Readers of this blog know that I have periodically chastised
Republicans in Congress for opposing the auto rescue loans for General Motors
and Chrysler. GM and Chrysler are going like gangbusters but those who
predicted the federal loans were a waste of money have never apologized.
As one example, here is what I wrote in May 2012:
All those on Capitol Hill – the conservative purists and
those Southern senators protecting their state’s foreign auto plants – should
never be forgiven for what they tried to do to the industry, to the state of
Michigan, and to Macomb County.
Those who said loaning money to GM and Chrysler would be
“like pouring money down a rat hole” almost made one of the biggest mistakes in
the history of Congress.
It’s worth raising this issue again for two reasons: Mitt
Romney came to town last week for a GOP campaign event; and Senate candidate
Terri Lynn Land was sharply criticized by PolitiFact for suddenly claiming that
she favors the auto bailout.
Rather than apologize for her past anti-auto industry
stance, Land has decided to simply claim that she supported the bailout all
along, despite evidence to the contrary.
The folks at PolitiFact called that flip-flop a “Full Flop.”
Land was caught on video in 2012 saying that she agreed with
Romney that private funds, not bridge loans, should have financed any attempt
to keep GM and Chrysler going. Of course, everyone involved in the bailout
process has said that no private capital was available in the dark days of 2009
to save two major manufacturers.Romney made his views known in a New York Times guest column
with the infamous headline: “Let Detroit go bankrupt.” Land has stuck to her
views, sometimes going further to the right than Romney, over the past two
years.
In March, I asked the Land campaign this question: “Was and
is Land opposed to the auto bailouts?” Her spokeswoman, Heather Swift,
responded:
“Terri supports creating an environment that will allow the U.S. auto industry to thrive for generations to come, which includes developing fair trade agreements that prevent foreign nations from manipulating their currency exchange rates, modernizing American energy production to lower costs for manufactures and families, and getting rid of expensive and onerous regulations which make it more difficult and more costly for our companies at home to do business, build their cars, and create jobs.”
Was that a yes? A no? Who knows.“Terri supports creating an environment that will allow the U.S. auto industry to thrive for generations to come, which includes developing fair trade agreements that prevent foreign nations from manipulating their currency exchange rates, modernizing American energy production to lower costs for manufactures and families, and getting rid of expensive and onerous regulations which make it more difficult and more costly for our companies at home to do business, build their cars, and create jobs.”
It’s also worth raising this issue again after the Big Three automakers’ “September to remember.”
With GM, Ford and Chrysler leading the way, the industry had its strongest September in 10 years, with U.S. sales 1 million higher than September 2013.
Also of note is that in September, Chrysler (the company
that many GOP congressman said in 2009 could not possibly survive, regardless
of how much federal money they received) moved past Toyota into the No. 3 spot
for U.S. market share.
GM, of course, is No. 1 and Ford is No. 2. Chrysler also
posted a much larger market share than Honda, which is fifth on the list.
Still, no Republicans in Congress have apologized for their
past willingness to stop GM and Chrysler in their tracks – and eliminate 1
million jobs in the process.
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