Once again, The Detroit News is giving free reign to D2.8 boosters to boost the D2.8 and, by extension, themselves. Today, we get an epistle from Congressman John Dingell (D-Dearborn), who feels obligated to come clean about his role in “enabling” Motown’s hometown heroes’ self-destruction and, perhaps, Uncle Sugar’s $33.4b “take the money and run it the way you always have” auto bailout buffet. (That’s excluding GMAC.) “Americans are angry about what has happened to our country. No one seems to be willing to take responsibility. I will take some. I should have held the automotive companies more accountable for their actions, or inactions, over the years. My colleagues voted to make another member, who views the auto industry in a much different way than I do, the chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. I find that some members voted against me because I was perceived to be sympathetic to the auto industry.” Translation: if loving you was wrong, I don’t want to be wrong. And I still love you. “I don’t regret fighting for millions of Americans who work in the auto industry, even if that fight might have hurt me. I will fight for those workers, the UAW and others in the industry until they kick me out of this place.” They? I know democracy is a difficult concept for a politician who’s been in Washington since 1955, but shouldn’t that be YOU, as in Michigan voters? Anyway, things are going to be different now…
“I, and the auto industry, must recognize that fighting for those jobs means doing things differently. And while I may occasionally be put at odds with the companies themselves, I will continue my fight to protect the finest, most loyal men and women who work in the industry as well as the need to continue a manufacturing base in this country — whatever the personal cost.”
Would those “most loyal” men and women be, perchance, United Auto Workers members?
So let’s get down to it. Exactly what’s going to change, Mr. I Work For President Change Now Dingell? “This industry needs to change its attitude about Washington and do a far better job of telling its story in all aspects of the business.” Ah ha! Stop fighting the politicians green dreams and spend more on lobbying and PR. Well, at least one part of that would be new. OK, what else?
Nothing. The rest of Dingell’s dietribe [sic] is a sop to the domestic nameplates’ hybrids, the usual plea for national health care (“I have worked all of my 53 years in Congress to produce a bill that would make sure every American had some adequate health care coverage”) and a warm-up for battery producer subsidies for local constituents (“We need to build those batteries here in Michigan”).
Call me cynical, but as long as weasels like Dingell can spend 53 uninterrupted years in Congress, the chances of genuine change for anyone on any level in any aspect of government or industry is somewhere between slim and non-existent. Just sayin’.
What drives this fascination with National Health Care…..?
Of all people, I would think that the Auto Unions (whom typically have pretty good health benefits) would fight this idea tooth and nail.
Up in the Great White North, we could only dream of health coverage comparible to what the UAW now gets. Socialized medicine is akin to the worlds worst HMO – why would anyone want that?
Dingell is a great example of how the “career politician” has helped to corrupt our political process. The counter example from history is Cincinnatus who was a simple farmer, went to Rome to serve his country during a crisis and then promptly resigned his position when the crisis had passed and returned to his life as a farmer. Cincinnati, Ohio is named after him. Term limits anyone?
Dingell isn’t a Senator (as stated in the text), he’s a Congressman. But he is, as you say, a weasel.
Um, no, his fellow Democrats voted against him because they are hard left radicals who are very interested in using climate change to expand the power of government and exert unprecedented control over the daily lives of every single one of us.
The Democratic Party is singly focused on mandating “green” Poindexter-mobiles that no one but limp-wristed mama’s boys would want to drive. Oh sure, they’ll SAY they don’t want to harm American jobs, and they’ll toss billion after billion of the taxpayer’s money to Detroit to prop them up and pucker up for the UAW.
In the end, though, the Democrats that voted to unseat Dingell had one thing in mind, forcing Americans to drive the cars that the Democrats feel are appropriate.
You think CAFE was rough on GM? Wait ’till you see the sales results when everything has to be hybrid.
“Personal cost” my ass. Politicians like Dingell have nice, cushy jobs, taxpayer-funded junkets (read: vacations), a guaranteed pension, and top shelf health care. They have no idea what their constituents are dealing with, despite the BS they spew to the contrary when they’re whoring for votes. He’s the defintion of “career politician”.
Ken Strumpf :
I’ll put on another pot of coffee, shall I?
Text amended.
Behind Dingell’s comments there is, of course, another story, two actually:
First, of course, it’s the car companies, not the UAW, fighting for nationalized health care. That way, they think they wouldn’t have to pay for it and could dump all of those costs on the taxpayer.
Second, there’s the green mentality of the Democrat party leaders, especially Pelosi. That’s what cost Dingel his energy committee chair. That attitude is something any literate reader of the daily news should be able to discern, but which the automakers and particularly GM seem to have completely missed. They counted on Dingell alone to save them from the Energy Bill passed a year ago in November. That was plain stupid.
Dingell’s right when he says that the car makers haven’t made their case.
They haven’t made their case, though, because they have a long standing appeasement mentality. They’d rather appease the UAW than have a profitable business model, and they’d rather have the government give them money than say that making cars people won’t buy is a stupid idea.
The really fun part in all of this, of course, is that the UAW supported all of those high mileage requirements, simply because the Congress was willing to preserve the two fleet rule.
Dingell’s desire to protect the UAW is remarkable, given that union’s apparent focus on self-destructing the industry on which it depends.
No mention of the cash that flows into his bank account via his wife Debbie’s job at GM. I’m sure that has nothing to do with his actions. Hey Dingo, don’t get too far out of line or there could be a pink slip delivered to your wife, the ex GM lobbyist now an “executive.” If a Toyota lobbyist was having sex with Corker and funneling cash into his bank account, the News would be all over it.
Um, no, his fellow Democrats voted against him because they are hard left radicals who are very interested in using climate change to expand the power of government and exert unprecedented control over the daily lives of every single one of us.
Wake me up when the Democrats come anywhere close to the Republicans and their secret prisons, torture, illegal wiretapping, and use of the Constitution as toilet paper.
Not only has Dingell been in Congress for 53 years, he succeeded his father, who held the seat before him, on his father’s death. This sort of thing is absolutely poisonous to democracy. I really regret that the term-limit movement, which had some momentum in the 90’s, ultimately failed.
@70 Chevelle SS454: CAFE as was previously implemented has so many loopholes GM could (and did) drive a million-ish strong fleet highly profitable E85-swilling Yukatahoburbelades right through it.
I’m of the opinion that without CAFE, we might have seen the Caprice/Fleetwood class of vehicles live a little longer as CAFE favored the production of SUV’s, but otherwise the 80’s/90’s/00’s would not have been much different for the US vehicle mix and eventual fate of the D2.8. You can’t mandate good management.
Future CAFE? That just might put a dent in things. Maybe.
Last time I checked this guy (and the rest of the house and senate) gave the D2.8 NOTHING… It was the PRESIDENT who gave away the farm on the Detroit three, and the banks, and GMAC, and the insurance industry… What is his name again… Oh ya Carl W Bush has been socializing er nationalizing everything in sight in the past six months… If Congress and the Senate what to say “my bad” now maybe the should have done something to get the guy in the Oval Office under control sometime during the last 8 years.
From Congresspedia.com…
He is married to a former GM lobbyist who is currently employed as Executive Director, Public Affairs and Community Relations by GM and the grand-daughter of GM’s founders, one of the Fisher bros.
His largest campaign contributions in 2006 were:
1 General Motors $ 31,250
2 Ford Motor Co $ 30,600
3 DaimlerChrysler $ 20,750
I love the Internet. :)
Ummm politicians representing Michigan are going to vote in favor of things benefiting Michigan and politicians from Alabama are going to do the same for their state. Its all about getting elected or re-elected
qwerty
While you are rambling on about Bush and the Constitution, would you please quote the part of Article I or Article II of the Constitution that authorizes the Congress or the President to “bailout” the auto companies.
Democrats seem to love quoting the Constitution until they want to do all sorts of things that are, in fact, not authorized by it. Most of the New Deal was unconstitutional until the election of ’36.
GF
Dingell was replaced by as Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce by Henry Waxman.
He, like almost anyone, will be better than Dingell for that Chairmanship; having someone from the Detroit area chair the House Committee on Energy and Commerce creates the level of conflict of interest that is created when a fox guards a henhouse.
“Dingell is a great example of how the “career politician” has helped to corrupt our political process. The counter example from history is Cincinnatus who was a simple farmer, went to Rome to serve his country during a crisis and then promptly resigned his position when the crisis had passed and returned to his life as a farmer. Cincinnati, Ohio is named after him. Term limits anyone?”
Term limits indeed. Also,maybe if our politicians weren’t payed so much money, we could actually get people in who actually CARE about what they are doing.
“Democrats seem to love quoting the Constitution until they want to do all sorts of things that are, in fact, not authorized by it. Most of the New Deal was unconstitutional until the election of ‘36.
And the only way a lot of the New Deal got passed was by FDR packing the supreme court with his buddies
Sherman Lin :
Ummm politicians representing Michigan are going to vote in favor of things benefiting Michigan…
Fat lot of good his voting did for Michigan. Last time I was there, it seemed to be an economic wasteland.
But it doesn’t matter, because Michigander/anians living in his district really WANT him to be their congressman. They got exactly what they want!
Its all about getting elected or re-elected
Well now THIS we can agree on, because Dingell is really good at doing that.
Kurt. :
January 7th, 2009 at 10:30 am
His largest campaign contributions in 2006 were:
1 General Motors $ 31,250
2 Ford Motor Co $ 30,600
3 DaimlerChrysler $ 20,750
Argh. I hate it when people say “company A gave B dollars to congressman C”, because it’s a flat out lie. Under Federal law, it is 100% illegal for a corporation to give money to a candidate for Federal office. GM, Ford, and Chrysler gave a combined total of zero dollars to Dingell’s campaign commitees.
What those charts show is that employees of GM gave $31,250 and so on. He represents a district where a lot of residents of said district work for American automakers, so of course a lot of people who work for American automakers gave him money. Duh.
Dingell is just another hereditary Democratic politician. The Levins, Bidens, Kennedys and Cuomos are not much different. The fact that Dingell is married to the head of GM communications shouldn’t surprise anyone. Spousal conflict of interest and or nepotism is a way of life in Washington.
Dingell is just another hereditary Democratic politician. The Levins, Bidens, Kennedys and Cuomos are not much different.
Or the Bushes for that matter.
To all:
Sorry, I tried. But Dingell got something like 90% of the votes in my district. Sometimes I just look around and think, who are these people?!
Screw Green. What the 2.8 should be doing is automating the car. Do that, and green will just happen because if the car is driving, you don’t care about throttle response. When the car is driving, you make the car last longer. When the car is driving, you can enforce insanely tough driver standards for those who actually want to drive.
This could be Obama’s moon shot. It could get so much support he could ride into his second term on this alone. It hits a million constituencies.
While you are rambling on about Bush and the Constitution, would you please quote the part of Article I or Article II of the Constitution that authorizes the Congress or the President to “bailout” the auto companies.
Right after you quote the part that allows the president to put people in secret prisons and torture them.
Republicans love quoting the Constitution right up until they sieze power, after which it’s “if the president does it, it’s not illegal.”