What's Good For General Motors Is Awful for Rush Limbaugh
January 26, 2012 2:22 pm ET by Eric Boehlert
If you missed this Rush Limbaugh clip from yesterday, it's rather astounding when you put it into the larger cultural context and truly appreciate how far right-wing media have ventured out into no-man's land with their ongoing war against Detroit automakers. It's astounding because we're talking about conservative, flag-waving, America-first commentators who in the last few years have declared war on American autoworkers, of all people.
To the point where they cheered Detroit's demise, railed against any attempt by the Obama administration to save the industry via a bailout, and now, as Limbaugh did this week, simply refuse to acknowledge the extraordinary turnaround the American companies are enjoying.
Why? Simple: If Obama is for the car companies succeeding, the right-wing media have to be against them. Aggressively. (Although, it's funny that when GM ad dollars were flowing Limbaugh's way he sang a very different tune.)
The latest case of Limbaugh auto-bashing was prompted by the news that just two years after teetering on bankruptcy, bailed-out General Motors is now the world's largest car maker, selling 9 million vehicles last year.
Great news, right? Wrong.
Last week, Media Matters noted that in the wake of Detroit's extraordinary turn-around, partisan bailout bashers like Limbaugh and Michelle Malkin and Fox News haven't spent much time cheering the sales surge. Proof? Confronted with encouraging manufacturing news about GM, an iconic American company thriving with a payroll of American workers, Limbaugh refused to acknowledge the success.
Instead, he lashed out at the carmaker, and refused to believe that GM's robust sales numbers were accurate. In fact, he denounced them as an "absolute crock." Because GM and Detroit autoworkers are the enemy of conservative media.
Then that person is worse than Hitler, to quote that idiot on The Five (zeros).
Heads are exploding in the ranks of the Campaign For Obama's Failure.
Following some comments about regulation, Matthews tells the guy " I always thought you were sort of a moderate Republican. What's you position on climate change?"
And the guy tells him it's a huge hoax by Al Gore and his cronies to make money. Matthews face was priceless, just a "WTF?" look, he apparently didn't know how wingnut the guy is.
Then Matthews asks, facetiously, what's your take on evolution ?
And the guy says the Lord God is our creator, we evolved from him. Then I about lost it, when Matthews asks another guest " What is it with the troglodytes?"
I've never heard anybody in the mainstream media use "troglodytes". Good for Tweety.
"I ignore your reality, and choose to supplant my own imagined world instead."
The bailout allowed GM to restructure without bankruptcy and it's requirement to open contracts, etc. Instead, they just transferred the capital of the bondholders, yours and my 401k's and grannies pension, to increase the union's stake in the company beyond what their investment legally deserved.
I'm glad that GM is ok, but it cost the public a great deal more than money for retirement. Volts, those coal powered vehicles have to be sold with more subsidy money rather than GM being able to sell cars that Americans want without using taxpayer monies.
Now, pension fund managers are a different issue. If you are in a pension plan, you are at the whim of your pension fund manager. But I agree that no responsible pension fund manager would invest heavily in one stock. However, tell that to the former employees of Enron.
GM did file for bankruptcy.
You can freely spew all your Obama-is-evil talking points all you want, but you should at least get your pertinent facts straight.
Bondholders in a crashing company whining about the deal they were getting. I'll bet they are singing a different tune today.
General Motors has the Highest Earnings Yield in the Automobile Manufacturers Industry
The fail is strong in muffie..
"Muffie, meet Adolph ... Adolph, eat Muffie"
Mumbles, if you haven't diversified your retirement investments, that is hardly GM's, the President's or Congress' fault.
You are such a brainwashed and disgusting piece of dirt. The ONLY thing you care about is attacking union contracts. You WANTED bankrupcy for that very reason. Every businessman knows that keeping a healthy company is preferable to bankrupcy. The bondholders are probably pretty happy they DIDNT go into bankrupcy NOW that GM sold more cars than any car company in the world last year. You are pathetic and stupid MMMoron and you always will be
Why?
Because they had "insurance" on their "investments" that would have paid them FAR more than the stocks were worth at that time, as long as the "investment" went bad.
These poor poor individuals and funds were willing to allow MILLIONS of people dependent upon the automotive industry for their jobs to become jobless so that they could make a few bucks more.
Cry me a river.
He also cries about illegal immigrants destroying this country while making money off them, rails about seat belt laws, taxes, regulations and safety nets of all kinds.
Anarcho-capitalist libertarians are hilarious.