What is this attack on the car industry going on here?

[malaise]

Are these ReTHUGS fugging mad!

[Kingofalldems]

1. Those evil unions, you know the ones who make sure

of decent wages and working conditions.

They're bad for America.

[lonestarnot]

3. The whole story right there in your little post.

Long and short of it, their hatred of unions.

[malaise]

4. Freaking perfect

They want slaves and neo-slaves.

[MichiganVote]

2. What's the matter with you? Don't you know we're sposed' 2 be depressed and fucked up forever?

Then Prince Santormad and King Rummey can swoop in and save us all with a kiss and we'll all live happily every after.
The End.

[malaise]

5. I remember when politicians would be afraid to express

those extreme views. Now attacking workers' rights are the norm.

[R.Blue]

6. Simple reason

They hate seeing other people do well.

[NNN0LHI]

7. They do it because they know there are still plenty of Reaganites who eat this up

That is why they do it.

Don

[malaise]

8. All of the empirical evidence has proven that Reaganomics was

undiluted bullshit.
How do people believe that rubbish in the face of incontrovertible proof?

[drm604]

13. People don't bother to research the empirical evidence,

and politicians take advantage of that.

[sendero]

9. The auto bailout..

... was one of the few brave progressive things Obama did. The Repugs are scared of it's COMPLETE and TOTAL SUCCESS, and hence have to smear it in the eyes of the morons who don't get it.

Manufacturing can use 1% of the support banksters got, at least it maintains jobs, for the bankster bailout we got nothing at all.

[malaise]

10. Here's E.J. Dionne's take on it

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/santorums-defensive-debate-night/2012/02/22/gIQARA1PUR_blog.html
<snip>
And one thing was abundantly clear: The Republican candidates, particularly Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, thought it more important to punish unionized workers than to save the Detroit-based auto industry.

Both sought to defend their opposition to the auto bailout by arguing that the United Auto Workers union was central to the industry’s problems and that bankruptcy was the most desirable outcome because it would have undermined the union. “The UAW would have lost all their advantages,” Gingrich said.

Not a word was said about the sweeping concessions the unions made to save General Motors and Chrysler. And neither faced up to the economic chaos that letting the auto companies go down would have caused throughout the Midwest. No wonder President Obama is ahead by 20 points in Michigan.

[LiberalFighter]

11. The economic chaos would had been felt by everyone.

They all forget that when companies with pensioned employees go bankrupt and decide to do away with pensions the taxpayers have to make up any shortfall that is due to the employee. And the employees don't receive all of the pension that they had negotiated in their contract when they agreed to take less wages for the purpose of having the pension.

That is how Romney's Bain Capital operates. Stealing "excess" pension funds from the employees when he takes over a company.

[sendero]

12. As usual..

... I pretty much agree with Mr. Dionne and appreciate reading his take on the situation.

It's almost, as I have said many times, like the Republicans don't really want to win the presidency. All of their candidates are weak, Romney is the same as Obama other than rhetoric (I realize that this is not an opinion many here will agree with but I'm quite serious), and the rest of them are so extreme they must live in some kind of bubble. Some of them are social "conservatives" to the point of radicalism, the others still spouting the economic nostrums that frankly, have already sank our economy.

I'm sure Obama is crossing his fingers that Santorum will somehow pull out the nom, I don't think he will but it would be sweet for Obama.