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Feature
Solyndra Nation
A greener shade of crony corruption — er, capitalism — courtesy of the Obama administration.
(Page 3 of 3)
Most liberals still believe targeted government investment in renewable energies and other emerging technologies is both environmentally sound and essential to a positive, jobs-creating economic program. They don’t see how the corporatist intersection between government and big businesses like GE and GM, which they distrust, is related to the green jobs movement they think is a worthy public endeavor. Similarly, many conservatives still wrongly conflate a reflexive defense of business-no matter how dependent on government a particular business may be-with defending free markets.
On the right, government boondoggles undertaken in the name of national security often elicit insufficient scrutiny. On the left, such projects undertaken in the name of environmentalism attract almost nonexistent scrutiny. Many people across the political spectrum appear to believe that the solution to crony capitalism is to even further entangle government and business, described by the Wall Street Journal editorial page as demanding “capitalists to be more answerable to the politicians”-something that inexorably leads to more cronyism.
Crony capitalism isn’t an inherently liberal problem. But it is at best a design flaw and at worst a deliberate feature in the economic and environmental policies of this administration, supported by most liberals. In pronouncing the Obama White House scandal-free, the columnist Jonathan Alter argued that the greening of crony capitalism didn’t really count as a scandal. To paraphrase the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, this seems like defining scandals down.
About the Author
W. James Antle, III, author of the new book Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?, is editor of the Daily Caller News Foundation and a senior editor of The American Spectator. You can follow him on Twitter @jimantle.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (24) | Leave a comment
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SC Mike| 4.25.12 @ 6:52AM
You write: “Kaiser and other Solyndra investors will be paid back before the taxpayer.” That’s a correct statement by all accounts, thanks to a change in the loan terms made by someone in the Department of Energy.
But was that change legal? Was the individual who made that change empowered by a warrant or other legal device to make such a change?
I’m sure the Department of Justice is looking into this, that’s we’ll learn the facts soon, no?
Mike G| 4.25.12 @ 8:57AM
I wouldn't trust this Justice Dept. to do anything unless it involves getting Big O reelected.
Von Mises Jr| 4.25.12 @ 9:31AM
Like the Corzine money, it will never be found on purpose.
cali| 4.25.12 @ 7:33AM
This whole 'green' energy farce needs to end. A Romney administration needs to have audits on all this stimilus kickbacks or green energy firms.
The stimilus was nothing but a racket to reward campaign donors and, set up kickbacks for this upcoming election.
Doctor_X| 4.25.12 @ 7:36AM
Keep an eye on First Solar! The stock is tanking and they were the last to get a $500 million government contract. The connection with Obama? G.E. and Jeff Immelt. G.E. is making money off of First Solar selling them inverters. First solar can't make money selling complete systems due to the high cost of the pannels they produce compared to the ones from China.
First Solar is going to go BUST and another $500 million with it...and maybe some jobs at G.E. too!
Harry the Horrible| 4.25.12 @ 8:19AM
The only real "green energy" is nuclear power. So why aren't we "investing" there?
Mike G| 4.25.12 @ 9:00AM
It's because that wouldn't buy any votes from the environmentlist-wackos! That's what this "green" "investment" is all about.
Monkey Overstreet| 4.25.12 @ 10:16AM
I say Death to the Environment! Death to anything Green! Including aliens and tree frogs. Give me Smog or give me Death!
markenoff| 4.25.12 @ 6:43PM
Earth first! We'll strip mine the other planets later.
Harry the Horrible| 4.26.12 @ 8:55AM
Woohoo! I'm with you!
Bob S| 4.25.12 @ 2:50PM
Because they took advantage of Fukushima in Japan to re-ignite fears of nuclear energy in the general population.
Von Mises Jr| 4.25.12 @ 9:36AM
As Orwell surely observed with the Soviet and the Nazi "Green Energy" environmentalism; he wrote in "Animal Farm" that there was never any windmill. http://www.americanthinker.com....._care.html
There are no "Green Energy" jobs, only socialist stealing the tax payers money. It's time to wake up and smell the coffee.
Al Adab| 4.25.12 @ 11:40AM
We are much too kind when we refer to these actions as "crony capitalism". It is nothing less than Fascist in that the government selects its favored industries and companies, finances them, outlaws or regulates competitors and mandates (yes that word) either the purchase or use of the product. CFLs from GE a major campaign contributor for example. Can it be long before every second car shall be a Chevy Volt to both save the Earth and GM?
Von Mises Jr| 4.25.12 @ 2:37PM
Crony "Capitalism is simply the fascist disguise of the name. They initially called it the "Third Way" in the writings of Mises.
Indy| 4.25.12 @ 10:04AM
The video "If I wanted America to Fail" is making its way around the internet, have you seen it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....r_embedded
Lost| 4.25.12 @ 12:55PM
Yes I have. It is dead on.
Bob S| 4.25.12 @ 2:47PM
It's ironic that the people on the left often complain about how big bank execs got raises after they got bailed out, but you never hear the same people complain that big green execs get generous compensation even after (inevitably) running their big green companies to the ground.
Dick Nome| 4.25.12 @ 3:25PM
My brother is developing a personal methane recovery system that should be a great thing to help in conserving all kinds of energy. Light and portable, he is trying to get some Porkulus money to build the first proptotype. Should it not work, he can pay himself a bonus, fold it up and get to work on his next invention. A solar powered Whooppee cushion.
markenoff| 4.25.12 @ 6:45PM
How about a methane powered whooppee cushion?
Mike Hawk| 4.25.12 @ 7:55PM
Self inflating/ renewable energy
Al Adab| 4.25.12 @ 3:26PM
Banks bad
Green good
No double standard just people like us who don't know what is good for us. To The Left, the ends justify the means.
albert constantine jr.| 4.25.12 @ 4:55PM
"To The Left, the ends justify the means."
Actually, the ends often become irrelevant, as long as your intentions are good and pure.
markenoff| 4.25.12 @ 6:42PM
"On the right, government boondoggles undertaken in the name of national security often elicit insufficient scrutiny. "
I prefer government boondoggles that are, at least, done in the pursuit of the duties of the federal government under the Constitution (ie; the common defense) to those undertaken for goals outside the requirements of and, arguably, beyond the Constitituional power of, the federal government.
POST American| 4.26.12 @ 12:09AM
--Son of Globalist CIA linked Ann Dunham
---Harvard/Princeton 'innie'
----Former Kissinger aide
-----Likely stealth clone of RED China
sellout artist supreme, Averell Harriman
Ladies and Gentleman, we give you
-------------'BAR--Rockefeller' H. Obama!------------
In this, the 11th hour of the CFR--RED China
handover and takedown op, remember!
--capstone creepdom LOVES to hide
it in plain sight. Its a mark of CAIN!
AGAIN, DO CHECK OUT that latest
RED Icve Radio interview with Jay Weidner.
He lays out the whole connection of
ISLAM with the capstone agenda for
takedown, CON-solidation and FINAL
EUGENICS worldwide.
ISLAM is to provide the neccessary
religious component for bringing it
all in.
We thought this was preposterous
at first until we considered the demoralizing
signs on the ground---
-Europe over-run by design
-MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of muslims
settled across our midwest just since Obama
took office
-the ON RECORD statements of fmr
Home Secretary Jack Straw in the
Dail Mail
-the sickening moral fold of our long,
long Rockefeller-rot subverted churches
and so much more.
Surely, there is coming a moment in which
the average, demoralized and thwarted
Joes and Janes will feel the appeal of
a relgion that unabashedly and unrelentingly
proclaims its doctrine, such as it is.
"The NEO-Cons are REALLY nothing
more than a bunch of former Trotskyists
who realized they couldn't bring on
their NWO without a religious component.
----ISLAM is that component."
IN A NUTSHELL:
CAIN using ISHMAEL as an X-cuse
to mark (ID---all) and takedown the ABEL.
And then folding one and all under the mantle
of a religion of slaves ---a religion of
prisoners that itself thrives in prisons.
------------------------------BUT OF COURSE!