Obligatory Obama-Closes-Chrysler-Dealerships-Over-Politics Post

I just can't buy this -- if true, it's politically suicidal, even with the media on his side covering for him.

And it's not that I don't think that Obama is capable of this -- I just think that he'd only do this if the political advantage to be gained was commensurate with the exposure and downside. I don't see that here.

Still, as Allah says: Hmmmm.

Here's a dilemma for conservatives. The MSM will not investigate any of these claims, ever. So what is a conservative to do? If a conservatives admit that this line of inquiry seems unlikely to turn up malfeasance, the MSM uses such statements as pretexts to not bother to even check, and uses such statements against conservatives who are agitating for additional investigation -- "Even conservatives think this is unlikely, so you guys are obviously crazy..."

Of course I want this looked into, of course. It's my guess it's a non-story, not my expert opinion.

But the MSM is so ridiculously biased that they make honesty a dangerous and politically counterproductive business.

The only way to even get the MSM to do their jobs and take a look is to pressure them by claiming Worst Scandal Eveh, even if we don't all necessarily buy that. But we have to claim that in order to spur any sort of media interest whatsoever. (That interest, of course, coming in the form of stories like Conservatives Now So Crazy They Think Obama Is Closing Chrysler Dealerships for Political Advantage, which isn't exactly the headline we seek, but that's the best we can hope for from the MSM.)

Hmmmm... One "protected" dealership is co-owned by a former Clinton official and Black Entertainment Television bigwig.

Oh, and their local competition was eliminated, through having their franchises terminated.

Hmmmm...

Another Possibility: A commenter suggests that this may have come out not by specifically targeting "enemies" but by specifically sparing allies.

Same result, of course -- because Republican donors aren't getting the Special Mercy of the Emperor, the closed dealerships will skew Republican. And still every bit as corrupt. But it's more understandable how the corruption unfolds via that path -- it's more like the typical sort of corruption.

Frankly, I don't see the need to close these dealerships at all. Chrysler itself makes money by selling the most cars possible. Now, if there are too many local dealerships for the dealerships to be profitable... well, so what? That's the dealerships' problem -- Chrysler still has an interest in selling the most cars possible, even if its dealers are in cutthroat competition with one another.

So I do wonder how this big plan got off the ground at all. It sounds like a case of special pleading from dealers, who wanted their competition eliminated, having nothing much to do with Chrysler's viability.

Every optician (just for an example) would dearly love the government to limit the number of opticians operating in his area... so long as he is one of the ones permitted to practice his trade. The whole point of the government forcing people to obtain licenses is to limit competition. The in-group pushes for these measures; the outsiders resist it, as they are of course the ones specifically targeted for extinction by these laws.

I have no idea when, exactly, it became the government's business to limit competition among car dealers. But no one should be surprised if the process turns out to be corrupt -- because the whole purpose was corrupt from the beginning.

Whether this particular charge is true or not (and I'm actually now thinking maybe it is), this sort of thing is going to happen more and more in Obama's AmeriKKKa, because he's pushing government power -- and therefore corrupt government favor and corrupt government punishment -- into every nook and cranny of American economic activity.

The more opportunities for abuse = the more abuse.

On top of that, he's an easily distracted buffoon who doesn't seem at any particular risk of developing a nervous disorder due to working too hard. So his vigilance over the tremendous new opportunities for corruption will be almost nonexistent.

posted by Ace at 10:31 AM

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