Posted on 05/28/2009 7:36:58 AM PDT by IbJensen
Evidence appears to be mounting that the Obama administration has systematically targeted for closing Chrysler dealers who contributed to Repubicans. What started earlier this week as mainly a rumbling on the Right side of the Blogosphere has gathered some steam today with revelations that among the dealers being shut down are a GOP congressman and closing of competitors to a dealership chain partly owned by former Clinton White House chief of staff Mack McLarty.
The basic issue raised here is this: How do we account for the fact millions of dollars were contributed to GOP candidates by Chrysler who are being closed by the government, but only one has been found so far that is being closed that contributed to the Obama campaign in 2008?
Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan learned from a House colleague that his Venice, Florida, dealership is on the hit list. Buchanan also has a Nissan franchise paired with the Chrysler facility in Venice.
"It's an outrage. It's not about me. I'm going to be fine," said Buchanan, the dealership's majority owner. "You're talking over 100,000 jobs. We're supposed to be in the business of creating jobs, not killing jobs," Buchanan told News 10, a local Florida television station.
Buchanan, who succeeded former Rep. Katharine Harris in 2006, reportedly learned of his dealership's termination from Rep.Candace Miller, R-MI. Buchanan owns a total of 23 dealerships in Florida and North Carolina.
Also fueling the controversy is the fact the RLJ-McCarty-Landers chain of Arkansas and Missouri dealerships aren't being closed, but many of their local competitors are being eliminated. Go here for a detailed look at this situation. McClarty is the former Clinton senior aide. The "J" is Robert Johnson, founder of the Black Entertainment Television, a heavy Democratic contributor.
A lawyer representing a group of Chrysler dealers who are on the hit list deposed senior Chrysler executives and later told Reuters that he believes the closings have been forced on the company by the White House.
"It became clear to us that Chrysler does not see the wisdom of terminating 25 percent of its dealers. It really wasn't Chrysler's decision. They are under enormous pressure from the President's automotive task force," said attorney Leonard Bellavia.
RedState.com's Josh Painter has a useful roundup of what has been found so far by a growing number of bloggers digging into what could be a very big story indeed. Also, see my column on this issue and how it fits into the larger context dubbed by the Examiner's Michael Barone as "gangster government."
As part of Chrysler's bankruptcy agreement with the White House, the company plans to close roughly a quarter of its 3,200 dealerships. Lists of the dealerships being cut and those retaining their Chrysler franchises can be found here in pdf format. Many dealers contend the criteria being used to determine which dealerships survive is not clear and that many of those that are being closed in fact are profitable businesses, despite the current recession.
Well, so much for this Barack Obama's claim during the election that he was going to run an open, ethical administration. Targeting and destroying the livelihoods of Republican supporters while rewarding his own? Robert Mugabe and Hugo Chavez would nod their heads in approval at this Obama tactic. Small wonder that our federal republic is foundering under this president, and is about to become only a larger version of the banana republics headed by Mugabe & Chavez.
Great story. Keep mining the geneaology of this President and his cabal: Russian Comintern directed artists and civil servants in place in spite of McCarthy-- Red-diaper babies--the Weathermen and anti-war protesters wartime cooperation with USSR and China as avowed communists-- Alinsky a veiled Communist-- the guilt of the well-educated-- establishment of ACORN by Alinsky-inspired Weathermen-- identity politics-- establishmentof SEIU by Alinsky-inspired former Weatherman-- Black liberation theology-- the ethos of Web 2.0 (it's all about change). the rise of a partisan Alinsky state-- use of SEIU/ACORN employees as Brown Shirts.
Anyone shocked?
Car czar’s wife is top Dim fundraiser. Just a coincidence, I’m sure.
We’ve got to get a list of the owners who were NOT shut down, and look at their contributions.
Could be that all dealerships donate to pubbies and not to rats.
Let’s not go off half-cocked.
Bump!!!
The left is claiming that 90% of the dealers were republican to begin with, so this is a non-issue. Does anyone know if this is true?
Everything he’s done has been true to form for a racist/collectivist.
The recipients of “stimulus” are overwhelmingly “minority”, while those who are targeted for tax increases are overwhelmingly not minority.
Also, punishing, and outright extermination, of political opponents is commonplace in history for collectivist regimes.
No demographic in the world would make that one true...
That’s the most important question- I don’t see it’s been addressed yet. If most are GOP to start with- this might not be a story. While Steve Rattner seems perfectly capable of this kind of action- I don’t know if the administration is stupid enough to try a stunt like this.
But this doesn’t have anything to do with glowbull warming, Bush, Cheney or gay rights. It’s a non story.
After about a year check up on the “Diversity” of surviving dealership owners. Oh well! People voted for “Change” they just did look closely at what the Third World divinity meant by “change.”
He is no different than Richard Daley was in the 60's.
fyi
Another post around here recently seemed to say that the closed dealers weren’t just Republican donors; some were Hillary! donors in the primaries.
I am SURE of one thing. If a REPUBLICAN (fill in the office) closed, for politcal reasons, a single obscure PIZZA emporium, the national media would be having a collective stroke. Half the forests in the country would vanish to make newsprint to cover the “PizzaGate”. Fully half of TV newstime would be devoted to the Moral Scandal by another Republican. The unemployed pizza makers would be interviewed, their stories told in poem and song. Oh, the horror.
The US MEDIA, the greatest threat to the 1st amendment.
“A vast majority of car dealers appear to be Republicans to begin with. It only stands to reason that when a lot of dealers are closed that a lot of them would be republicans.”
My first question is - why close profitable businesses at all?
If it’s true they’re trying to “help” matters - why are they making it more difficult to buy these cars?
As for the numbers....the logical approach is to figure out the overall percentage of republican leaning dealer owners throughout the industry as a whole - then compare that number to the hit list.
I’ve noticed, however, this isn’t just about republican donations.
I’ve read some of these dealers contributed to other democrats besides Obama.
So - on top of the number crunching - the administration is going to have to address their reasoning behind choosing the winners and losers.
One was a Hillary donor. This is a Purge.
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