As the congressional hearings on Toyota and its recall continued, two facts emerged to reinforce the perception that there is a political agenda here.
First, GM — our very own nationalized car company — announced a large recall of its own. It recalled 1.3 mil- lion compact cars because of more than 1,100 complaints about a power steering defect. Of course, GM has quite a history of recalls, so this news isn’t surprising. What’s fascinating is the realization that nobody in Congress or the Obama administration has so far called for hearings. Now, why is that?
Perhaps the answer lies in a second interesting fact, reported by Mark Tapscott on Examiner.com (Los Angeles). Amazingly, of the 59 Democrats serving on the two relevant committees in the House of Representatives, 31 have received campaign donations from — drumroll please! — the United Auto Workers. Yes, the co-owner of GM and Chrysler is funding more than half the judges in these show trials.
Let’s name names, shall we?
On the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the UAW has funded: Judy Chu (D-CA), William Clay (D-MO), Gerry Connelly (D-VA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Dan Davis (D-IL), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Michael Quigley (D-IL), Paul Rhodes (D-NH), John Tierney (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Peter Welch (D-VT).
On the Committee on Energy and Commerce (besides Congressmen Murphy and Welch, who serve on both committees): Rick Boucher (D-VA), Bruce Braley (D-IA), Lois Capps (D-CA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), John Dingell (D-MI), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Elliot Engel (D-NY), Charles Gonzalez (D-TX), Gene Green (D-TX), Baron Hill (D-IN), Jay Inslee (D-WA), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Mike Ross (D-AR), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Bart Stupak (D-MI), and Henry Waxman (D-CA).
