Free Republic

General Motors Co. has resumed contributing to political campaigns, lifting a self-imposed ban on political spending adopted during the auto maker’s bankruptcy restructuring last year. GM gave $90,500 to candidates running in the November elections, Federal Election Commission records show. The beneficiaries include midwestern lawmakers, mostly Democrats, who have traditionally supported the industry’s legislative agenda on Capitol Hill, including Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Rep. John Dingell of Michigan and Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio. The list also includes House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R., Va.), who would likely assume a top leadership post if Republicans win control of the House...

A blizzard of safety concerns surrounding Toyota has put the Obama ­administration in a delicate position as it seeks to avoid the temptation of boosting the fortunes of Detroit's struggling US carmakers by bullying the Japanese manufacturer too aggressively. Toyota has swiftly become the butt of jokes in the US. The talkshow host Jon Stewart this week dubbed the firm's pedal problems "the Toyotathon of death". Speculating on the reaction of the bosses of General Motors and Chrysler, Stewart said: "Boys, we're back in the game! All we had to do was have the leading competition become a death trap."...