Mitt Rescues Detroit! (Of COURSE he does!)

If Mitt Romney is a liar (and he is!), so is his campaign. Today Eric Rehrnstrom (Yes, he of Mitt-is-an-Etch-A-Sketch Fame) claimed Mitt, and not President Barack Obama, is the true savior of Detroit.

“His position on the bailout was exactly what President Obama followed... The only economic success that President Obama has had is because he followed Mitt Romney's advice."

Erm...

The problem with Rehrnstrom's claim is that Romney has repeatedly criticized Obama for his bailout of the auto industry.

Back in 2008, Romney had this to say about the matter-- in the New York Times:

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.

Romney called for firing the auto companies' top executives, cutting salaries of blue collar workers, reducing the benefits of retirees, and, arguably, cutting the features and quality of American cars.

Romney called for increased government funding of  basic energy research from $4 billion per year to $20 billion (unsurprisingly, government funding of research is something he is now against)

At the close, Romney called for a managed bankruptcy of the auto companies-- and this is just what Fehrnstrom latched onto.

Managed bankruptcy. You know... the White Hats at Bain Capitol step in, fire everyone, offshore jobs, sell off the machinery and the plants, then walk away with their pockets lined.

With his bailout of Detroit, Obama did just what Romney had said, but it was a kinder, gentler bailout than any Romney might have devised. Yes, there was renegotiation of wages, but in exchange workers got a share of the company. This of course enraged the right wing, who screamed "socialist takeover." But, you know, it all worked out for the better, didn't it? 

Today, American auto makers are flourishing. But if Mitt Romney had been elected President in 2008 there would no longer be an American automotive industry.

Sources

Gentilviso, Chris. (2012, 28 April). Eric Fehrnstrom: Auto bailout was Mitt Romney's idea. Huffington Post.

Romney, Mitt. (2008, 11 November). Let Detroit go bankrupt. New York Times.

Sarlin, Benjy. (2012, 15 February). Romney's closer to Obama than either lets on. TPM.

Stein, Sam. (2012, 21 March). Mitt Romney platform "Like an Etch A Sketch," top spokesman says. Huffington Post.

Image from Choe, Jaywon; Teicher, Jordan; and Naik, Richa. (2012, 10 March). Shameless: The worst panderers of the 2012 Presidential race. Business Insider.