Are Chrysler closings targeting Republican Donors?

[avatar4321]

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/05/did_chrysler_play_politics_wit.html

This is rather disturbing if there is any truth to it:


To quickly review the situation, I took all dealer owners whose names appeared more than once in the list. And, of those who contributed to political campaigns, every single one had donated almost exclusively to GOP candidates. While this isn't an exhaustive review, it does have some ominous implications if it can be verified.

However, I also found additional research online at Scribd (author unknown), which also appears to point to a highly partisan decision-making process.

And there is more to question:

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/05/more_evidence_emerges_that_chr.html


A lawyer for Chrysler dealers facing closure as part of the automaker's bankruptcy reorganization said on Tuesday he believes Chrysler executives do not support a plan to eliminate a quarter of its retail outlets.
Lawyer Leonard Bellavia, of Bellavia Gentile & Associates, who represents some of the terminated dealers, said he deposed Chrysler President Jim Press on Tuesday and came away with the impression that Press did not support the plan.

"It became clear to us that Chrysler does not see the wisdom of terminating 25 percent of its dealers," Bellavia said. "It really wasn't Chrysler's decision. They are under enormous pressure from the President's automotive task force."

This may make the government buyouts of these companies even more dangerous.

[Kathianne]

Taranto is on it:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124344262081759057.html


When people talk about the problems that have driven Chrysler to bankruptcy and General Motors to the brink thereof, they usually have in mind the companies' excessive commitments to those who build their cars: the high wages, lavish benefits and irrational work rules written into union contracts. A less-discussed problem is the companies' relationship with those who sell their cars. A 2006 Forbes article gave an outline:...

Things are different now, at least for Chrysler, which is now in bankruptcy court. As a May 4 Wall Street Journal editorial noted, the Obama administration "is hoping the judge will do little more than rubber stamp the restructuring deal it has worked out among the Treasury, the United Auto Workers and the Italian car maker, Fiat." As part of the restructuring, the Detroit Free Press reports, has sent termination notices to 789 of its dealers:


Dealers no longer have protection from state franchise laws because Chrysler is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but they can contest the process by which Chrysler chose the survivors, said Scott Silverman, a Boston attorney representing four terminated Chrysler dealers in Massachusetts.
"What dealers need to do is look at the criteria Chrysler said it used and look at how you performed on those metrics," said Silverman. Those criteria included sales volume, customer service scores, local market share and average household income in the immediate area.
But what if one of the criteria is partisan politics? Blogger Doug Ross raises that possibility:...

It must be emphasized that Ross's evidence is suggestive, not conclusive. It does not appear that anyone has yet conducted a complete analysis of Chrysler dealers' political contributions. Ross's post, published Monday, contains nine updates with supporting material from news sources and blog posts, but the whole thing ends up being rather disjoined and hard to digest.

This situation certainly bears watching. If Ross's suspicion is unwarranted, we're sure Obama's many online defenders will be along soon with data to debunk it. If he's right, though, it could complicate the bankruptcy proceedings by giving the jilted dealers a basis on which to challenge their termination. It would also demonstrate that political intervention in private business is an invitation for the most brazen sort of corruption.

[Gaffer]

It's all part of the big plan. It will take about two years to get everything into place. That's what's happening now. It's all designed to crush any and ALL opposition. Not just repubs.