Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg was no fan of the $58 billion federal rescue of General Motors Co., saying he worried taxpayer money would be wasted and the restructuring process would be vulnerable to “political pressure.” Now the lawmaker says it’s his “patriotic duty” to wade into GM’s affairs.
And he’s a Republican.
My problems are rarely ever with the nature of the Democrats’ Hype du Jour, they generally have to do with the doomsday caterwauling and that every solution ends with the heavy hand of the federal government shoving its fingers in places I don’t want them. And when I refer to the federal government, I mean ALL of it, Democrat and Republican.
The federal beast has no altruistic motives, it is always selfish. It’s not there to help you, the citizen, it exists solely to bloat itself and justify it existence. When it involves itself in the private sector it is rarely accurate or efficient.
As we’ve seen since all of this stimulating began, those representing the federal beast find more and more reasons to be meddlesome bitches, even in areas where they have little, if any expertise.
Since the financial crisis broke, Congress has been acting like the board of USA Inc., invoking the infusion of taxpayer money to get banks to modify loans to constituents and to give more help to those in danger of foreclosure. Members have berated CEOs for their business practices and pushed for caps on executive pay. They have also pushed GM and Chrysler to reverse core decisions designed to cut costs, such as closing facilities and shuttering dealerships.
All of that despite constant assurances that they weren’t interested in getting involved in the running of any companies.
It’s a sickness with these people, they can’t help themselves.
Lawmakers say it’s their obligation to guard the government’s investments, ensure that bailed-out firms are working in the country’s interests and protect their constituents.
With that kind of thinking, they’ve set themselves up to meddle for as long as they feel necessary. If things continue to go poorly for any of the companies in question, Congress will use that as justification for further meddling. If all goes well, they’ll claim credit for the success and, again, justify sticking around longer.
The unholy alliance of the auto industry and the feds has very unique problems, of course. It features incompetent management making decisions with incompetent legislators who have the power to override decisions that don’t favor their Big Labor puppet masters.
Rep. Rehberg called for a congressional hearing on the voided contract. GM, he said at the time, “ought to be subjected to the same rigorous oversight we exercise over any other government agency.”
In the power diseased minds of the bureaucrats, GM really isn’t a private company any more.
“I was elected to represent the interests of Montana, not General Motors, which is something that GM should have considered before letting the federal government assume control of their company,” Rep. Rehberg said recently.
“Assume control”? Um, they said they didn’t want to take over any private sector businesses.
You’re right, I’m a total a-hole for ever saying this was socialist.
This should be all the forewarning anyone needs to realize that whatever changes need to be made in American health care, they should be made without our friends in the federal government. Especially in a “robust” fashion.
They will always meddle and peddle inefficient short-sightedness.
They can’t help it.
