While Michigan Governer Jennifer Granholm spreads hysteria and misinformation in aid of her state’s struggling automakers, Indiana Governer Mitch Daniels is taking far more honest position on the the proposed bailout. “Let’s give Congress a chance, but there’s nothing in recent history that suggests they have an answer for this,” Daniels tells the Indianapolis Star. “The only thing we know for certain is the way they’ve been doing business does not work and throwing taxpayer dollars after it won’t make it work.” And before you accuse Daniels of throwing more vulnerable states to the wolves, consider that Indiana is the fifth-biggest auto manufacturer in the union, with some 61k auto industry jobs. Oh yeah, and his state’s unemployment fund is running low, thanks to the hard times. Daniels, who is in DC to receive an award from Governing Magazine for his accomplishments as a first-term governor, knows that once bailouts start there’s no telling where they will end. “If they send money, we’ll cash the check,” says Daniels. “But I didn’t come down here with a tin cup. I just think caution is the watch word. And I don’t know where it ends. I didn’t notice anyone throwing money at the RV industry and that cost Indiana a lot of jobs. Our position all along has been that any solution has got to be a solution leading to long-term viability.” Needless to say, short-term bridge loans don’t meet that criteria. Then again, maybe Daniels’ principled stand has more to do with the fact that the major manufacturers in his state (Toyota, Honda, Subaru) are doing fine, and aren’t asking anyone for a bailout.
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Kudos to Gov. Daniels for a little common sense. Unfortunately, what do you call an honest politician? Answer: a one-termer.
Uhm, Mitch just won a second term by wide margins.
payback is a b*tch….
the first thing Daniels did after his election in 04 was de-unionize the UAW represented state employees (which the state constitution allowed him to do – they had previously been allowed to unionize under Evan Bayh)
unions put millions into defeating Daniels in this election cycle – and he won big – so he’s not gonna show much love for the UAW plants in Indiana
The man has manhood!
@TexN
he is already 2nd term governor. He is the single largest error McCain made – he wasn’t on McCain ticket.
Or perhaps he is the smartest Republican governor – he may not accepted an invite.
I am sure that gov. of Texas, Louisiana, Carolinas and other states that manufacture vehicles by non-Detroit marquees are not exited about give away to losers who will waste it just like that did investors equity (actually it is illegal in our country).
Is it just me, or does Prez. Bush look like he’s passing a stone when this pic was taken?
Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
@menno
it’s you. The rest of us think he is passing stool.
@autonut and menno:
He’s passing the buck. Harry Truman must be flipping in his grave.
Now compare how inteligent Daniels sounds compared to the spastic Pelosi. Lets see sit down and ask why every other failing industry hasnt gotten handouts but this one immediately deserves them. The fact that this thought process is so rare that it catches peoples attention is scary.
So I guess Circuit City is next because people arent buying enough freakin’ ipods.
@autonut
No, I think it looks like he passed the stool a while ago and now it’s beginning to run down his leg.
Nice to hear at least one politician making sense. It’s especially unusual since it seems to be contrary to his state’s short term interests, even though it is probably in the entire United States’ long term interests.
The smartest move he made was not running with McCain. Now he can run in four years and erase the blight on Indiana’s honor that is Dan Quayle.
Daniels deserves no praise. Two years ago he insisted on investing teachers, police, state employee retirements in more “aggressive” investments. These included funding risky projects in Indiana which no one else would fund. This has now collapsed. This just has not been communicated to the public very well, when he it does get out, he is toast.
He has had a falling out with Bush (nothing wrong with that).
He has sold off state assetts for short term gain, making the budget look good in the short run, bad in the long run.
He has long lobbied for pork for the drug industry, he used to work for Eli Lilly. He loves pork, just depends on who is getting it.
Menno,
Looks like W’s good-ole-boy, “I’m cool” walk. Scary that a 62 year old President feels the need to look tough by his fake macho strut. Most of us grew out of that in high school. Then again, who said W has the maturity or intelligence level of anyone out of high school?
Sorry – back to cars now.
Actually – I always liked Dan Quayle, the ridicule heaped on him was never justified. He would have been/would be a fine President.
@Wolven
You have to be more observant: it is not running type of stool. It looks like a rock or an apple. Actually, jokes aside, I like the guy. I think that luck definitely avoided him.
Daniels deserves no praise. Two years ago he insisted on investing teachers, police, state employee retirements in more “aggressive” investments. These included funding risky projects in Indiana which no one else would fund. This has now collapsed. This just has not been communicated to the public very well, when he it does get out, he is toast.
He has had a falling out with Bush (nothing wrong with that).
He has sold off state assetts for short term gain, making the budget look good in the short run, bad in the long run.
He has long lobbied for pork for the drug industry, he used to work for Eli Lilly. He loves pork, just depends on who is getting it.
Here, here. I live in Indiana, and this is correct.
I certainly agree that simply handing money to Rick and Nardelli would be a mistake, but we’d better come up with some kind of orderly transition to a smaller manufacturing base or we’re going to have a mess much worse than we’re headed for now.
matt51:
He has long lobbied for pork for the drug industry, he used to work for Eli Lilly. He loves pork, just depends on who is getting it.
As an employee of the drug industry, I’ll agree that there’s some truth to that. But the government is a huge consumer and regulator of the industry. Some level of slimy co-dependence is to be expected.
And in spite of what everyone hears about the decline of American manufacturing, big Pharma still has a solid (albeit mostly non-union) US footprint.