Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #13--The auto bailout

Contrary to the fantasy world that occupies Willard Romney's head, had we followed his lead on the auto bailout, my home state would be a wasteland right now, comparable to the Dakotas or Montana.  There was no private equity funding available, and one can rest assured that had he been leading the charge, the "Detroit car guy" would have destroyed the UAW, and with it, any hope those of us not fortunate enough to be born into a wealthy family had for decent wages.  And heaven forbid any of those at the top paying for their mistakes like the rest of us would have with a pink slip.

Contrast the Romney "plan" (i.e., "Let Detroit go bankrupt" regardless of any claims he makes in retrospect), with the precision with which the Obama administration handled the auto industry bailout. They had a plan and they worked that plan--moving in quickly, setting people in place, seeing that GM's Rick Wagoner got the boot (as well he should have), making the auto leaders put forth a viable plan for going forward profitably, and making sure that the workers were taken care of. 

The results speak for themselves--the Big 3 are profiitable, selling more cars, and most important, hiring.  Millions--fucking millions--of jobs have been saved, not just in the auto industry proper, but in all the peripheral industries as well. 

The move was not popular (except in states like here in Michigan) and, again, took a political courage that Willard Romney just flat out lacks.  Barack Obama handled what could have been a disaster for the American economy with grace, poise, and confidence.

One kinds of doubts the head of Bain Capital would have done the same:  it would have been a big going out of business sale as our economy collapsed, with Willard leading the marching band.

Peace,
emaycee

That's the week that was

And I suppose you have to be of a certain age (i.e., old) to understand today's post title. Why doesn't this surprise me? Or this? Where's that ballsy tea party attitude? Oh, it's in hiding? That's the way to stand up for the American people--run and hide (or be hidden) when it turns out you really are a racist or a lunatic. Frankly, get out there and say what you believe--if the people buy it (not likely) they'll vote you into office. If you can't do that, go the fuck home and save the rest of us the trouble (yes, we're talking about Rand Paul of Where's Waldo fame, and Sharron Angle, disciple of Carry Nation). Another brilliant "column" from Wonk. Apparently he missed this (or else gets his news from Chris Matthews, who has a "documentary" next week on the Tea Party). Not having lived in Michigan during Mr. Tisch's important achievement (so-called), I can't recall the rhetoric from the debate, but I really fail to see how having the burden of financing education move from property taxes to the sales tax improved Michigan--especially considering that year after year we have more cuts to education, can't find ways to fund education, and continue to fall down to the depths of Mississippi and Alabama in the education our kids are getting. The only effect the Tea Party will have on Michigan is to drag it farther down (though leave it to Michigan to be a day late and a dollar short, as usual). Brian Dickerson continues the Free Press "Kumbaya" Movement (Golly, gee, Beav, if we'd all just get along we'd all be so much better off). In a word: no. You know, the last two big bipartisan efforts I remember were the Afghanistan War and the Iraq War. Those two worked out so fucking well. I don't have the benefit of Mr. Dickerson's Ivy League education (Princeton must be so fucking proud), but I can't see how California's awarding the general election to the two highest vote getters in the primary is going to make things much better. One can suppose in highly partisan districts (both liberal and conservative) that it is entirely possible that the top two vote getters could be from the same party, thus disenfranchising both the opposing parties and independents (and seriously reducing voter turnout). Certainly, the occasional independent candidate might break through, but...there's a reason Centrism begins with a "C": it's for the average and the mediocre. Said it before, will say it again: these times call for bold leaders with the courage to push through bold ideas whether partisan or not, and the bravery to challenge and defeat the corporate special interests that are keeping true change for the working people from happening. We need a class war, not a fucking peace pipe. Period. Not worth a link, but words certainly are telling (from the Free Press business pages): "...Rick Wagoner, the former General Motors chief who was pushed out in March 2009 after 32 years at the company...." Poor, little Ricky--pushed out...with his golden parachute and jumping to other boards of directors with their lots of pay for little work. Didn't have a damn thing to do with the fact that he ran the company into the ground with his lack of foresight, poor oversight, and general incompetence that left thousands out of work with little more than a few months unemployment compensation. I smell...BULLSHIT on the business pages of the Free Press.... Devil's Advocate: While I would not want to downplay the tragedy and significance of the BP oil spill, if we on the left had spent the last two months focusing as much energy on jobs (admittedly a taller order) as we have on this spill, our chances of averting future disasters such as this would markedly improve. Enough Americans will vote for change if their pocketbooks are suffering, and we won't be the change they are seeking. To be blunt: no jobs equals no clean energy agenda and more offshore drilling. Just sayin'.... Peace, emaycee