Rep. Joe Knollenberg(R-MI): We Aren’t Using Taxpayer Money For Bailouts, Tinkerbell Sprinkled Pixie Dust
That’s right, you tell them Knollenberg..Tell them how Tinkerbell flew in and sprinkled pixie dust all over the treasury, and now, magically, they have all kinds of money, and not a dime of it came from the taxpayer!
Watch as he tells Cavouto that it isn’t our money:
MM:
Attention, Republicans obsessed with “re-branding” the party and crafting appealing messages to win back voters. Here’s your textbook example of how not to act and what not to say if you want to restore credibility to conservatism
Ed:
The first rule of smaller government is that the money does not belong to Congress. It belongs to the people who earned it, and should be treated that way. The money should be treated as such and used with great care on only those essential government functions, and only to the extent necessary. If one is ever tempted to declare that tax monies do not belong to the American people, that person has ceased being conservative at all, and has begun being imperial instead.
Mitt Romney:
Let Detroit Go Bankrupt — IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed. — Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself.
ABC News reports:
The CEOs of the big three automakers flew to the nation’s capital yesterday in private luxurious jets to make their case to Washington that the auto industry is running out of cash and needs $25 billion in taxpayer money to avoid bankruptcy.
The CEOs of GM, Ford and Chrysler may have told Congress that they will likely go out of business without a bailout yet that has not stopped them from traveling in style, not even First Class is good enough.
All three CEOs – Rick Wagoner of GM, Alan Mulally of Ford, and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler – exercised their perks Tuesday by flying in corporate jets to DC. Wagoner flew in GM’s $36 million luxury aircraft to tell members of Congress that the company is burning through cash, asking for $10-12 billion for GM alone.
Ed:
The price of a coach ticket between Detroit and DC goes for $288 on a non-stop Northwest flight. Granted, one has to fly Northwest, but Wagoner could have improved the experience by spending an extra $600 on a first-class ticket. Instead of spending $900, Wagoner instead burned through $20,000 — the cost of the single flight on the private jet.
Alan Mulally hasn’t flown commercial since beginning his stint at Ford. He refused to relocate to Michigan from Seattle, so his contract with Ford includes the unlimited use of a private jet. He commutes every weekend from Seattle to Detroit for his job. Yesterday, Ford had three private jets in flight with various executives flying to Los Angeles and Nebraska as well as Mulally’s flight to DC.
None of the automakers have plans to shelve their fleets. In fact, they’ve already called their private jets “non-negotiable” at the same time they’re demanding that taxpayers pay the bills for their extravagance. They’re running out of cash and can’t sell their cars, but Ford and GM refuse to fly coach or even first class.
Detroit: Barney Worries Bankruptcy Would Bust Unions
BARNEY FRANK: Bankruptcy would be very disruptive. Bankruptcy is a favorite spectator sport for politicians and experts who don’t have to engage in it. You have a whole network of suppliers–small businesses and others–who would get “stiffed,” to use the legal term, in a bankruptcy.
There is also an assumption that if you do bankruptcy, you could undo labor contracts. Now the unions to their credit have negotiated some concessions. But you know, we already have too much union-busting and too much [inaudible] for the [inaudible] worker in this country for us to now say by the way, if you’re a company and you haven’t been able to totally get rid of the unions, then go bankrupt and rewrite, write down the contracts.
Here is an email I received from Troy Clarke
Because our futures are linked, I want you to know that General Motors is doing everything possible to deal with the impact the financial crisis is having on the domestic auto industry. Yet despite our successful efforts to restructure, reduce costs and enhance liquidity, we are facing an uphill battle with the current administration and Congress in securing a bridge loan.(my emphasis)
That’s why we need your help now. Simply put, we need you to join us to let Congress know that a bridge loan to help U.S. automakers also helps strengthen the U.S. economy and preserve millions of American jobs.
Despite what you may be hearing, we are not asking Congress for a bailout but rather a loan that will be repaid.(his emphasis)
The consequences of the domestic auto industry collapsing would far exceed the $25 billion loan needed to bridge the current crisis. According to a recent study by the Center for Automotive Research:
• One in 10 American jobs depends on U.S. automakers
• Nearly 3 million jobs are at immediate risk
• U.S. personal income could be reduced by $150 billion
• The tax revenue lost over 3 years would be more than $156 billionDiscussions are now underway in Washington, D.C., concerning loans to support U.S. carmakers. I am asking you to support this vital effort by contacting your representatives.
Please take a few minutes to call your representatives by dialing 1-866-471-5332. Just state your name and address, and your message will reach your legislators. You can review a script that will help you state your support at gmfactsandfiction.com. Under the “Mobilize Now” section, click on “I’m a Supplier.” If you would rather e-mail your representatives, use the link “I’m a Concerned American.”
Please share this information with friends and family using the link on the site.
Thank you for helping keep our economy viable.
Sincerely,
Troy Clarke
Linked with:
- Bloodthirsty Liberal » Driving off a Bridge
- Taxpayer Money Belongs to the people, Congressman. | Axis of Right
- Knollenberg Claims Tax Money Is Not Citizens’ Money « Grand Rants
- Hot Air » Blog Archive » Video: Bailout money doesn’t belong to us
- Below The Beltway » Blog Archive » GOP Congressman: It’s Not Your Money
- Romney and Me « JoHNBRoDiGaNDoTCoM
- Knollenberg Claims Tax Money Is Not Citizens’ Money « Grand Rants
- Blog @ MoreWhat.com
- Republican Congressman: It’s Congress’ money, not taxpayers’ money « Crush Liberalism
- Because I said so
- marbury
- Emptywheel
- TIME.com
- Townhall.com
- Connecting.the.Dots
- Outside The Beltway
- Commentary
- Liberal Values
- KIKO’S HOUSE
- Washington Post
- The Mud Pit » ‘Its Not Your Money’
- Congress sucks, but my guy is great – he brings home the bacon | Conservative247
- Republican Netroots Job One: Restoring the Integrity of the Republican Brand « Stop Global Laming
- Only a Liberal… » Republican Congressman says “its not your money”
- Hot Air: Romney: Let Detroit go bankrupt
- The Big Three Burning Through Cash While on Capitol Hill « Trust, But Verify
- Suitably Flip
- Romney and Me « JoHNBRoDiGaNDoTCoM
- Romney: Let Detroit Go Bankrupt « The Political Page
- Ace of Spades HQ
November 19, 2008 - 11:03 AM on November 19th, 2008
[...] love this guy! Thanks Pam! Rep. Joe Knollenberg(R-MI): We Aren’t Using Taxpayer Money For Bailouts, Tinkerbell Sprinkled Pixi… By: [...]
November 19, 2008 - 02:46 PM on November 19th, 2008
[...] Right Voices has a pretty good round up on the Four Little Piggies situation. That’s where I heard about the private jet issue and they also link to a very good Op Ed by Mitt Romney about why the only way to save Detroit is to let it go bankrupt. I’m not a fan of Mitt but I think here he did a good job of describing why bankruptcy would be good for the industry without sounding hard hearted or like a dogmatic ‘free market’ ideologue. [...]
November 19, 2008 - 03:17 PM on November 19th, 2008
I like Neil Cavuto. We really need to stop these bailouts. The more I hear the more I feel it should end.
November 19, 2008 - 04:44 PM on November 19th, 2008
Pissed off… so we bailout the big companies but we will not bail out the small mom and pops… give the money to the people on the bottom … and maybe we buy these American made cars, and forclosed homes.. this would help the american economy… why not it is our money … divide that billions and give it all back to the tax payers as an economic stimulus… that means I would get about $ 250,000… I drive a GM car! and I would help by buying a home in forclosure… home prices would go up and there would be no recession………………. if “we the people” got this bailout money! …..I would even give up my social security .. and I promise I won’t ask for year end bonuses or take private jet trips for one year!
November 19, 2008 - 04:45 PM on November 19th, 2008
Wow! this guy is just about the biggest pile of feces in washington. It’s not our money? Then where the F did it come from bozo? You sellin dope on the side??? They all suck democrats, republicans, all of them. Best thing could happen to this country is an asteroid hit smack dab in the middle of washington when they are all there!
November 19, 2008 - 05:00 PM on November 19th, 2008
I don’t get how these guys,and by guys I mean management of the big three and the UAW,have the unmitigated gall to say give us money or loan us money,whichever,without the big three chopping the hell out of their free wheeling ways of corporate spending and the UAW giving significant concessions on wages and benefits so they can be competitive with other auto makers.Then and only then should any talk of some sort of help be entertained.I don’t see that so far.Let them go into bankruptcy if they continue their idiotic ways.
November 19, 2008 - 07:01 PM on November 19th, 2008
[...] Aren’t Using Taxpayer Money For … Posted in November 19th, 2008 by in Uncategorized Rep. Joe Knollenberg(R-MI): We Aren’t Using Taxpayer Money For … If you would rather e-mail your representatives, use the link “I’m a Concerned American.” [...]
November 19, 2008 - 07:06 PM on November 19th, 2008
Take a look at this AP article and I think it will give you a good idea of just where the deal is heading…The Democrats don’t want their finger prints all over this yet they owe the unions..They could take that allotted $25 Billion for re-tooling, simply re-write the text and issue the funds, but they are also indebted to the Sierra Club…They are trying to blame the POTUS and Paulson, but oddly, both of them are correct..they screwed us out of $700 billion to bailout the financial markets and the deadbeats that didn’t pay their mortgages! The auto makers are on their own!
November 19, 2008 - 08:50 PM on November 19th, 2008
Man the idea of bailing out these automakers makes me sick to my stomach. And I’m a Democrat saying this, agreeing with the Republicans (for once!)
November 19, 2008 - 09:37 PM on November 19th, 2008
James,
How about this, I am a Republican, agreeing with a Democrat
Sometimes we need to shed the D and R and remember that these idiots are screwing all of us…
November 19, 2008 - 09:41 PM on November 19th, 2008
I’m sure everyone has heard this one. The only difference between the two parties is one skins you from the top of the head to the bottom of your feet and the other skins you from the bottoms of your feet to the top of your head.
November 20, 2008 - 01:46 AM on November 20th, 2008
[...] Rep. Joe Knollenberg(R-MI): We Aren’t Using Taxpayer Money For … But you know, we already have too much union-busting and too much [inaudible] for the [inaudible] worker in this country for us to now say by the way, if you’re a company and you haven’t been able to totally get rid of the unions, … [...]