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6/11/2009
Is Wisconsin SOL on GM?
A number of press releases Wednesday spoke to the meeting between members of the Wisconsin congressional delegation and GM management about the future of Janesville’s GM plant. Mike H. at Letters in Bottles speculates, accurately, I think, that nothing matters but politics – and Wisconsin just doesn’t have the necessary clout needed.
I hate to say this but the decision is going to be based on political connections and power more than anything else. Michigan is going to get the new car line for three reasons: Sen. Carl Levin, Rep. John Conyers, and Rep. John Dingell. Those three men have more power on Capitol Hill than we do. They will get the plant.
Think about it. If you were President Obama - or his appointed GM CEO - who would you award this big of a win to? Would it be one of the rising stars of the GOP in Paul Ryan? No. Would it be to one of the least effective Democrats in Congress in Tammy Baldwin? No. Would it be the chair of the House Judiciary committee, John Conyers or the Senate Chair of the Armed Services committee, Carl Levin or the Chairman Emeritus of the House Energy and Commerce committee, John Dingell? And then there’s the powerful chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, Barney Frank (D-MA). He told The Hill Tuesday that he doesn’t think his intervention on behalf of a GM center in his district will lead other lawmakers to “do the same thing.”
“I don’t think this will lead to a pattern,” said Frank, who convinced GM CEO Fritz Henderson to keep a distribution center in Norton, Mass., open for at least another 14 months.
The intervention has drawn criticism from those who question whether other lawmakers will ask for favorable treatment for GM entities in their states given the government’s pending plan to take a 60 percent ownership stake in the company after it emerges from a managed bankruptcy proceeding.
....While Frank said other lawmakers might look for deferrals from GM to keep entities open longer, he repeatedly said there’s no reason to think Congress needs rules to police lawmakers seeking to trade votes for support for plants or dealerships.
“I can’t make the connection,” said Frank, who added that he spoke to Henderson about the Norton plant, and not someone from the administration. He said there are no pending votes in Congress that GM would have an interest in. Frank can’t make the connection? He’s had trouble making lots of connections these days (like Congress’ connection to the mortgage crisis). Geeez. Makes me ill. Makes Janesville ill, for sure.
Jo Egelhoff, FoxPolitics.net
COMMENTS
How about the unfavorable business climate in WI? Would that, possibly have something to do with it?
emily matthews (Thu Jun 11 15:05:20 2009)
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