As you’ve no doubt guessed, the above quote comes courtesy of an Obama administration official. Showing infinite reserves of credulity and restraint, the Detroit News straight-up reports that “Larry Summers, the White House’s chief economic adviser, said in an interview that Congress shouldn’t interfere in the running GM and Chrysler . . . ‘We’ve been very clear that companies needed to be run commercially, rather than politically.'” Although I was recently, correctly admonished by several of our Best and Brightest for profanity, I’m going to use my last expletive here: that’s fucking awesome.
Summers was responding to H.R. 2743, “A House bill to hamstring GM’s plans to terminate franchise agreements with nearly 1,400 dealers, and seeking to reopen 789 Chrysler dealerships that closed last week.” Apparently, it now has 132 cosponsors, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass.”
Our sources inside GM tell us that H.R. 2743 has the bankrupt automaker’s execs in full panic mode, like nothing before it. Good to see they still have a pulse.
Who the fuck admonished you for using expletives? Sorry, I had to…
“A House bill to hamstring GM’s plans to terminate franchise agreements with nearly 1,400 dealers, and seeking to reopen 789 Chrysler dealerships that closed last week.”
Funny, reminds me of Six Feet Under episode where the character Brenda says ‘How about vomitrocious? Is that a word?’
It’s a long way from a bill to a law in the House. Cosponsoring the bill is a good way to assure your local dealers that you have their back, while not actually doing anything that matters. The GM execs should be in panic mode, but not because of this bill. That can wait until it gets out of committee (if it ever does).
What a clusterfuck.
Fiat and the UAW control Chrysler, and they want profit*, which means reduced dealer counts. The court of last resort denied cert for the bankruptcy appeal, that was the last hope for the Chrysler dealers.
I’m pretty sure that even in this political climate the feds cannot force franchise contracts (the old contracts disappeared in bankruptcy) on a private corporation against the will of the majority shareholders.
*The UAW may likely not want profit at the expense of wages and work rules, but they don’t give a fuck about the dealers.
Yeah, no way Obama signs off on such a bill. But the sponsors already know that.
Congress and PTFOA are already on a collision course with this one. I think we will be seeing one of the first of many power struggles between the executive and legislative branches with GM caught in the middle! Will make for entertaining political theatre..
Expletives are the new italics.
That may have been your last overt expletive, Mr. Farago, but I suspect you have some euphemisms at the ready. Allow me to suggest one of my favorites, “stucco”, as in “when the stucco hits the fan”, “in deep stucco” and my favorite expression of futility, “shoveling stucco against the tide”.
There are other euphemisms, and if you’re going to continue to report on government meddling in America’s last large-scale industrial enterprise, you’ll need them.
If Bawney Fwank has his way, we’ll all be dwiving wittle caws fwom an ecowogicawwy fwiendwy distwibution centew in Massachusetts. And thew’ll awl have vibwating dwivew’s seats.
LMAO.. This is beautiful.
Ford must have a daily conference call to laugh about the latest welfare/Ch. 11 SNAFU for GM and Chrysler.
That’s Larry.
All this infighting over companies no one wants to invest in and few want to buy from.
Lawrence Summers has been incompetent since the Clinton administration. I wouldn’t believe him as far as I could throw him.
psarhjinian :
Expletives are the new italics.
Haha, I like that!
Lorenzo :
That may have been your last overt expletive, Mr. Farago, but I suspect you have some euphemisms at the ready. Allow me to suggest one of my favorites, “stucco”, as in “when the stucco hits the fan”, “in deep stucco” and my favorite expression of futility, “shoveling stucco against the tide”.
But shit is not really a swear word, is it? I always thought it was merely a noun; a statement of fact, if you will. Like “don’t step in that shit.” I’ve actually had to use that one a few times…
lw: Remember that post a while ago saying that Alan Mulally regularly reads this site? This is why: so after a stressful day at Ford, he can sit back and laugh at the stupidity of GM, Chrysler, and the government.