About us Login Get email updates
County Fair
Print

Hedgecock conspiracy: Obama conducts "jihad against Toyota" to provide "boon to Government Motors"

February 01, 2010 4:04 pm ET by Media Matters staff

From Roger Hedgecock's February 1 WorldNetDaily column, "Obama attacks Toyota":

The current cascade of troubles for Toyota started on Aug. 28, 2009, when a San Diego family died in their Lexus in an horrific crash caused by what is known as SUA - sudden unintended acceleration. The actual cause of SUA is not known. Rumors about a "stuck" gas pedal or faulty software or the floor mat interfering with the gas pedal are still rumors. An investigation is still underway.

Disclosure: My family drives Toyota cars (a Prius and a Lexus SUV), and we have never had a problem with these excellent products. On our cars (and every other Toyota vehicle I've seen), the floor mats are firmly secured by hooks and cannot interfere with the gas pedal. And the gas pedal works just as it should - press down and the car moves faster. Ease up and the car slowly decelerates.

Nonetheless, Toyota faces a perfect storm from SUA. But is government "greed" a factor here? As a co-owner of Toyota rivals GM and Chrysler, is the Obama administration and its jihad against Toyota "consumer protection" or revenge against a successful, non-union, red state based rival? Given what Rahm Emanuel said about crisis as an opportunity to "advance the agenda," this question deserves closer attention.

[...]

All of this is a field day for the Plaintiff's Bar, another Obama ally. Attorneys made fortunes in the "unsafe at any speed" Corvair, exploding Pinto and rollover Ford Explorer cases. These could pale in significance compared to SUA and the scale of Toyota's recall. The publicity over 52 complaints out of 1.8 million Toyota/Lexus vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2008 has made every owner concerned about the safety of their Toyota vehicle.

This panic could fuel lawsuits big enough to put Toyota out of business in the U.S. What a boon for Government Motors! Indeed, last Friday, GM, Chrysler and Ford all announced ad campaigns aimed at worried Toyota owners.

Toyota will announce a "fix" for the gas pedal this week. What's at stake here is not just the safety of the individual Toyota vehicle, nor even the financial health of that company - but the very existence of a free competitive vehicle market in the U.S.

Tags: Roger Hedgecock, WorldNetDaily

Support Our Work


Expand All Expand 1st Level Collapse All Add Comment
    • Author by GBU-15 (February 01, 2010 4:11 pm ET)
      4  
      The all powerful yet incompetent Obama administration. Its Machivellian plot to destroy a foreign car company! Oh my! The far-reaching powers of Barack Obama. Why don't we have health care by now?
      Report Abuse
    • Author by Dradeeus (February 01, 2010 4:12 pm ET)
      5  
      Did I hear that right? What a childish and repeated mentality.

      "I am not poor, therefore there is no wealth gap."
      "I am not warm, therefore there is no global warming."
      "My car works the way it should, therefore all of them are safe."
      Report Abuse
    • Author by DellDolly (February 01, 2010 4:18 pm ET)
      7  
      It's undeniably true that SOME reports of rapid and uncontrollable acceleration are due to people who THINK they're pushing on the brake when in fact they are pushing on the gas.

      But it also appears to be true that the gas pedal has a problem - if it didn't, then there wouldn't be a way to 'fix' it!

      Therefore, there can't be a conspiracy by Obama - he didn't make 6 million flawed Toyota gas pedals, did he?
      Report Abuse
    • Author by whatIthink (February 01, 2010 4:36 pm ET)
      6  
      The idiot conveniently leaves out the fact that TOYOTA ADMITTED TO THE PROBLEM and is scrambling to get the parts shipped for repairs. And, name one corporation that hasn't used the problems of its rivals as a selling point? That is a large part of "the very existence of a free competitive vehicle market in the U.S."
      Report Abuse
    • Author by angels4light (February 01, 2010 7:03 pm ET)
         
      Are these people trying to find conspiracies under every blade of grass? Don't misunderstand me, I know there are SOME conspiracies in the world, but they seem to come up with several new and each time more devestating than the last every single day!
      Report Abuse
    • Author by jms (February 01, 2010 8:16 pm ET)
         
      I had the same thought myself over the weekend.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by political_left-religious_right (February 01, 2010 8:37 pm ET)
      1  
      Hey, Hedgecock--in my life, I've owned eleven cars: two GMs, one Chrysler, and eight Fords. You buy Toyotas. Why do you hate America?
      Report Abuse
      • Author by magnolialover (February 02, 2010 8:15 am ET)
        1  
        Toyotas (some of them anyway) are made in the US. Camrys, Corollas, Trucks, Minivans, and so on, are all made on US soil, and by law, have to have a certain percentage (I think it was 80%) of US content inside of each vehicle. I used to work for a supplier who made parts for Toyota, and that's the only way they were allowed to build car manufacturing plants in the US.

        I know you were just being somewhat sarcastic, but I don't think folks realize how many jobs Toyota is responsible for creating here in the US.

        You have NUMMI in Fremont CA, TMMK in Kentucky, TMMI in Indiana, TMMTX in Texas. Lots of parts made for Toyota in the US, and lots of vehicles produced in the US for Toyota.

        I was talking to a buddy of mine who still works for the company I used to work for in NC, and they've been down for a week and a half because of the Toyota recall. And for them, no work = no money.
        Report Abuse
        • Author by political_left-religious_right (February 02, 2010 11:02 am ET)
             
          I was indeed being sarcastic, Mags. Thanks for pointing out that the Toyota woes are having an effect on American workers. If anything, I was trying to poke some fun at some of my fellows here in southeast Michigan, who think it practically treasonous to own a foreign automobile. Owning a foreign car has been a campaign issue in at least one of our governor's races.
          Report Abuse
    • Author by HowardFranklin (February 02, 2010 4:25 pm ET)
         
      Roger, you've got to be kidding me. Are you that stupid. Toyota has admitted the mistake after months and months -- if not years of stonewalling. Tons of incidences reported, many with deaths. They admittedly don't have the brake-nexing-accelarator technology that all the other companies have, including the other Japanese. Yet you bang on this conspriacy. I worked for three automakers including Ford during the Firestone tire crisis. Your analysis of the situation is simply retarded. Sudden acceleration is rare, but when you have millions of vehicles on the road, even a rare occurrence can kill tens if not hundreds of people. Shame on you for your stupidity. Go to the families that lost loved ones and explain your theory you coward.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by Irishlass (February 03, 2010 2:13 am ET)
      1  
      I've also had this same thought. I'm glad you wrote this and I intend to email this link to thousands! Because I think that this is the TRUTH of the matter. I think American cars are just not up to the par of Toyotas. It's about time American Car makers had a shake up and wake up call. However, true to the way we play the game in America, we try to cut off the heads of the better competitors to make ourselves look better.

      I've owned and my parents have owned Toyotas for over 30 years and rarely if ever have had major problems. I hope this conspiracy is uncovered SOON! It stinks.

      And if you don't believe stuff like this can happen -- WAKE UP! Watch "Future of Food" and learn about companies like Monsanto who are destroying the quality of our food because of GREED!
      Report Abuse

my.MediaMatters.org

Login  Sign Up

About the Blog

Feed Icon
  • County Fair is a media blog featuring links to progressive media criticism from around the Web as well as original commentary, breaking news and rapid response updates to major media events from Media Matters senior fellows and other staff.