In a post under the headline “Toyota and the Union-Backed Government-Led Witch Hunt,” Big Government contributor Brian Johnson became the latest conservative to test drive the Toyota recall conspiracy.

Johnson jumps into his conspiracy by pointing out that the Toyota recalls are getting much more attention than recalls by Honda and Ford:

One might think this is the first auto recall in decades from the way government officials and Congressional Committees have pounced on Toyota. However, as recent as last month, Honda announced a recall of 646,000 Fit models [...] Ford, less than one year ago, was forced to recall more than 4 million cars based on 550 vehicle fires.

There was no government outcry and no demand for Congressional hearings over these recent recalls. So why has Toyota suddenly become the target of a government-led witch hunt?

Last time I checked, Honda wasn't unionized either. So where is the “union-backed government-led witch hunt” against Honda? If Johnson's theory is at all accurate, shouldn't the government have “pounced” on them as well?

Johnson also tries to sell us on the idea that the Honda recall was equivalent in scope to the Toyota recalls. He compared the 646,000 recalled Honda Fits to the 648,000 Prius and Lexus models that were recalled by Toyota:

In the U.S., it is estimated that 15,000 Lexus HS250h and 133,000 Prius models will be recalled due to gas pedal issues, with another 500,000 Prius and other gasoline-electric hybrids needing anti-brake software modification.

But Johnson is portraying the Toyota recall with a deflated tally. By only noting the Lexus and Prius recalls, Johnson is ignoring recalls for the “gas pedal issues” on Toyota's Camry, Corolla, Avalon, Matrix, RAV4, Highlander, Tundra, and Sequoia lines. In a January press release, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. said it would recall 2.3 million vehicles for sticking gas pedals. Some reports peg the total vehicles affected by Toyota's current recalls at the nine million mark worldwide. So it's fair to say the Toyota recalls are a bigger deal than Honda's.

Finally, Johnson's attack is based on the premise that “forced union contracts” resulted in “inflated” wages to auto workers, thereby “sinking” the U.S. auto industry. While it's true that union wages are higher than their non-unionized counterparts in American assembly plants, Johnson ignored an important factor in the downfall of the American car manufacturer and the rise of Japanese brands like Toyota and Honda: Detroit ignored market trends that favored fuel efficiency while the foreign brands took the opposite approach. Jonathan Cohn writes:

Detroit steadily lost business to companies like Honda and Toyota that managed to make cars more efficiently--and figured out, early on, that rising gas prices would increase demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Cohn elaborated on the gap between East and West:

Companies like Honda operate out of countries that made health and retirement benefits a national responsibility. And the perennially high price of gasoline, a product of high gas taxes in virtually all other highly developed countries, has ensured a steady market for their smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Breitbart's Big Government should avoid these types of conspiracies, lest they want to further drive their reputation into a ditch.