Philly McButterpants Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Here's and interesting little read from the Wall Street Journal's Best of the Web Blog: WSJ Best of the Web today Essentially, the Chrysler dealers that have been forced out of business due to the government sponsored restructuring, are almost exclusively Republican donors. A tipster alerted me to an interesting assertion. A cursory review by that person showed that many of the Chrysler dealers on the closing list were heavy Republican donors. To quickly review the situation, I took all dealer owners whose names appeared more than once in the list. And, of those who contributed to political campaigns, every single one had donated almost exclusively to GOP candidates. While this isn't an exhaustive review, it does have some ominous implications if it can be verified. However, I also found additional research online at Scribd (author unknown), which also appears to point to a highly partisan decision-making process. . . . I have thus far found only a single Obama donor (and a minor one at that: $200 from Jeffrey Hunter of Waco, Texas) on the closing list. Wow. So much for draining the bile from Washington political workings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PastaJoe Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 And how many of them staying open contributed to Republicans instead of Democrats? It's not surprising that business owners would contribute more to the party that typically favors the owner over the worker with tax breaks and deregulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pBills Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I really don't believe they took into account who donated to which party when they decided on the closings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Fischer Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Here's and interesting little read from the Wall Street Journal's Best of the Web Blog: WSJ Best of the Web today Essentially, the Chrysler dealers that have been forced out of business due to the government sponsored restructuring, are almost exclusively Republican donors. A tipster alerted me to an interesting assertion. A cursory review by that person showed that many of the Chrysler dealers on the closing list were heavy Republican donors. To quickly review the situation, I took all dealer owners whose names appeared more than once in the list. And, of those who contributed to political campaigns, every single one had donated almost exclusively to GOP candidates. While this isn't an exhaustive review, it does have some ominous implications if it can be verified. However, I also found additional research online at Scribd (author unknown), which also appears to point to a highly partisan decision-making process. . . . I have thus far found only a single Obama donor (and a minor one at that: $200 from Jeffrey Hunter of Waco, Texas) on the closing list. Wow. So much for draining the bile from Washington political workings. The only thing "partisan" is that you took this GOP rant hook, line and sinker without verifying any facts. We'll help you out with this newest candidate for Snopes. Here's the link b/c I can't copy the graphs: Look before you jump News Flash: Car Dealers are Republicans (It's Called a Control Group, People) by Nate Silver @ 6:50 PM A meme that is currently picking up traction in the conservative blogosphere is that the list of dealerships to be shuttered as a result of Chrysler's bankruptcy contains a disproportionate number donors to Republican candidates. There have been furious efforts to prove this contention by looking up campaign contributor lists at the Huffington Post, Open Secrets, and other places. There is just one problem with this theory. Nobody has bothered to look up data for the control group: the list of dealerships which aren't being closed. It turns out that all car dealers are, in fact, overwhelmingly more likely to donate to Republicans than to Democrats -- not just those who are having their doors closed. Here, for instance, is what Huffington Post's Fundrace site turns up for those who list their occupation as "auto dealer": Republican donations outstrip Democratic ones by about 8.6:1. Next, let's try "car dealer": For some reason, those persons who describe themselves as "car dealers" are just slightly more likely to donate to Democrats than those who call themselves "auto dealers". Nevertheless, the list of contributions tilts Republican by better than a 3:1 margin. Next up, "automobile dealer": Roughly a 10:1 advantage for Republicans. Finally, we'll look at the slightly more obscure formation of "automotive dealer": Big Republican edge here too. Combining the data: Overall, 88 percent of the contributions from car dealers went to Republican candidates and just 12 percent to Democratic candidates. By comparison, the list of dealers on Doug Ross's list (which I haven't vetted, but I assume is fine) gave 92 percent of their money to Republicans -- not really a significant difference. There's no conspiracy here, folks -- just some bad math. It shouldn't be any surprise, by the way, that car dealers tend to vote -- and donate -- Republican. They are usually male, they are usually older (you don't own an auto dealership in your 20s), and they have obvious reasons to be pro-business, pro-tax cut, anti-green energy and anti-labor. Car dealerships need quite a bit of space and will tend to be located in suburban or rural areas. I can't think of too many other occupations that are more natural fits for the Republican Party. Unfortunately, while we are still a nation of drivers, we are not a nation of dealers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlaskaDarin_Has_AIDS Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Here's and interesting little read from the Wall Street Journal's Best of the Web Blog: WSJ Best of the Web today Essentially, the Chrysler dealers that have been forced out of business due to the government sponsored restructuring, are almost exclusively Republican donors. A tipster alerted me to an interesting assertion. A cursory review by that person showed that many of the Chrysler dealers on the closing list were heavy Republican donors. To quickly review the situation, I took all dealer owners whose names appeared more than once in the list. And, of those who contributed to political campaigns, every single one had donated almost exclusively to GOP candidates. While this isn't an exhaustive review, it does have some ominous implications if it can be verified. However, I also found additional research online at Scribd (author unknown), which also appears to point to a highly partisan decision-making process. . . . I have thus far found only a single Obama donor (and a minor one at that: $200 from Jeffrey Hunter of Waco, Texas) on the closing list. Wow. So much for draining the bile from Washington political workings. I knew it from the second it was announced that this would happen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pBills Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I knew it from the second it was announced that this would happen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philly McButterpants Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Yeah, the Wall Street Journal just publishes things on it's website on whims. It's not a reputable website like the Huffington Post . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Yeah, the Wall Street Journal just publishes things on it's website on whims. It's not a reputable website like the Huffington Post . . . Do you want to refute the numbers that Neil Silver points out? He is extremely respected. Oh, and this is not like an article from the WSJ. It's on their opinion page, taken from another website (a blogger Doug Ross), in the "best of the web" page, and not their own writers or bloggers. So the answer is yes, the WSJ just publishes things on its website on whims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philly McButterpants Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Do you want to refute the numbers that Neil Silver points out? He is extremely respected. Oh, and this is not like an article from the WSJ. It's on their opinion page, taken from another website (a blogger Doug Ross), in the "best of the web" page, and not their own writers or bloggers. So the answer is yes, the WSJ just publishes things on its website on whims. Update IX: Joey Smith reported tonight that a Democratic donor group in the Midwest and South will not have to close any of their Chrysler dealerships... and their competition was gutted. The company is called RLJ-McLarty-Landers, and it operates six Chrysler dealerships throughout the South. All six dealerships are safe from closing. The dealer locations are: Bentonville, AR (northwest Arkansas); Lee's Summit, MO (south of Kansas City, MO); Branson, MO; Olathe, KS (near Kansas City); Bossier City, LA (near Shreveport); Huntsville, AL... The interesting part is who the three main owners of the company are. The owners are Steve Landers (long-time car dealer, 4th-generation dealer), Thomas "Mack" McLarty (former Chief of Staff for President Clinton), and Robert Johnson (founder of Black Entertainment Television and co-owner of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats). Landers has given money to Republicans in the past, but McLarty campaigned for Obama in 2008, and Johnson has given countless amounts of money to Democrats over the years... ...So far, RLJ-McCarty-Landers will have 8 competing dealerships total[ly] eliminated from 3 of their markets: Lee's Summit, MO; Branson, MO; and Bossier City, LA. I'm willing to bet that the other 3 markets that they serve are similar in nature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Update IX: Joey Smith reported tonight that a Democratic donor group in the Midwest and South will not have to close any of their Chrysler dealerships... and their competition was gutted.The company is called RLJ-McLarty-Landers, and it operates six Chrysler dealerships throughout the South. All six dealerships are safe from closing. The dealer locations are: Bentonville, AR (northwest Arkansas); Lee's Summit, MO (south of Kansas City, MO); Branson, MO; Olathe, KS (near Kansas City); Bossier City, LA (near Shreveport); Huntsville, AL... The interesting part is who the three main owners of the company are. The owners are Steve Landers (long-time car dealer, 4th-generation dealer), Thomas "Mack" McLarty (former Chief of Staff for President Clinton), and Robert Johnson (founder of Black Entertainment Television and co-owner of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats). Landers has given money to Republicans in the past, but McLarty campaigned for Obama in 2008, and Johnson has given countless amounts of money to Democrats over the years... ...So far, RLJ-McCarty-Landers will have 8 competing dealerships total[ly] eliminated from 3 of their markets: Lee's Summit, MO; Branson, MO; and Bossier City, LA. I'm willing to bet that the other 3 markets that they serve are similar in nature. Seems to me all that it means is that Democrat Donors run a tighter, more profitable ship than their Republican counterparts, which was entirely predictable. I would also assume that Landers, McClarty and Johnson know how to run a business and if you took a ransom list of companies run by that trio you would not expect them to be closed first. This all could become a story, although I highly doubt it. Right now it seems like random numbers. Especially the first version of them. And of course, the actual WSJ editor who started the thing and linked to Ross sums it all up at the bottom of the article you linked: It must be emphasized that Ross's evidence is suggestive, not conclusive. It does not appear that anyone has yet conducted a complete analysis of Chrysler dealers' political contributions. Ross's post, published Monday, contains nine updates with supporting material from news sources and blog posts, but the whole thing ends up being rather disjoined and hard to digest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlaskaDarin_Has_AIDS Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Do you want to refute the numbers that Neil Silver points out? He is extremely respected. Nate Silver supported Obama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Maybe if they had better leadership to begin with, the bankruptcies wouldn't have been necessary.....regardless of politicians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Nate Silver supported Obama. And you're an **** troll who doesn't even believe what he types and the pseudonym/alter-egomaniac for another witless poster here that nobody liked or believed before either. Both your statement about Silver and mine about you are irrefutable, but have nothing to do with the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlaskaDarin_Has_AIDS Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 And you're an **** troll who doesn't even believe what he types and the pseudonym/alter-egomaniac for another witless poster here that nobody liked or believed before either. Nice try but wrong again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 post-partisan/bi-partisan = code for "shut up and go along with us" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 post-partisan/bi-partisan = code for "shut up and go along with us" And to add to that... Or go under completely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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