GOP leaders renew attacks on White House over auto industry rescue

Source: Detroit Free Press

WASHINGTON – A day after the Obama administration hailed progress in the government-sponsored turnarounds of General Motors and Chrysler, congressional Republicans leveled fresh political criticism today at the administration’s aid to the industry.

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Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., accused the White House of strong-arming automakers last year into backing fuel economy standards of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016 in return for keeping GM and Chrysler from collapsing in bankruptcy.


Issa asked the CEOs of nine automakers -- GM, Chrysler, Ford and the U.S. arms of Toyota, BMW, Volkswagen, Nissan, Suzuki and Honda – to turn over a bevy of documents about the talks with the White House and California officials that led to the agreement last May. The rules went into effect last month.


“It is unclear whether the Administration used leverage created by the possibility of a taxpayer bailout of GM and Chrysler to secure their cooperation and support for new fuel economy standards,” Issa said in the letter.



Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20100422/BUSINESS01/100422054/1318/GOP-renews-attacks-over-auto-loans

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A winning strategy in November. Argue that Democrats should have let the American auto industry implode.

And the Republicans were gung ho about the bailouts under the previous prezident.

Total bailout of GM was $50 billion, including $16 billion in cash for operating funds to keep the doors open through the (unknown) duration of the recession. GM spent $11 billion of that on operations but because the auto market didn't completely collapse, GM didn't need the last $5 billion, so it's giving that back.

The rest of it ($45 billion) ain't coming home again for a long time, or according to the government itself, never.

GM's PR guys know that most people won't know what this really is, and thus it looks like GM's coming up roses all of the sudden. It's not. It's currently losing billions per year.

This is seriously what they plan to run on.

PLEASE someone sharpen the attack back. Call these cretins out.

This is hilarious. It's dumb, really. All the Dems need to say is "So?"

I suppose some well heeled fat cats that really don't care, HOW DO THEY HOPE TO WIN WITH THAT IDEA????

There are a heck of a lot more GM & Chrusler dealers and employees than foreign car dealers and also people like me who who never even owned a GM vehicle who supported the LOANS the Fed granted because I can only GUESS at how many people would be unemployed all across the country. You can't possibly convince me that only Dems work for them!

what a f*ing fool. They have nothing so they say such stupid things with straight faces. I thought the admin was supposed to use leverage and that was certainly better than getting campaign funds.

I guess we may laugh, but I would not put anything past Glenn Beck.

of course, we must avoid that at all costs...especially the tax payers.

Darrell Issa is my U.S. Representative here in North San Diego County, California.

Here is Issa's 'Bitch List' for this week:

The White House is using unpaid interns to do work.

The SEC is in a consprisey with the White House on the timing of the Goldman Sach's civil suit.

Once again harping on the loans to U.S. auto makers.

Here is a link bitching about the White House: http://news.google.com/news/search?aq=f&pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=Issa



As far as Issa is concerned, any the White House does needs a congressional hearing. Of course the media is giving Issa a soapbox to spout out anything the White House does is wrong. Just another day of politicking the politics.

President Obama is doing an amazing job in spite of all the lies and cheap shots swirling around him.

I guess Issa's complaints about fuel economy are not too surprising when one considers that some right wingers were demanding that Americans boycott GM.

http://detnews.com/article/20090609/AUTO01/906090329/Right-wing-radio-hosts-Hewitt-and-Limbaugh-back-GM-boycott

for a boycott.

Just brainless idiots..all they can come up with is :silly:"socialsim".

Paranoid and stop looking for some nefarious motive for Obama's
every action.

He seems to want every little thing investigated because he is
questioning everything.

While I do not agree with him philosophically, I have watched
him in Meetings. He comes prepared and seems to have a good
working knowledge of the subject at hand. Too bad he is developing
the worst habits of the GOP. When people notice a pattern, it
can turn them away.

The GOP weakness is they never know when to stop and overrreach
even when not in power.

and that's not saying much about me.

Issa during the Bush area? Seems like the GOP never do anything wrong.

Obama is far from the perfect president but I have a good feeling to trying to bring us out of this bull shit mess.

where he still resides to date.

than that pea brain paranoid azz.

I love your posts.

:hi:

The two options are:

1. Encourage more fuel efficient cars so we send less American money to the countries in the Middle East who produce oil. Many of these countries are, of course, predominantly Muslim countries.

2. Use less fuel efficient cars and send more American money to countries in the Middle East.

Why does Darrell Issa love Muslim countries so much and hate America?

:toast:

financial bill info.
(Not quite sure who they're trying to distract, though. If it looks like they aren't going to block the legislation, maybe they're trying to sheild that cooperation from their crazybase.)

on edit: no, maybe not.. Their twisty unfact-y dancing is making me dizzy. . .

The government leveraged their loan to encourage improved fuel economy? Really?

It's funny what becomes possible when survival is at stake.

Yes, of course! Obama should have let the auto industry--and with it thousands of jobs--implode!

Yep, sounds like a horrible outcome to me! The only way it could be worse (in Issa's eyes) is if cancer had been cured, to boot.

I must say that I like that Issa has to "ask" and not subpoena the documents from the auto companies. He doesn't have any power to do that as a member of the minority party. They could tell him to go take a flying leap, and Issa couldn't do anything about it. Well, except run crying to a sympathetic ear in the media.

in return for saving thousands of jobs is worse than darth meeting, in the white house, w/ oil barons & plotting invasions of countries w/ that particular resource?

Please explain governor recall wannabe.