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Race Played Role in Obama Car Dealer Closures


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American Thinker:


Race Played Role in Obama Car Dealer Closures
By William Tate


The Obama administration, already under fire for unprecedented allegations of racial bias, faces a new bias claim from a most unlikely source: one of the administration's own inspectors general.

Decisions on which car dealerships to close as part of the auto industry bailout -- closures the Obama administration forced on General Motors and Chrysler -- were based in part on race and gender, according to a report by Troubled Asset Relief Program Special Inspector General Neal M. Barofsky.

[D]ealerships were retained because they were recently appointed, were key wholesale parts dealers, or were minority- or woman-owned dealerships. [Emphasis added.]

Thus, to meet numbers forced on them by the Obama administration, General Motors and Chrysler were forced to shutter other, potentially more viable, dealerships. The livelihood of potentially tens of thousands of families was thus eliminated simply because their dealerships were not minority- or woman-owned.

As has been widely reported, the Inspector General's study skewered the Obama Gang for strong-arming the companies into closing 2,000 dealerships, costing an estimated 100,000 people their jobs during a recession.

But the news media has ignored key elements of Barofsky's report -- elements that are far more damaging, if possible, to Obama. As we reported earlier in the week, a top Obama official, manufacturing czar and "Auto Team" leader Ron Bloom admitted that the dealerships could have been kept open, saving those jobs, "but that doing so would have been inconsistent with the President's mandate for 'shared sacrifice.'"

Barofsky says the administration insisted on the closings even though a GM official told him

that GM would usually save 'not one damn cent' by closing any particular dealership. ... Furthermore, a GM official stated that removing a dealership from the network does not save money for GM -- it might even cost GM money -- and that savings cannot be attributed or assigned to any one dealership.

And a reading of the IG's study makes plain that some dealership closings forced by the administration were based largely on politics.

The report is highly critical of how dealerships were selected for closure, or termination. Barofsky notes that

experts said that while metro areas were oversaturated with GM and Chrysler dealerships and reductions were needed in these areas, this was not the case in rural areas where GM and Chrysler had an advantage over their import competitors. [...]

Although sales volume in small towns may be lower, the cost of operating dealerships in small towns is lower as well. In addition, closing dealerships in small towns could ruin the "historic relationship" that GM has had with residents in small towns and force buyers to drive to metro areas, where there are more competitors. In the worst case, the loss of market share in small and medium-sized markets could "jeopardize the return to profitability" for GM and Chrysler, the (the Center for Automotive Research) representative said. Representatives from the National Automobile Dealers Association also concurred that dealership terminations would cause GM and Chrysler to lose market share in rural areas. [Emphasis added.]

Nevertheless, as Barofsky notes, "ultimately close to half of all of the GM dealerships identified for termination were in rural areas."

That is where raw, hard, sewage-filled Chicago politics came into play.

Records indicate that in 2008, Obama lost the vote totals in the nation's 1,300 rural counties by nearly 80%.

The Obama administration's insistence on radical numbers of closures ended up shuttering dealerships in those rural areas disproportionately, while dealerships and jobs in metro areas -- Obama's geographical base -- were left open.

Additionally, it has been widely theorized that dealers targeted for closure as a result of Obama's interference were predominantly those who donated campaign contributions to Republicans. Although evidence to date is largely anecdotal, given what we've already reported about the Obama administration's handling of the auto bailout, such speculation does have considerable grounds for support.

While that last point is leaves room for debate, the details contained in the Barofsky report are not. As Barofsky points out, the Obama administration was given an advance copy, and "Treasury [the Obama Treasury Department] might not agree with how the audit's conclusions portray the Auto Team's decision making or with the lessons that SIGTARP has drawn from those facts, but it should be made clear that Treasury has not challenged the essential underlying facts upon which those conclusions are based."

Included among those undisputed facts:

-"[D]ealerships were retained because they were ... minority- or woman-owned dealerships";

-Thousands of jobs were lost, unnecessarily, due specifically to Obama's "mandate for shared sacrifice";

-A disproportionate number of Obama-forced closings were of rural dealerships, in areas unfriendly to Obama, even though such closures could "jeopardize the return to profitability" for GM and Chrysler.

The media, of course, remain mute about these serious allegations in the Barofsky report. They have limited their coverage to the job loss numbers and tried to place the blame on Treasury Secretary Turbo-Tax Tim Geithner.

For now.

Before long, we'll be reading that it was somehow Bush's fault.
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shoutGeee

 

I am deeply saddened by this news. I thought we had the first post-racial pResident.

 

Wherever President Obama casts his arrogant eyes or inserts his foot in his big fat mouth, President Obama has a disturbing proclivity to create racial division where it doesn't exist and acerbate racial division where it exists in an attempt to pander for votes.

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shoutPepper. When I went to post news this morning I skipped many articles. Not because they weren't interesting, but there were just sooo many about race that it was ridiculous and I felt weird posting articles that were half about race. Dear Eric, I guess we ARE having the discussion.
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pollyannaish

This really saddens me. I almost feel as if the government has become LESS color blind over the course of my lifetime, rather than more color blind.

 

What a failure. Skin color—what an inexcusable reason to judge anyone on anything.

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What a failure. Skin color(and gender)—what an inexcusable reason to judge anyone on anything.

 

I was wondering if the exposure of the Journolist had any effect on the news as yet. Since I haven't seen or heard anything about this anywhere else, maybe they are still doing 'their thing'.

 

P.S.

I heard that there is a list of the folks on Journolist at TOS. Anybody know?

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Just found this at Hillbuzz

 

QUESTION: Who are the Oppressive “journalists” identified as Obama operatives in the Journolist Scandal?

 

This whole “Journolist” scandal reminds us of the early 1980s miniseries V, and the way the lizard people from the planet Repton co-opted the news media to do their bidding, including choosing select members of the Media to be their spokespeople (and, kind of, pets). The Media betrayed not only their oath to journalism, if there is such a thing, but their own countries and the human race in general, by becoming puppets for the aliens’ cause.

 

They may not have been snacking on hamsters and parakeets themselves, but they made sure those who were stayed in power. The cult of personality the Vs created for themselves (with Media help) maintained its sway over the public because these “journalists” sold out, and in doing so sold their readers and viewers down the river.

 

The Media we have in this country today is revolting. It’s high time Americans revolted against it. Identifying which members of the Media were full-time Obama operatives and members of Journolist during the 2008 campaign is the first step towards taking back the airwaves from the White House’s propaganda department.

 

The list of known members to date of the left-wing now-defunct JournoList listserv.

 

Spread the word. www.facebook.com/note.php

 

1. Ezra Klein

 

2. Dave Weigel

 

3. Matthew Yglesias

 

4. David Dayen

 

5. Spencer Ackerman

 

6. Jeffrey Toobin

 

7. Eric Alterman

 

8. Paul Krugman

 

9. John Judis

 

10. Eve Fairbanks

 

11. Mike Allen

 

12. Ben Smith

 

13. Lisa Lerer

 

14. Joe Klein

 

15. Brad DeLong

 

16. Chris Hayes

 

17. Matt Duss

 

18. Jonathan Chait

 

19. Jesse Singal

 

20. Michael Cohen

 

21. Isaac Chotiner

 

22. Katha Pollitt

 

23. Alyssa Rosenberg

 

24. Rick Perlstein

 

25. Alex Rossmiller

 

26. Ed Kilgore

 

27. Walter Shapiro

 

28. Noam Scheiber

 

29. Michael Tomasky

 

30. Rich Yesels

 

31. Tim Fernholz

 

32. Dana Goldstein

 

33. Jonathan Cohn

 

34. Scott Winship

 

35. David Roberts

 

36. Luke Mitchell

 

37. John Blevins

 

38. Moira Whelan

 

39. Henry Farrell

 

40. Josh Bearman

 

41. Alec McGillis

 

42. Greg Anrig

 

43. Adele Stan

 

44. Steven Teles

 

45. Harold Pollack

 

46. Adam Serwer

 

47. Ryan Donmoyer

 

48. Seth Michaels

 

49. Kate Steadman

 

50. Matt Duss

 

51. Laura Rozen

 

52. Jesse Taylor

 

53. Michael Hirsh

 

54. Daniel Davies

 

55. Jonathan Zasloff

 

56. Richard Kim

 

57. Thomas Schaller

 

58. Jared Bernstein

 

59. Holly Yeager

 

60. Joe Conason

 

61. David Greenberg

 

62. Todd Gitlin

 

63. Mark Schmitt

 

64. Kevin Drum

 

65. Sarah Spitz

 

Sources: (http://www.politicsdaily.com/… (http://www.politico.com/news/… (http://yglesias.thinkprogress… (http://hotair.com/archives/20… (http://www.slate.com/blogs/bl… (http://justoneminute.typepad…. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/com… (http://www.frumforum.com/the-… (http://twitter.com/TimFernhol… (http://twitter.com/DanaGoldst… (http://www.talkleft.com/story… (http://www.frumforum.com/resp… (http://dailycaller.com/2010/0… (http://dailycaller.com/2010/0… (http://dailycaller.com/2010/0… Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40072_Page2.html#ixzz0uS0Ydldb

 

_______________________

 

Don't recognize many of them, but some are surprising.

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shoutpollyannaish

 

BINGO

 

 

Our government since the 60s has become much more color aware. It is a crime as well as a sin, of the ultimate degree. The Left, the liberal establishment, the unions, the disgruntled, and the academic elite are responsible.

 

Now that we have elected our first post-Constitutional pResident and his SCOTUS appointments, we are well on our way to removing the blindfold from Lady Justice.

 

This really saddens me. I almost feel as if the government has become LESS color blind over the course of my lifetime, rather than more color blind.

 

What a failure. Skin color—what an inexcusable reason to judge anyone on anything.

 

 

mrz051109dAPR20090509035700.jpg

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shoutCasino67

 

See Toons today by shoutPookie. He has a set of pictures of them all.

Look towards end of today's thread.

 

 

See Toons today by shoutPookie

 

What a failure. Skin color(and gender)—what an inexcusable reason to judge anyone on anything.

 

I was wondering if the exposure of the Journolist had any effect on the news as yet. Since I haven't seen or heard anything about this anywhere else, maybe they are still doing 'their thing'.

 

P.S.

I heard that there is a list of the folks on Journolist at TOS. Anybody know?

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shoutPepper. The full list is supposed to be 400!

 

 

Good Morning Geee!

 

"Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to find the missing 350+ names. As always, should you or any of your IM force be caught or killed, the Rovry Rady Rheo and Crearvision will disavow any knowledge of your actions."

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I was hoping something would self destruct but it wasn't you, it wasn't me, and it wasn't this forum.

 

:P

 

 

shoutPepper. I have now read your post---Will it self- destruct? :lol:

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There must be a lot of people on that list of 400 who never participated but just read through it now and then. I wonder if they regret they let their name be added now. Or are they proud to be recognized as part of "the group"?

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