Is Obama's take over of Chrysler purely for political reasons?

[IDrinkaRum]

Chrysler dealerships which are being closed down are saying they're being targeted not because their dealerships are losing money, but because they contributed to Republican candidates.


Washington Examiner saying the same thing

I heard about this on the Joe Scarborough show this morning whilst I drove about town.

[kiwi]

I read an article the other day slamming Obama becuase he used DIJON mustard on his burger instead of American mustard......

this "everything wrong with america is obamas fault" is getting old real fast, the man's barely been in power 4 months and suddenly everyones for getting that Bush fucked the American economy in the arse for the better part of the last decade.

Chrysler is going into bankruptsy from its own mismanagement and stupidity but instead of sholdering the blame, they do what is becoming extremely popular and finding anyone or anything else to explain it away.

[Dreamstalker]

Hey, I like Dijon mustard on burgers...!

Yeah, the blame-the-new-prez-cuz-hes-not-white game is getting real old. Chrysler management was the problem. Not the unions, not the color of the mail clerk's shoes, not Obama, it was management. Typical blame game.

[Greenday]

Hey, I like Dijon mustard on burgers...!

Yeah, the blame-the-new-prez-cuz-hes-not-white game is getting real old. Chrysler management was the problem. Not the unions, not the color of the mail clerk's shoes, not Obama, it was management. Typical blame game.

I don't think he's getting blamed because he's not white. I think he's getting blamed because he is our new president and things didn't instantly/unrealistically change. Plus he's a democrats, so the republicans are all going to blame him. Same as if we had a republican president. All the democrats would blame him.

[IDrinkaRum]

I agree with Greenday. I blamed Bush because he is a Republican. And I blame Obama because he is a Democrat. I'm an eqal opportunity blamer.

However, if what these car dealership owners are saying is true, isn't that a little disturbing?

[Greenday]

Personally, I think Chrysler sucks in general. I don't like any of their vehicles at all. Chevy is MUCH better.

[Tanasi]

Considering any administrations ability to run businesses, I would expect Chrysler and GM to soon be out of business.
Chrysler, GM and heck even Ford has made bad business decisions but it's far from management being the only transgressor. Unions and politicians have an equal share of the blame. Do you know of any other industry that you continue to receive your full pay and benefits after being laid off???
If union labor is so great why were a lot of the fasteners on my new car loose??? It's certainly not because they're underpaid it's because they do a piss-poor job and don't deserve the pay they do get.
Think about this the unions don't like their current working conditions so they threaten strikes but they know striking will put lots of union members out of work. So how can they put pressure on the auto manufacturers, get better working conditions and keep their jobs and pay checks flowing??? Maybe if they sponser a politican that will carry their water and that politican tells the auto manufacturers if you don't give them what they want or we'll regulate and tax you until you do. If you don't think that hasn't and isn't happening then you're sipping too much Kool-aid.

[PepperElf]

I was going to post about this but someone already started the thread...

here's a very good fox news clip on it... brining up points on both sides.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXV-Q...layer_embedded


I think it's worth looking into to see if it's true
Because if it's true... if they find that the current administration (or their pet project committees) would target businesses for closure solely because the business didn't support them?... that's unspeakable so corrupt it's starting to scare me.

To be honest... I'm reminded of a line from Evita...
"we have ways of making you vote for us, or at least of making you abstain"...


I don't care what someone's political opinion is... NO ONE deserves to be punished by the government over their views.

[AdminAssistant]

No info on this on CNN or MSNBC - and I will not believe anything spouted by Faux...er...Fox News. They'll say anything to make the President/Democratic Party/liberals look bad.

What I did hear today is that GM is considering importing more cars from Chinese factories which Congressmen will probably fight. You don't get to take $20B in taxpayer money then ship jobs overseas.

[PepperElf]

actually i've always found fox gave a voice to both political opinions. and that cnn and msnbc only did one side.

which would also explain why fox looks "biased" to some
that and fox will always point out when other networks try to silence political stories that might hurt favored candidates.

(so of course the others will call fox "biased" if they're being made to look bad)


and taking taxpaper money overseas?... after hearing about letting other countries like china buy some of our debt off, i'm not really surprised

[AFPheonix]

CNN and MSNBC are biased the other way, but that doesn't mean that Fox doesn't have a considerable conservative bent.

If you want really fair and balanced, go to NPR. They're the closest we're gonna get.

[protege]

I don't think he's getting blamed because he's not white. I think he's getting blamed because he is our new president and things didn't instantly/unrealistically change.

That's part of it. The rest...is that he was painted as a "Messiah" by many people.

Seriously though, the Chrysler mess has been a long time coming. You'd think those idiots would have learned after their *first* bankruptcy and bailout in the 1980s. They got pretty damn lucky with the K cars and minivans...both of which saved their bacon. When the original minivan (well, at least the first vehicle referred to as such), it literally turned the auto world on its ear. They were once the leaders in minivan sales, and eventually grew complacent.

Didn't last though. By the mid-1990s, they were having problems again. Their competitors had brought out their own minivans, and were slowly eating away at market share. Did Chrysler management attempt to change things? Fuck no. Instead, they were merged into DaimlerChrysler, lost a shitload of money, and then got sold off.

GM was a similar story. They never learned from past mistakes, because "GM could do no wrong." You'd think they would have learned from losing market share to the Japanese in the 1970s and '80s. Instead, they came up with the laughable Chevy Citation (remember that piece of shit?) and had their asses handed to them. With that one car, they managed to turn an entire *generation* of buyers against buying American cars.

I've always gotten the attitude (from dealers), that GM builds cars that they think people should own. Not necessarily what people *want,* and that's hurt them. For example, when the Chevy Cobalt came out, it was aimed at young people who were buying Hondas and Toyotas. The base model has sold well, but you don't see the "high end" version in the hands of tuners or riceboys. Throw in that the car was about a year late in arrival, and it's no wonder. Too little, too late.

What I'm trying to say, is that GM has always lived in a fantasy land. Because of that, they're slow to change their ways--by the time they finally do something, it's too late. That's why the Japanese (and now Koreans) have been kicking their ass for the past 25-30 years.

I should mention this--as much as I deride and call Ford "the other F word," you have to give those guys props. They didn't need a bailout, and seem to be doing OK.

[AFPheonix]

Chrysler has been a sinking ship since before Daimler bought them out. I think the government is really just trying to minimize the damage that would be caused if all of Chrysler went under. This way, at least some of the good brands can survive and grow again.

To be fair to the American manufacturers, even Toyota is having a spot of trouble these days. Their market share everywhere is shrinking, even in expanding markets like China and India. If a company like them can be brought up short, how much more so can one that was having issues before like GM and Chrysler?

[tabbyblack13]

Chrysler's vehicles haven't impressed me. I'm sorry to see a large company go under, but it happens. If the management cannot adjust and the union is sucking the company dry because of the contract, it will fall. The government is trying to soften the blow.

I think Ford took a bailout in the beginning but it was a smaller amount then the ones that took the second time. As of so far Ford has been doing a good job.

[AFPheonix]

Dodge makes a few pretty good products, and Jeep is an excellent company. They'll be able to survive well when cut loose from the rest of the sinking ship.

Ford did not accept a bailout, they did take a loan, and it was a much smaller quantity than the other two companies took. They are getting punished in a way, unfortunately, because unlike Chrysler, they are still obligated to pay that money back.