Mitt Romney Catches Hell For Flip-Flopping On The Federal Bailout For The Auto Industry

by Alex Alvarez | 1:11 pm, June 9th, 2011

» 20 comments

Steve Rattner (a former Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury, a position that saw him lead efforts to restructure the flailing auto industry) wrote a blog post yesterday highlighting Mitt Romney‘s inconsistency when it comes to discussing the auto industry.

It would appear, writes Rattner, that Romney was for Barack Obama‘s plan to rescue the nation’s troubled auto companies before he evidently turned against it. As an example, Rattner points to a 2008 op-ed piece Romney wrote for The New York Times, wherein the former governor of Massachusetts echoed many of the President’s plans. He writes:

Back in November 2008, he wrote a New York Times Op-Ed piece that was headlined, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt,” an apparent suggestion that Washington should have kept its hands off of Detroit. Except if you read the piece, its half-dozen main points were eerily similar to the plan that President Obama’s Auto Task Force ultimately designed. Eliminate the Detroit companies’ cost differential with the foreign “transplants” operating in the south. Change management. Cut pay and get rid of perks like private airplanes. Focus on the long-term. Arrange for “managed” bankruptcies with government guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and warranty protection.

This is a marked difference from the way Romney would later respond to Obama’s initiatives:

But the moment that President Obama unveiled his plan, Romney denounced it, using words like “tragic” and “a very sad circumstance.” More recently, his spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, tried the Romneyesque approach of arguing both sides of the question at the same time. “Mitt Romney had the idea first,” Fehrnstrom argued, pivoting quickly to accuse President Obama of “propping up” the auto companies.

Today, Romney was met by a group of protesters in his native Michigan, protesters who are unhappy with his stance against a government bailout for the auto industry. To Rattner’s point, Romney today told the Detroit Free Press that the Obama administration “finally did what I told them they had to do” and essentially oversaw a “managed bankruptcy” for General Motors and Chrysler that he called for in the 2008 piece.

h/t Steven Rattner

Auto Industry, bailout, Michigan, Mitt Romeny

WCinWI

Dude – This isn’t a media story. This is something that HotAir or the Washington Post would write an article on. Stick to media stories.
Son of Sevenless

This is one of the reason why he may not be Mr. President.
TampopoLoco

Son of Sevenless said:
This is one of the reason why he may not be Mr. President.

Also because he’s a Republican.
WCinWI

TampopoLoco said:
Also because he’s a Republican.

Nope – He’s a Democrat.
Tedderman

Regardless, he’s a hypocrite and as a buy em and burn ‘em business raider who cost tens of thousands of Americans their livelihoods, he’s unelectable.
Just4thefax

Fact: Mitt Romney as well as John Kerry are the poster boys of the political Flip Floop answer. One might just as well say that Obama pulled a Romney when asked that question.
jim bronson 990cc

A triple flip? Romney may have topped himself on this one.
Gasket

jim bronson 990cc said:
A triple flip? Romney may have topped himself on this one.

Haha…yes. He’s a serial flip-flopper. The political wind-vane. I just want to see the GOP nominee on the stump in places like MI arguing (and you know he/she will) how the big 3 should have been left to die. That will be fascinating to watch. This is what happens when you are a knee-jerk anti-Obama zealot. You know how bad the GOP field is? The economy is not in the best shape, weak recovery, 9.1% unemployment, it’s Obama’s 3rd year, he’s polling at 48% approval (5% off his winning % in 2008) and gas prices are approaching $4.00/gall — yet, he’s still beating all his rivals in head to head match-ups on AVERAGE. That to me says it all.
WillP

Romney has flipped and flopped on stem cell research, the legality of abortion, gun control initiatives, and gay marriage. However, this one may be his worst flop to date. It is the most recent and related to the economy in a pivotal swing state. Just imagine the devastating campaign ads the Dems can extract from this one!!!
The nomination of Romney puts the GOP at real risk of losing the presidency in 2012. A good candidate can always make the election a referendum on the president’s policies. That would serve the Republicans well in 2012 given the dismal state of the economy. However, nominate a deeply flawed candidate and you allow Obama to make the election a choice election as Bush did so brilliantly in 2004. Romney meet Kerry in 2004 if he becomes the nominee. Pawlenty and Huntsman are far better candidates. Republicans should be kicking and screaming doing everything they can possible to not make Romney the nominee.
The Voice of Reason

So he would have been pumping billions of dollars into large corporations just like Obama and the Democrats? Well by flip floppy he might appeal more to his base who wants everyone to be 100% in line with them.
Sam M.

How many flip flops is that for Mitt?
Tedderman

He appears to be a dying fish at this point.
dougx

So let me get this straight. You can be for some kind of auto industry intervention, but if you don’t support Obama’s version, then that’s a flip flop. Okay, I get it. Why do you guys so easily get led around by the nose. I’m sure Romney figures he can do anything better than Obama, and I agree.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Kennedy/1439463341 Bruce Kennedy

Mitt vows, as President, to do away with the current “Healthcare” plan and replace it with his own “Healthcare” plan. OH, wait a minute, they are the same plan. Oh well, never mind.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Kennedy/1439463341 Bruce Kennedy

dougx said:
So let me get this straight. You can be for some kind of auto industry intervention, but if you don’t support Obama’s version, then that’s a flip flop. Okay, I get it. Why do you guys so easily get led around by the nose. I’m sure Romney figures he can do anything better than Obama, and I agree.

No not really “dougie”, the “Flip Flop” occurs when you denounce what your opponent has done. And then when the results are in, if your opponents actions are successful, try to take credit for that success, by claiming your opponent did just as you had suggested. You Conservatives are so immune to your own hypocrisy that if “Socialism” was ever successful, anywhere in the world, you’d try to take credit, for its success.
X-3

As John Kerry can tell you, flip-flopping will cause you to lose elections.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Kennedy/1439463341 Bruce Kennedy

X-3 said:
As John Kerry can tell you, flip-flopping will cause you to lose elections.

If that is the case, the Republicans will have no viable candidates in 2012.
Michael_T

The electorate may not view flip flopping as badly as most of us do, provided the flip flopper’s current policies and ideas strike them as superior to their opponents.

I offer as evidence two of the biggest offenders … namely, senators McCain and Kerry.

Despite all the criticism they both took, McCain won the Arizona senate race handily and Kerry almost upset a sitting president in 2004 … an almost impossible feat to pull off.

This is not to say that Romney doesn’t come across as damaged by these charges of being a flip flopper. I just think the damage might be a tad bit overblown as he continues to lead the field in most polls. despite Tea Party group FreedomWorks stated primary goal being to derail his candidacy.
X-3

Bruce Kennedy said:
If that is the case, the Republicans will have no viable candidates in 2012.

That remains to be seen.
X-3

Oops, hit the send button too soon. Except for Ron Paul and Herman Cain, it looks like more “mashed potatoes” to me.