Caution is advised at this point, though; even some die-hard conservatives are somewhat skeptical that this is really such a blatant political power play against private businesses on a mass scale. It could be as simple as the fact that more Republicans own car dealerships. But, the point here is that there is enough suspicion that some thorough investigation is definitely warranted. The MSM refuses to do that (naturally), so the blogosphere is running with it.
Gateway Pundit has been following the case for a few days now and has a good round-up of the latest news, which is starting to look more and more like dirty politics:
** Earlier it was reported that the Obama Administration may have targeted GOP donors in deciding which Chrysler dealerships would have to close their doors.
** Last night it was discovered that a Big Dem Donor Group was allowed to keep all 6 Chrysler dealerships open.... And, their local competitors were eliminated.
** The Auto Task Force, which includes Obama cabinet members, is reportedly calling the shots on which dealerships will close and stay open.
** The closings also tend to be in "Red" Counties where Obama lost.
** Even Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla) lost his Chrysler dealership in Florida and found out from a colleague on the House floor.
** Lithia Motor Group's owners gave $15,000 to two Democrat candidates and support nationalized healthcare. They will likely lose just two of 29 dealerships and gain 5 more.
** One report claims the odds that these Chrysler closings occurred without partisan bias are less than 1%.
Now this...
Automotive News is reporting that Chrysler is already looking to open new franchises after closing 789 dealerships.
Chrysler did more last week than thin the dealer ranks in clogged metro markets. Chrysler also took out some underperforming dealers, leaving some good smaller markets without any Chrysler stores.Of course, several of the dealerships that were closed had owners who happened to donate to Republicans and a number of these businesses were profitable "5 Star" dealerships.
Chrysler President Jim Press said the company will be back in those markets.
Chrysler has been managing its dealer count downward in overdealered metro markets, a program called Project Genesis.
By the way... Here is a look at a few of the players on the Obama Auto Task Force who are calling the shots on the Chrysler dealership closings:
The task force, headed by investment banker Steven Rattner, is comprised of Cabinet members and Obama administration officials who have extensive backgrounds in finance. They include Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson.No wonder they're closing the GOP-linked dealerships.
If this is indeed what is happening, it could be very damaging to the Obama administration. I have a hard time believing that any Americans will stand for this open destruction of political enemies, no matter what party they claim to be. Of course, who would have thought Obama could get away with taking over the auto industry at all? It's a crazy, crazy time in American history, so anything's possible. Some of the dealerships in question are in the KC area, so this has some local impact, too.
Nothing is assured at this point, other than the fact that there is a rapidly growing pile of circumstantial evidence. I'll post more details as they come out.
There's my two cents.
Related Reading:
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/05/shock-big-dem-donor-group-gets-to-keep.html
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/05/more-on-chrysler-closings-did-team.html
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/05/even-gop-congressman-loses-chrysler.html
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/05/dealergate-mapping-closures.html
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/05/28/dealergate-and-the-msm/
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YTQ0OTZiY2JlMGYzNmRjZGY0NGQyOGM1MWEwZWZiYjM=
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