The American auto industry is roaring back with a record number of car sales in 2015, but Republicans were nowhere to be seen when auto workers needed them most.
Thanks to the auto rescue, millions of U.S. jobs were saved. Republicans on the other hand would have followed Mitt Romney in letting Detroit go bankrupt.
- Donald Trump said “you would have wound up in the same place” with or without the auto rescue.
- Ted Cruz was asked about the 2.6 million jobs saved by the auto rescue. He said, “I don’t think the federal government should be engaged in bailouts.”
- When asked about the auto rescue, Marco Rubio said, “I don’t think that was the way to handle it.”
- Asked if he supports the auto rescue by President Obama to save millions of jobs, Jeb Bush said, “No.”
- Bush called the rescue a “form of capitalism when the government intervenes in a very muscular way and I don’t believe that that’s appropriate.”
- Asked about Jeep manufacturing in Toledo, Ohio, John Kasich told the questioner, “I can’t believe you wanted me to answer that question, you’re crazy.”
- Missouri Senator Roy Blunt voted against the $14 billion auto rescue.
Background:
Presidential Candidates On The Auto Rescue
Bush
Asked In A House Budget Committee Hearing Whether He Supported The Auto Bailout, Bush Simply Responded “No.” According to a transcript of a house budget committee hearing from June 1, 2012, “Mr. Van Hollen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do believe that there is a lot of agreement. But let me just start with what sort of got me going here. The chairman in his opening remarks again talked about the Obama administration and crony capitalism. They continue to refer to the auto rescue, not as an example of an important government intervention that helped millions of jobs, but as an example of crony capitalism. So I just want to ask you, Governor Bush, I believe you supported, as did a lot of us, not all of us, on a bipartisan basis the effort that President Bush took to help rescue the financial sector, which in part precipitated the crisis. And many of us believe that it was also appropriate to take the actions that President Obama did to help rescue the auto industry and a million jobs. Did you support that effort? Mr. Bush. No. Mr. Van Hollen. No. Okay. ” [House Budget Committee Hearing, 6/1/12]
Jeb Bush: Auto Bailout Represents “A Form Of Capitalism Where The Government Intervenes In A Very Muscular Kind Of Way“ According to The Tampa Bay Times “Bush said that until the hearing, he hadn’t been asked his opinion on the automotive bailout or the bank bailouts. He told the committee he didn’t support the auto bailout — what he describes as ‘a form of capitalism where the government intervenes in a very muscular kind of way.’ The positions puts him in line with Romney. Bush did say, however, say that he thought some aspects of the bank bailout were necessary. Bush worked as a consultant for Lehman Brothers before its collapse, and currently serves as a senior adviser to Barclays Capital.” [The Tampa Bay Times, 6/1/12]
Politico: Jeb Bush Did Not Support The Auto Bailout. According to Politico.com, “Those facts don’t seem to matter to the GOP leaders lining up to be their party’s 2016 presidential nominee. Each has made it very clear whether or not they would have supported the auto bailout. Jeb Bush: No. Ted Cruz: No. Scott Walker: No. Rick Perry: No. Chris Christie: No comment. And last, but certainly not least, Rand Paul: NO.” [Politico.com, 12/18/13]
Cruz
Cruz Said He Opposed All Government Bailouts. According to Huffington Post, “How much weaker? A report from the Center for Automotive Research, which is based in Michigan and receives some funding from the auto industry, suggested that the rescue of GM and Chrysler saved as many as 2.6 million jobs in 2009. […]During a campaign stop in Michigan this week, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said Obama’s rescue was simply unnecessary. ‘I don’t think the federal government should be engaged in bailouts,’ Cruz told a local audience. ‘Those industries would have [survived] and thrived.’ But few experts believe that today.” [Huffington Post, 6/7/15]
Cruz Claimed “Taxpayers Lost $25 Billion” On The Auto Rescue. Ted Cruz tweeted, “Treasury Dept estimates taxpayers lost $25 billion on auto bailout [LINK] No more bailouts—RT if you agree #TXSen [Ted Cruz- Twitter, 8/15/12]
Trump
2015: Trump Told Michigan Crowd That “You Would Have Wound Up In The Same Place” With Or Without Auto Bailout. According to the Washington Post, “The speech they got only occasionally focused on the problems of Michigan, as when Trump paused to note that the companies he would strong-arm out of moving factories to Mexico would be better off building them nearby. Trump’s glancing interest in local politics made it into in a pre-speech press conference. Asked if President Obama showed leadership in the 2008/2009 bailout of the major auto companies, Trump meandered through an answer that left him without a position. ‘You could have let it go, and rebuilt itself, through the free enterprise system,’ said Trump. ‘You could have let it go bankrupt, frankly, and rebuilt itself, and a lot of people felt it should happen. Or you could have done it the way it went. I could have done it either way. Either way would have been acceptable. I think you would have wound up in the same place.’” [Washington Post, 8/11/15]
Trump On Auto Company Bailout, 2008: “The Government Should Stand Behind Them 100 Percent.” According to the Daily Caller, “Although Donald Trump is trying to re-invent himself as a conservative for a possible bid for president in 2012, reminders of his prior support for Democrats and big government polices keep adding up. The latest: The Donald supported the auto bailout in 2008. ‘I think the government should stand behind them 100 percent,’ Trump told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto nearly three years ago. ‘You cannot lose the auto companies. They’re great. They make wonderful products.’” [Daily Caller, 4/20/11]
Rubio
2015: Rubio Said The Auto Bailout Was Not Handled The “Right Way” And That The Government’s Approach Was “Problematic.” According to The Detroit News, “Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said Friday that the $85 billion auto bailout was not the ‘right way’ to handle the troubled sector in 2008 and 2009. At an appearance in Manchester, New Hampshire, the Florida senator said the rescue of General Motors Co. and then Chrysler Group LLC was not the right position for the federal government to take. ‘I don’t think that was the right way to handle it, but certainly our auto industry is important. Again, it was a problematic approach that the federal government took to doing it. But at the end of the day our industry has to be globally competitive. One of the things that makes them globally competitive … is having a workforce that can do the work and also having tax policies, regulatory policies that ensures that America continues to be a place where all industries thrive including the auto industry.” [Detroit News, 4/17/15]
- [Video] Rubio On The Auto Bailout: “I Don’t Think That Was The Right Way To Handle It.” “I don’t think that was the right way to handle it. Certainly the auto industry is important, but, again, it was a problematic approach that the federal government took to doing it.” [Marco Rubio Press Gaggle, Manchester Community College, Manchester, NH, 4/17/15; American Bridge Tracking Footage; 150417_JEG_398_B]
In 2010, Mitt Romney Claimed That He And Rubio Were “Saying No” To The Auto Bailout. According to St. Petersburg Times, “Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney endorsed Marco Rubio’s campaign for the U.S. Senate at a rally Monday, saying Rubio’s message of a less intrusive government is what Americans need to hear. Romney, a 2008 presidential candidate who many believe will run again in 2012, said Rubio is prepared to stand up to a group Romney termed ‘neo monarchists’ people who supported the government bailout of the U.S. financial institutions andauto industry. ‘We’re saying no to that,’ Romney told a group of 250 Rubio supporters at the Dr. Blaise F. Alfano Conference and Banquet Center near the University of South Florida campus. ‘We’re saying we want to let Americans pursue their own dreams.’ Romney shared a stage with Rubio, the former state House speaker, and former state Senate President Tom Lee.” [St. Petersburg Times, 4/20/10]
2009: Rubio Opposed The Auto Bailout. According to The Detroit News, “Rubio made comments in 2009 opposing the auto bailout. Republicans have long sought to appeal to autoworkers by suggesting that Democratic policies on fuel efficiency standards or other regulations could hurt the sector.” [Detroit News, 4/17/15]
Fiorina
Fiorina Blamed The Bailout Of General Motors For Saving Union Jobs At The Expenses Of Small Businesses. According to Bloomberg, “The auto bailout question, too, was a test of her ability to convert business goals into populism. She passed it. ‘I would start with a change in mindset,’ she said. ‘When the bailout of General Motors saved thousands of union jobs, many more jobs across America were destroyed when small businesses went belly-up.’” [Bloomberg, 1/24/15]
2009: Fiorina Said The Bailouts “Thus Far Have Not Worked.” According to an interview by Carly Fiorina on Fox New Network’s The Glenn Beck Program, “FIORINA: First of all, I think you made some very excellent points in your opening comments. The bailouts thus far have not worked. The original purpose behind the TARP and the bailouts was to get the credit markets unfrozen, and to stop the crisis in the financial system. And, of course, that hasn’t happened yet. And so, credit isn’t flowing to small businesses. Credit isn’t flowing even to big businesses. Remember that the federal government had to bail out General Motors and Chrysler because they couldn’t get a bridge loan from the banks. And small businesses can’t get credit right now. So, the bailout hasn’t worked.” [Glenn Beck Program, 1/21/09]
2008: Fiorina Said That A Bailout, Whether $15 Billion Or $30 Billion, Would Not “Save The Auto Industry.” According to an interview by Carly Fiorina on NBC’s Meet The Press, “MS. FIORINA: …the Detroit automakers, and big unions, the truth is we’re not as concerned, and we should be, about the hundreds and thousands of small businesses who actually create two-thirds of the jobs in this country. Which brings me all the way back to the original problem. We have a recession, a deepening recession right now because credit is unavailable. Credit is unavailable to small businesses so they can’t hire. When hundreds of small businesses can’t hire 10 and 15 people, over time that creates big unemployment numbers. They may not have big unions to represent their interests in Washington. They’re the little guy, but the little guy matters. When credit isn’t available, consumers don’t have the money they need to spend. So I think we have to go back to the root of this problem, ultimately, which is credit is still unavailable. And that is despite massive bailouts of big financial institutions who are still not lending. And I think we also have to remember in this debate about the automakers, whether it’s a $15 billion bailout or a $30 billion bailout… […] MS. FIORINA: …that won’t save the auto industry.” [Meet The Press, 12/14/08]
Christie
2012: Chris Christie would not take a position on the auto bailout
February 2012: Christie Would Not Take A Position On The Auto Bailout. According to the Star-Ledger, ‘Christie endorsed Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney in October, but he did not directly comment on what Morgan called Romney’s ‘clumsily worded’ statement that could be interpreted as his caring more about the middle class than the poor. Romney opposes the autoindustry bailout — despite increasing profits in Michigan, which holds its primary Tuesday — but Christie wouldn’t take a stand on what he said was a complex issue.’ [Star-Ledger, 2/22/12]
2012: Asked If He Had An Opinion On The Auto Bailout, Chris Christie Would Not Respond, Said He Had An Opinion Of What Was Happening In New Jersey. According to an interview by Chris Christie with Piers Morgan On CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, “MORGAN: You don’t have a view of the bailout of the American auto industry? CHRISTIE: What I have is, what I have is a view of what’s happening here in this state because that’s my job. MORGAN: No, I get that. But you — CHRISTIE: Of course I know you get it. MORGAN: But I also — CHRISTIE: But you want to continue to ask. I’m not going to give you a better answer — MORGAN: No, no. CHRISTIE: — than the one I’ve given you. MORGAN: No, but I’m getting — CHRISTIE: So we’re going to continue to go back and forth on this.” [Piers Morgan Tonight, 2/25/12]
2012: Chris Christie Would Not Give His Opinion On The Auto Bailout, Said He Was Not Avoiding Taking A Stance Because He Disagreed With Mitt Romney’s Opposition To The Bailout But Also Would Not Say If President Obama Deserved Credit For The Bailout. According to an interview by Chris Christie with Piers Morgan On CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, “MORGAN: No, I’m not going to move on just yet, because the reason I’m asking you is because I’m sensing — and your reply is giving me this sense even more — that the reason you don’t want to answer it is because you would disagree with Mitt Romney. CHRISTIE: No. MORGAN: You think the bailout was a success. CHRISTIE: Listen, by the way, I’ve given the president plenty of credit on things when he deserves it. I — (CROSSTALK) MORGAN: Does he deserve it for that? CHRISTIE: — of education. As I said to you, you can try four or five different ways. I’m not going to give you an opinion on something as complex as that issue until I’ve had time to really think about it and look at it. MORGAN: Is it complex?” [Piers Morgan Tonight, 2/25/12]
2012: Christie On The Auto Bailout: “I Didn’t Spend A Lot Of Thinking About It.” According to The Detroit News, “Others sought to avoid taking a position. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in 2012 told CNN he hadn’t thought much about it. ‘I’ve got to tell you the truth, I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about it because what I was doing at the time,’ Christie said. ‘I actually try to give things more thought than just three or four seconds before I give you an opinion.’” [Detroit News, 4/17/15]
Published: Jan 12, 2016