Romney Must Clarify Positions on Auto Bailouts and Energy Subsidies

nlpc.org ^ | May 4, 2012 | by Mark Modica

[Jim Robinson]

A couple of stories surfaced recently that should be of concern to voters that are analyzing how a Romney presidency would differ from the current administration. President Obama has a track record that can be examined to get a grasp of his agenda, but Governor Romney needs to further explain his positions on two key areas that many voters would expect to see a divergence with our present leader. The reports bring in to question whether or not Romney would be any different from the administrations over the past 12 years when it comes to dumping billions of taxpayer dollars into subsidies and bailouts.

The first of the issues revolves around the auto bailouts, which many of us feel were orchestrated with a goal of protecting favored political classes like the UAW rather than to assure that America’s auto industry returned to health with an eye on profitability and reduced costs. The manner in which the General Motors and Chrysler bankruptcy processes played out saw an overturning of over 200 years of contract law when classes of creditors were ranked by political clout rather than legal covenants as UAW claims went to the head of the list and bondholders to the bottom. Taxpayer losses are estimated to be over $20 billion. And now, a Romney adviser states that this debacle was the Republican candidate’s idea!

Thehill.com quotes Romney senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom as saying, “’[Romney’s] position on the bailout was exactly what President Obama followed. I know it infuriates them to hear that.’ And, “The only economic success that President Obama has had is because he followed Mitt Romney’s advice.’” If this is truly Romney’s position, he will anger many who do not agree with the position that the auto bailouts were a “success.” More importantly, it seems like we could expect both Romney and Obama to proceed in the same fashion if we are ever in a similar situation, taxpayers and creditors be damned.

I don’t understand why Romney would want to take credit for the unpopular auto bailouts and manipulated bankruptcy processes that cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Recent polls confirm the unpopularity, yet for some reason Romney seems to want to appease supporters of GM and the bailouts. This appeasement will result in lost votes for Romney as anyone wanting change from the current regime is not going to be highly motivated to vote for someone who takes credit for that regime’s shadiest actions that resulted in a $20 billion plus loss to taxpayers.

The second area of concern for potential Romney voters revolves around the wasteful subsidies, particularly in the energy sector, that have been trademarks of the last two administrations. Whether it is ethanol, oil or other green energy initiatives, the subsidies continue to see money flow from taxpayer coffers to cronies, lobbyists and the rich. Republicans have been no better than Democrats as they view any reduction in wasteful subsidies, like the billions of dollars slated to go to wealthy purchasers of plug-in vehicles like the Chevy Volt, as a tax hike. A piece by Patrick Michaels of the Cato Institute exposes that Romney is being advised by some of the biggest offenders.

Michaels gives a list of energy advisers for Romney that bilked taxpayers during the Bush Administration. He summarizes by rightfully stating, “We can’t expect Romney to have particular expertise on climate change, but we can expect that his advisers will help shape his policies and programs, which, given this group, is very scary.”

America can not continue to print money to pay its bills as both Republicans and Democrats refuse to cooperate in any meaningful fashion to end the reckless spending. Those that hope for change continue to see administration after administration with the same old wasteful habits. The dollar amounts of handouts have climbed to the tens of billions of dollars and only appear to be getting worse. And if Romney’s “position on the bailout was exactly what President Obama followed,” there is no chance that things will improve with a new administration, particularly if you throw in a team of former Bush energy advisers who helped architect many of the current energy subsidies. Romney may want to consider flipping his position on the auto bailouts and subsidies; we can do without any subsequent flopping.

Mark Modica is an NLPC Associate Fellow.

[Jim Robinson]

Related links:

Romney campaign aide claims auto bailout was Romney’s idea

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/224371-romney-campaign-claims-auto-bailout-was-his-idea

Will Mitt Romney Recycle George W. Bush’s Global Warming Fiasco?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmichaels/2012/04/26/will-mitt-romney-recycle-george-w-bushs-global-warming-fiasco/

[EGPWS]

Romney Must Clarify Positions on Auto Bailouts and Energy Subsidies

How long before Romney perfects the "0bama stutter"?

[GeronL]

I am sure he takes a few sides on this topic, like all of them

[RitaOK]

Romney is a “You Betcha’ kind of guy.

Everything Obama did, Romney did first.

Go figure.

VOTE FOR ROMNEY, THE TEMPLATE FOR OBAMA. /S

[BenLurkin]

At this point, I don’t think anyone believes a single word that Willard says.

[cripplecreek]

Mitt Romney

All the brains and half the charm of Joe Biden.

[Captain7seas]

“I believe the world is getting warmer, and I believe that humans have contributed to that,” he told a crowd of about 200 at a town hall meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire.
“It’s important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may be significant contributors” -Romney

---

That’s clear enough for me.

[txrangerette]

As Maggie Thatcher said and Ronald Reagan quoted, the problem with Socialism happens when you run out of other people’s money.

We long since ran out. Just since the days of when this advisor brags that it was Romney’s idea, we have moved closer and closer to the financial end of America as we knew it.

Romney bad as he is nevertheless has to know this.

Paul Ryan certainly knows this and Romney has embraced the Ryan view. Ryan doesn’t go far enough, but he offers something, a starting point, beyond where we’ve been, and the abyss we’re starting into.

Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Michelle Bachmann, Ron Paul all appear to know it.

That’s significant to me. It points up that Romney has a disgruntled, even angry, badly fractured mess of a conservative electorate on his hands and that Romney is not an ISLAND unto himself.

IF he acts accordingly, he will listen to the policy change proposals that are essential for our financial survival.

Whether he politically prefers them or not.

If he refuses, then the fractured mess he faces will get messier.

[greene66]

It isn’t brought up as much as some other hot-button flipflops of Romney’s, but his support of cap-and-trade and that whole global warming idiocy is one that really screams a huge, MASSIVE warning-signal at me.

Man, it’s impossible to trust Romney on a single, damn issue. It continues to boggle my mind, that the GOP has now descended to the level of serving up a Massachusetts liberal as nominee.

[ColdSteelTalon]

I think we are going to vote for Romney because there is really no other choice. Its vote for Romney or its 4 more years of Obama.

[NoRedTape]

I hope that this thread isn't some kind of 'justification' of Romney potentially being the GOP's choice for nominee.
Does anyone actually believe when the Romney liberal flip-floppin' ironing board makes any statement?
Is anyone actually happy or supportive that Romney will potentially be the GOP nominee? Not I.

But, if someone must win in November, and our only choice is either Obama or Romney, then Romney is slightly more preferable.
That's it. That's my supportive commentary. And if I cast a vote for Romney in November, it will be against Obama, NOT "for" Romney.

Pathetically dismal political times, huh?

 

[Jim Robinson]

Likewise. It is mind boggling. Almost like he bought the nomination or something. He sure as hell did nothing to deserve it.

[Jim Robinson]

Sorry, there are always other choices. I will not give my consent to a known abortionist/socialist.

[Jim Robinson]

There is absolutely no doubt that Governor Romney pushed abortion, gay rights, gun control, global warming, mandated (forced) compulsory health insurance, higher fees in lieu of higher taxes, liberal judges, etc, and later approved of TARP, bailouts, the takeover of GM, stimulus spending, increasing the debt limit, etc, and stated that he believes more will be necessary. And still approves of gays in the military and states that as president, he will do nothing to change that. And he still says we’ll have to do something to combat global warming. And even after we all know what a failure socialistic RomneyCare/ObamaCare is, he still loves and pushes his bastard brainchild.

The man is a liberal progressive. All of the above is socialist tyranny.

Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God!!

[Free in Texas]

Ramming Romney down our throats is nothing less than the GOP-e rubbing our faces in business as usual, committee chairmanships, self enrichment, making the cocktail circuit, pandering, bribery for votes on pet projects, the wholesale rate sellout of our future for their own immediate political gain.

Romney is a loaded pistol aimed right at our head and I will not help pull the trigger. I hope Mitt goes down in flames for once and all, and that further we never hear from his sorry *ss again in national elections. And it's way past time to bury the GOP. I understand what the alternative is. So be it.

[Innovative]

Article gives link to another article in “The Hill”:

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/224371-romney-campaign-claims-auto-bailout-was-his-idea

Which in turn links to other articles:

The claim appears to be a shift from Mitt Romney’s November 2008 op-ed in The New York Times, headlined, “Let Detroit go bankrupt.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/opinion/19romney.html?_r=1

In a February op-ed in The Detroit News, Romney called Obama’s auto bailout “crony capitalism on a grand scale.”

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-presidential-primary/210495-romney-op-ed-defends-auto-bailout-opposition

“The president tells us that without his intervention things in Detroit would be worse,” Romney wrote. “I believe that without his intervention things there would be better.”

---

Do we believe Romney himself or his aide, who could be misinterpreted. Romney made his position clear in his articles.

[mosesdapoet]

Around the time you were posting this ABC radio announced Gingrich endorsed Romney ...Nuts !

[Cincinatus' Wife]

It isn’t brought up as much as some other hot-button flipflops of Romney’s, but his support of cap-and-trade and that whole global warming idiocy is one that really screams a huge, MASSIVE warning-signal at me.

Not for lack of me trying.

Romney’s Troubling Appointments (Mitt's environmental policy team now works for Obama) …………….“"EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has taken most of the fire from Republicans as her agency rolls out a slew of controversial new climate and clean air rules. But McCarthy, the EPA assistant administrator of the Office of Air and Radiation, has taken on much of the heavy lifting of writing, structuring, and implementing the rules.

“Lisa’s the coach and Gina’s the quarterback” in the work of rolling out new clean air regulations, said Daniel Weiss, an energy and climate policy expert at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank with close ties to the Obama administration. “She’s running the plays, improvising on the line.”

Another Romney environmental adviser in the effort to regulate “greenhouse gases” is now Obama’s Director of Science and Technology Policy, John Holdren. Dr. Holdren has some exotic views: …………..

Mitt Romney's environmental coal policies--Obama's environmental coal policies.

Romney and Obama Carbon Copies [60 second video campaign ad]

__________________________________

Romney needs to bend over backwards, sideways and forward to make it CLEAR where he stands on the e-n-v-i-r-o-n-m-e-n-t, energy and discredited climate change.

[gloryblaze]

Thanks for the post. Romney did not support the bailout on the back of the taxpayers. Does anyone believe that a managed bankruptcy with Romney at the helm would have royally screwed the bond holders and gave it all to the organized labor?