UAW head blasts Bush's "Idol" worship

Reuters ^ | September 12, 2006 | James B. Kelleher

[ritewingwarrior]

DETROIT (Reuters) - The president of the United Auto Workers union on Tuesday said U.S. President George W. Bush's failure to address the challenges facing the nation's domestic automakers would come back to haunt his Republican Party in the fall elections.

UAW chief Ron Gettelfinger said he believed Bush's decision to postpone a meeting with auto executives until after the November elections -- despite being in Michigan recently at a fund-raiser for the Republican challenger to incumbent Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow -- was an example of the president putting party politics above national economics.

The union has historically supported Democratic political candidates.

"Apparently, (Bush) thinks that if he did something for Michigan right now ... he might be helping (Stabenow) get re-elected when he's trying to unseat her," Gettelfinger said at the Reuters Auto Summit in Detroit.

Gettelfinger also said it was "ludicrous" that Bush had no time for the car industry, but managed to find the time to tap Clay Aiken, the runner-up on the popular U.S. reality talent show "American Idol," to serve on the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.

[Fiddlstix]

UAW - driving American auto companies out of business, which, ironically, drives them out of business.

I've thought about that too. They're not too smart are they?

[Spktyr]

And, in addition, those who slack off and become drags on morale as well as quality at that plant are *fired*.

In the UAW plants, you can't fire them.

[Tail Gunner John]

"you can't fire them"

I wonder if this is one reason the the UAW leadership is so full of democratic hack whores?

[Southack]

Gee, the UAW-infected automakers need a federal bailout in order to keep losing money at the corporate level for another 10 years...meanwhile, automakers who aren't infected with the UAW are making plenty of cars (and profits!) in the U.S.

So how about this: since Gettlefinger and his UAW ilk are so unhappy with President Bush, we just say "No" to a bailout of Ford and GM.

They won't be missed, and if the GOP was ever going to lose an election to them, it would have been back when they had more union members and more registered voters...certainly not to their more impotent state today.

[gaspar]

It is fascinating that the UAW supports the Democrats, a party of elitists who would no more buy a car produced by an American corporation than vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.

[FlingWingFlyer]

George W. Bush's failure to address the challenges facing the nation's domestic automakers would come back to haunt his Republican Party in the fall elections.

What the union thugs going to do? Support, campaign for and vote for the Communist DemocRATS like they always do?

[no dems]

As a former member of the UAW, may I say that the UAW leadership is an obsolete, out-dated, out-of-touch, non-intellectual bunch of union thugs who have brought Michigan to the place where it is 49th in the Union in number of young people leaving their home State.

Numbers 48 and 50 are Louisiana and Mississippi; both suffered from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina.

[EQAndyBuzz]

So the unions vote Democrat and are suprised when they get no help from Washington.

Maybe the people of Michigan should wake up.

[Spktyr]

Took me a while; my server went down. OK, here are the pictures:

Let's count, shall we?

Left to right:

Toyota Tacoma (in Terminix service), Isuzu Trooper, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Mazda 929, Mitsubishi Diamante, Honda Accord, Chevrolet Impala, Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra SE, Lexus RX300, another Toyota Camry, Nissan Quest, another Camry, another Camry, GMC Safari, Nissan Altima, Honda CR-V.

Do you see a pattern here?

[theBuckwheat]

The very next article posted on Freerepubic carries the title of "51 killed in stampede at Yemeni rally".

Those folks died trying to follow the Yemeni "President" after he left a speech.

Now that is idol worship. The head of the UAW is using worthless hyperbole in his use of the phrase.

[gafusa]

If the UAW wants to help the auto industry it should disband. They are demanding solutions, when they are the problem.

[Jacob Kell]

Just out of curiosity, do you have any ideas for a solution?

[no dems]

Yeah, take Union dues and put them into Michigan's Economic Development instead of giving gazillions of dollars to the Democrats every two-years at election time.

[Brett66]

What are they worried about? They can always get a job at Toyota.

But maybe Toyota isn't interested in low-skill over-priced workers......

[bert]

I thought the Renaissance Center was going to bring perpetual prosperity to Detroit and Michigan

[kempster]

You should have seen it before it was built. Just kidding.