Were Republican-owned GM dealerships targeted for closure in 2010? (Video)

Examiner.com ^ | 5/17/13

[Impala64ssa]

Two members of Congress are asking if the Treasury Department disproportionately targeted more Republican or conservative owned auto dealerships during the government-lead restructuring of General Motors in 2009. Breitbart.com reported today that Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Jim Renacci (R-OH) released a letter asking Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to release documents regarding the process and methodology that determined which GM dealerships were closed.

GM was loaned $50 million by Congress as part of the restructuring included consolidating dealerships and closing some of the under-performing GM dealerships. In 2009 and 2010 there were several reports in the press raising the question whether dealerships owned by Republicans or conservative leaning owners who donated to Republicans were more likely to have been closed than those owned by Democrats or owners who contributed to Democratic candidates.

Renacci owned a dealership in Northeast Ohio that got closed in 2010. The Breitbart story reported, “Congress loaned General Motors $50 billion in 2009 after declaring bankruptcy, which resulted in the federal government owning a majority share of the company. Roughly 2000 dealerships received "wind-down" agreements, and while hundreds were able to survive an exhaustive arbitration process, Renacci-Doraty Chevrolet in Wadsworth did not. Renacci, then a Congressional candidate challenging incumbent John Boccieri, placed the blame squarely on President Obama.”

[Impala64ssa]

Just an anectdote, Broadway Buick in Newburgh, NY shut down at the time of the GM restructuring. What's significant about this particular closing is that this was the world's oldest Buick dealership in operation. They've been at this same location for almost 100yrs. and the showroom building is eligible for landmark preservation. And considering the state of the economy, and the fact they weren't in the best part of town, they still managed to move a fair amount of Buicks.

[pepsionice]

I think that scandal is parked for the fall period. There are probably a dozen scandals lined up, and the remaining three years will just be one after another. There’s virtually nothing that the administration can do in stopping them. Avoiding the special prosecutor simply helps make each one more painful.

Also, the general concept of taking down the Republican dealerships...was to have more influence on local and state elections. Well...they couldn’t touch the imports or the Ford company. So they picked up the slack.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

I’m sure it will be kind of the same thing as the IRS investigations.....only 97% of the organizations stymied from attaining their 501c3 status were Tea Party or Pro-Life or Christian organizations. Only 96% of the closed GM dealerships were associated with Repub donors...this proves there was no pattern. (Made-up numbers, not from any source other than my snarky noggin)

[TBP]

Yes, they were.

[pgkdan]

Yes.

[MestaMachine]

That’s pretty much already been reported on and proven. Same deal with Gibson Guitars. Gibson contributed to Republicans and was almost put out of business for using ‘illegal’ matrials which weren’t illegal at all. They confiscated their entire inventory, while its chief competitor who donated to democrats was left untouched even rhough they were using the exact same materials.

[tcrlaf]

ABSOLUTELY...
In Indianapolis, Republican supporting Porter Dodge lost both stores, including one in the inner-City, while minority-owned Democrat-supporting Kennedy Dodge, one of the lowest-rated Chrysler stores in the nation, kept it’s franchise. It later went under, but not for a couple of years.

[KarenMarie]

Mrkd

[Gaffer]

There are probably a dozen scandals lined up, and the remaining three years will just be one after another.

I think this is probably true. Very true.

I think they have some manageable 'cases' still out there they can use to deflect attention from real problems.

To me while the IRS SCANDAL is important, it detracts from the investigation and dissemination of information to the citizen. There are a couple-three days worth of missing emails, no one has proved what Obama was doing, etc. It is likely THE most ever sordid, complicit act of dereliction, scheming and incompetence that was choreographed to cover up something else.

As for the AP thing, I think they were looking for a leak source, clumsily and too broadly. The 'broadly' part was purposeful so they could gather any unpleasant or blackmailable facts to use against AP reporters when needed. And if anyone thinks Holder recused himself, they are an idiot. No lawyer anywhere would 'recuse' himself from something which could later be actionable without documenting it.

[txrefugee]

Ask “Fox & Friends” Greta Carlson about this one. The car dealership her grandfather started was closed by Obama even though it was making a profit. Why the dealers didn’t file a class action suit against the unlawful taking of their property is a mystery to me....but perhaps they were afraid the IRS would take their homes as well if they protested.

In the words of Kevin Brady at yesterday’s IRS hearing: “Is this still America???”