and illuminating process. I sure hope someone has the guts to do so.
Forgive me if this has been discussed already. I haven’t had time to read all the comments, but I will!! Speaking of the MSM not covering huge stories, Glen Beck has one of the biggest stories of the century regarding ACORN and its tenacles into so many areas that it is frightening. He has a flow chart and it isn’t finished yet. He is begging real true journalists to pick up this story and run with it. The roads all lead to huge corruption, ending in the Obama administration. Can the MSM possibly contain a story like this? Why would they want to? I mean, this is so big and so corrupt, you would think even those idiots would want it stopped! What has Obama got on these morons that they have to cover for him all the time? Are they scared of him, or do they really think he is this great guy? I am really floored by this!
jsmiddleton: If I misread you, I apologize. I tend to read these things intermittently and on the fly (busy at work). I just wanted to make it clear that we seem to be on the same side and if you are still sore over last year’s election, you shouldn’t be. Those of us who are centered on being conservatives (not clear to me whether you are) aren’t as dismayed as those whose perception is tied to the success/failure of the GOP.
The GOP is waging open warfare against us conservatives which makes it easy for most, but not all, to make the emotional break. It is very liberating to be defending my principles without having to worry about hurting the feelings of Republicans.
If you agree with that, then we are on the same page.
Right on – so well said (you’re not bloviating)and exactly what I’m thinking! And, thank jsmiddleton for your very astute and pointed posts that I also agree with. I am wondering why the RNC is not all over this Chrysler dealership story in terms of the Obama administration violating the Constitution. Show me where it says in that great document that Government has ANY right to determine how private enterprise operates. This government is taking apart free enterprise one rung at a time. But, let not your heart be troubled. One greater than ourselves is in charge.
“intermittently and on the fly (busy at work)”
Me too. Hence some of my embarrassing spelling and verb tense agreement errors.
We do not need the GOP. The idea that embracing and holding on to and acting consistently with conservative ideals is a bad thing cause it will make the GOP a smaller tent is another one of those conclusion that is fraught with invalid assumptions. It is the GOP and the media pushing the “truth” of it.
It is not true. Conservativism stands on its own and when folks follow it, show it, teach it, hold themselves, government and business to it as a ideal and practice, we all prosper. It is self evident.
A country having to periodically go through turmoil to get back to its roots is not new. We are in the middle of that process now. The seeds of the belief system that started beginning of the current turmoil were planted with FDR and have been growing ever since.
All systems when thrown out of balance tend to want to re-balance themselves. We will re-balance and the weight the truth of conservatisim represents will be the force that re-balances our country and our future. It is NOT a time to be depressed. It is a time for hope, work and educating both ourselves, our friends and our families. It is a great time to be alive and to be a conservative. The days ahead may not be comfortable. They will however be of tremendous value.
“Show me where it says in that great document that Government has ANY right to determine how private enterprise operates.”
Sure hope someone asks that exact same question to Ms. Sotomayer……
Of course, you will search the plain meaning of the Constitution in vain for any such power.
HOWEVER, as I’ve said here before, the Commerce Clause was gutted during the FDR administration. There WAS a Constitutional revolution in this country at that time, and all precedent interpretation of that clause was REVERSED in one sweeping decision by a cowed Supreme Court.
Following that, there was…and is…virtually NO limit to what the central government may not do in the name of regulation. We sat more or less passively as Congress dictated to us how many gallons of water our toilets could use, what equipment our cars must have or could not have, etc.
What we are seeing is only the incremental…albeit very fast…extension of the same impulse.
The other thing that while sad is also good news in all this. Just how many folks, some with money to support campaigns, is Obama pissing off? How many folks are losing jobs, businesses, etc., losses that are squarely on Obama’s shoulders?
Talk about a voter block…..
Don’t necessarily disagree Rag but what Obama is doing via the executive branch is sticking its nose into the judicial branches turf. The executive is in essence structuring bankruptcies. That is not in any way constitutional.
This is not rocket science. If the dealership closures are nonpartisan, and the majority of dealers are Republican, then BOTH the dealers targeted for closure AND the protected dealerships will be mostly Republican. The easy way to check this is to see which percentage of Democratic dealers are being closed versus the percentage of Republican dealers being closed. The percentages should be similar. If the Republican dealerships are being closed at a higher percentage, then indeed there is discrimination going on. My money’s on discrimination.
True, but then NONE of it is Constitutional…!!!!
We left the Constitution behind us decades ago.
It is time for a renaissance. An awakening.
Why would the Dems need to destroy the Repub party if they weren’t interested in ultimately steering the country over a cliff (which I know in their minds means, “success”)? Not to mention the fact that the Repub party is imploding b/c of its own lack of adherence to conservatism.
Which is why Obama keeps beating the “blame Bush” drum. He’ll never tire of it as long as his followers agree.
Who is the Auto Task Force? Must we all proclaim our allegiance to survive?
This whole scandal is a good example of why government should not be making business decisions.
Even if it somehow (and at this point it seems unlikely) turns out that there is no scandal, the perception that there could be was INEVITABLE the moment the government got involved.
And even if there isn’t a real scandal here, who’s to say that next week’s business meddling won’t have something scandalous going on? The more opportunities for corrupt practices exist, the more likely it is someone will do something corrupt.
“Yes Senator we shall look into it–you still have family in the old country?”
You might need to be long of tooth to catch that one-but it works for the old and lame.
—
Let your sidearm be like MasterCard: DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT.
And if you live in a sissy state that won’t let you carry move to one that will–we need you.
Haha, AzN. We live in one of the “sissy” states. I took a handgun class a couple of weeks ago and learned that the sissy states are in the minority, fortunately, so our options are great.
It is critical that all of us keep the pressure on the corrupt MSM as well as the Progressivists. We watched this work in the case of the Swift-Boat Vets. The corrupt MSM avoided reporting on any of the damning evidence against John Kerry. In time, the vets’ testimonial commercials, the internet commercials, the bloggers and the honest media offered enough of a case, that the corrupt MSM couldn’t avoid the issue.
And because they feel it so deeply (libs always feel deeply) they won’t mind stepping all over your rights to do it.
The government should never be in business. Period. But Obama is Marx for all intents and purposes.
Guys, guys, guys, I’ve figured it out. All we need is for somebody to contact the State of Hawaii, and have them issue a birth certificate confirming that Barry Hussein is really related to George W. Bush. Once that word gets out, the MSM will be all over him like ugly on an ape.
I thought Hussein was related to Brad Pitt???
THE ONE is the son of his father…who we know was a Marxist/Leninist thug and serial baby-maker on several continents.
The ACORN does not fall far from the tree…
But otherwise, a fine, upstanding human being, I’m sure.
If any of you have been listening to Rush Limbaugh lately he has been highlighting how many people are losing their jobs due to the programs that Barry Soetoro has been implementing.
BTW-Robert Gibbs thinks the fact that the American people are demanding to see Barry Soetoro’s natural born citizenship documents are a big joke. Watch the MSM laugh the whole thing off when a reporter asks to see his long form Birth Cetificate not the forged COLB on the web.
Maybe if Conservatives had forced him to provide those documents he would not be in the oval office.Many believe he is not a natural born citizen because his father was a british subject.
Since you mention it, I noticed how Gibbs was so “astounded” (I think that’s the word he used) that this issue hasn’t gone away. After all, haven’t he and the rest of the lib establishment patiently instructed us over and over that this is matter is settled?
Fighting back:
http://www.azfamily.com/yahoo_rss/stories/phoenix-news-052709-chrysler-bankruptcy-darner.203ef48e.html?npc
BHO must be arrested, tried, and convicted for racketeering in this heavy-handed swipe at those who supported candidates opposed to the Democratic Party.
BHO has again placed his vanity above the health of our nation. BHO is bereft morals, conscience and rational behavior. Said simply, he is a sociopath, and unfit for leadership in any capacity.
The time to cast out BHO is NOW.
The first step is to destroy the Republican Party, or more precisely, to reduce it to a small rump minority party run by semi-liberal hacks – more or less what we have now. It’s a lot easier to remake the country in the manner they desire if they have one-party rule.
“The first step is to destroy the Republican Party”
Let’s say that is the case. Why? What difference does that make? Conservatives will still vote. Destroying the Republican Party does nothing to ensure the leftist socialist rule forever and ever. We don’t lose our voting rights because there is no Republican Party.
“they won’t mind stepping all over your rights to do it.”
Not only will they not mind, they will be proud of doing so as it is seen as a good thing to do so. Stepping all over another person’s rights will be both a justifiable action AND an action to be praised.
Which brings us back to our original point of contention: Do you believe they are trying to destroy this country?