“Obama Loves American Car Workers”

…and hates American car owners.

Over at In These Times, the President of the United Steelworkers International union, Leo Gerard, is praising President Obama for propping up politically connected businesses, although that’s not quite how he puts it:

President Barack Obama…has given some love to American car companies and American car workers.

He also gave them many billions of taxpayer dollars.

He rescued Chrysler and General Motors, preserving the American icon companies and hundreds of thousands of American car manufacturing jobs.

Icon companies? We spent all that money because they are icons? Fuck.

As for the hundreds of thousands of jobs, does Gerard really expect us to believe that GM and Chrysler would have just closed their doors and never opened them again? People will still want new cars, and someone has to build them. Sure, the other automakers could ramp up production, but increasing their production capacity would take a long time.

Unless, of course, they just buy the GM and Chrysler facilities, complete with an already trained workforce standing by to man the production line. Anyone running a multi-billion dollar manufacturing business would see the advantages of that. In fact, given that the American bankruptcy rules recognize that companies are more valuable to their creditors alive than dead, the factories probably wouldn’t have missed more than a few days of production. American companies go through bankruptcy without closing their doors all the time.

He imposed sanctions on Chinese tires that received improper export subsidies, a move that saved thousands of U.S. tire-building jobs.

In other words, he forced millions of Americans to pay more for tires.

And now he’s challenging illegally subsidized Chinese auto parts to sustain American companies and workers.

And now he wants millions of American car owners to pay more for all the other parts as well. Thanks a lot.

Romney claims he loves American cars. But the actions of his private equity firm, Bain Capital, in buying companies that were “pioneers” in offshoring American jobs, suggest he’s fine with American firms making cars and car parts overseas.

Well, I certainly am. I love my Toyota and Acura. (Both of which are partially manufactured in America.)

Obama, by contrast, took the action necessary to ensure American cars are made in America by American companies employing American workers.

Thus making them cost a lot more for everyone who buys them.