Tag: chrysler

Show your loyalty. Sell your Prius.

(Via Glenn Reynolds) GayPatriot has the right idea here:

Those who want to give people like Barney a say in the running of General Motors (and Chrysler for that matter), that is those who favor Obama’s Auto Plan, can show that they really believe this is the right way to manufacture automobiles by put their money where their mouths are.  When it comes time for them to buy a new car, they should buy a GM (or Chrysler) model.  Heck, why wait?  Show your confidence in this plan by buying one now.

…but he doesn’t take it nearly far enough.  We’ve already established that this administration considers falling in with its policy positions to be ‘patriotic‘: and clearly, supporting the GM/Chrysler takeover is falling in with its policy positions.  Considering that – as usual – the Political Class is wildly divergent from mainstream America when it comes to this issue, it is clearly their patriotic duty to make certain that the GM/Chysler bailout succeeds.  That means selling that hybrid made by a foreign auto company and buying an American car*.  And since it’s a crisis, well, they need to do that right now.  Everything else has to be, so this should be, too.

If they were really loyal, they’d do it.

Moe Lane

PS: Me?  When we had to replace the car a couple months ago we went with a Chrysler PT Cruiser. Which I guess makes me a better American than all those people out there selfishly and bitterly clinging to their hybrids and foreign sedans.

*Hey, it’s better for the environment anyway.

Crossposted to RedState.

Senator Alexander’s car industry conference call.

I participated in a conference call yesterday with Senator Alexander (R-TN) about his “Auto Stock for Every Taxpayer” bill; not to mention his “Car Czar” awards for government intervention in the car industry (his first one was to Barney Frank, for spreading intervention largess among his subjects). The general themse of the call was to discuss the problems inherent in making the government (in the abstract) an owner of a specific type of business; I don’t recall the word ‘nationalization’ being used in the call, but the word loomed there throughout. Not to mention its connotations.

The whole call is available here: my only – rather garbled, alas – question was on whether the general atmosphere of government intervention (and the specific one of Frank’s interference) gave credence to allegations of partisan Democratic interference in Chrysler dealership closings. Senator Alexander did not go so far as to endorse this theory, but he raised the important point that when you have an ‘incestuous relationship like this’ (his term) – which is to say, a direct relationship between the dealership and the government – allegations like these are credible. Even the appearance of impropriety is in fact a problem (I agree: it erodes trust in the government as being a reasonably impartial referee), and the only way to fix that is to get ownership out of the hands of the government.

And I really don’t have anything even semi-witty to say to end this, sorry.  We just have to get the government out of the car industry.  Simple as that.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

More threats to Chrysler by White House surface.

Personally, I can’t wait to hear how anonymous revelations don’t matter when they’re not advantageous to Democrats not involving endangering American troops through the revelation of national security secrets not suitable for use in an election against a Republican …well, I’m sure the Online Left will find a suitably plausible-sounding rationalization, even if it’s only plausible to them;

New Allegations Of White House Threats Over Chrysler

Creditors to Chrysler describe negotiations with the company and the Obama administration as “a farce,” saying the administration was bent on forcing their hands using hardball tactics and threats.

Conversations with administration officials left them expecting that they would be politically targeted, two participants in the negotiations said.

Although the focus has so been on allegations that the White House threatened Perella Weinberg, sources familiar with the matter say that other firms felt they were threatened as well. None of the sources would agree to speak except on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of political repercussions.

See Ace of Spades HQ, who’s already guessing which pushback will be used against this one; and Ed Morrissey, who’s having fun with the ‘madman theory’ thing. For my part, I’m actually a little surprised. I knew that the current President is woefully inexperienced – and not a little petulant – when it comes to dealing with people who don’t already love him, but surely he must have realized that things like this always come out in the end, yes? Continue reading More threats to Chrysler by White House surface.