Well, at least their hometown media. Our hypermiling pal Sam “Is there a draft out here?” Abuelsamid at Autoblog linked me to the straw that broke this camel’s back: a Christmas Eve column by The Detroit News’ John McCormick. “Maybe it’s time to turn the tables on the South” the title proclaims, proving that prevarication is the first refuge of a journalistic scoundrel. “The unnecessarily long and painful path toward the approval of government bridging loans for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC has exposed a new threat to Detroit. It’s one that Michigan consumers may want to keep in mind as they consider their expenditures, vacation options and even retirement plans.” Breathe Farago. Gentlemen, you won. You got your money. I’m sorry if you found the $66.2b raid on the public purse was a bit… tedious. And embarrassing. But you want to start a boycott? You do realize you’re going back to Uncle Sugar in March, right? Southerners buy a lot of your trucks, yes? Maybe it would be best to just shut the Hell up and be glad that President Bush felt free to ride roughshod over the United States Congress (not to mention the U.S. Constitution). But no. Insult added to injury after the jump.
McCormick’s rant continues with the unconscionably flaming statement “The problem here centers on certain southern states — Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia and, in particular, Alabama — where certain bone-headed senators seem to have forgotten that the Civil War ended, with the appropriate outcome, almost 150 years ago.”
Despite that obvious middle finger salute to the South, McCormick hides behind the idea that a southern boycott is a suggestion from unnamed readers, not, of course, himself.
“Apparently Alabama is quite a tourist destination for Michigan residents, so perhaps they will want to find other places to spend their hard-earned dollars. The southern state is also heavily favored by retirees from Michigan, but maybe that could change, too.
“One other thought raised by readers concerns disasters; not the financial kind we are all experiencing, but the natural variety — droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods — the sort of calamities that afflict southern states on a regular basis.
“As you point out, federal taxpayer money flows freely in these circumstances, and so does free assistance from northern states, including Michigan. Detroit automakers, for example, gladly helped with vehicles and personnel when Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast.
“Is it time the South is reminded that a mean-spirited attitude is not a smart play when the whole country is on the ropes?”
Did I just read that? Is McCormick– sorry, his anonymous emailer– seriously suggesting that his constituents withhold federal support for the South during natural disasters? Does Fortress Detroit have no shame?
[If you wish to email McCormick a copy of your response here on TTAC, please do so at john.mccormick@detnews.com.]
70 Comments on “Bailout Watch 305: I Give Up On Detroit...”
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Might as well include the 2 coasts in your boycott, also. That leaves Detroit alone with….North Dakota.
Looks like:
a.) He wants a re-match of the Civil War
b.) He forgets that the F-150 and Silverado/Sierra are the weapon of choice down south, along with the appropriate racks of shooting implements
c.) He’s nuts
You do need to take a deep breath RF. This has almost nothing to do with autos or the widgets to make them. It is “Us verses them”. Until we all use the same currency, worship the same god, blend into one complexion, dress alike and then learn tolerance, this will happen over anything and everything.
I personally like and red the WAS piece everyday, very good job. Sometimes the (seemingly) unending fixation of beating the US marques gets tedious, but this is America.
President Bush felt free to ride roughshod over the United States Congress (not to mention the U.S. Constitution)…
Nothing new about that…
Most of us here in Alabama are proud of Sen. Shelby (who used to be a Democrat, go figure). Oh by the way, he was right. You can keep your tourist dollars, I see more tags from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Minnesota on the way to the beach than Michigan. You just hog the left lane on I-65 anyway.
I’m sure we would have given the 2.8 huge tax breaks IF they built a plant in our state. But they were too busy building plants in Mexico and China.
Explain to me again how it’s the Republican’s fault when the Dems have the majority in both the House and the Senate.
Wait, doesn’t he mean “…for Michigan residents to spend my hard-earned dollars”?
I’m basically paying Detroit to not have to drive one of your rotten cars, so try this line instead, Michigan– “Much obliged, y’all.” You have until March to get it right.
Welcome to politics. Obviously the Collapsed Three would disavow the idea, because they don’t want to look ungracious. However, I’m not surprised that some third party kicked the South under the table. We’ll be seeing more of this once the new Congress convenes. Remember that the South loses a fair amount of clout because of leadership/membership changes . . . and the rustbelt played an important role in electing Obama.
Will disaster relief be withheld? Nope — nothing that obvious. But payback will occur, even if it is more subtle and deniable.
I’m not saying this is admirable, just that it isn’t surprising.
McCormick makes a passionate point. (Just like Farago does…) The core of McCormick’s argument is that the North has unquestionably supported the South for years, and in numerous ways. Now, maybe it’s time to vote with Northern dollars and keep them out of Alabama. That’s we call the free market.
When Shelby went on television and treated the Big 3 the way he did, he knew the risk. That’s called politics.
BTW, Indiana, Ohio, and Minnesota have a fair amount of Big 3 business in their respective states. They’ll likely have more in common with Michigan on this issue than Alabama. No state wants to lose tourist dollars, and Alabama stands to lose a fair bit here.
I won’t be spending my money in Alabama as long as Shelby’s around. Count on it.
I recommend http://www.boycottalabamanow.com for additional reading. :-)
“Explain to me again how it’s the Republican’s fault when the Dems have the majority in both the House and the Senate.”
60 votes are needed in the Senate to get any legislation across. Neither party has had that in years, leading to the ancient art of
“necessary compromise.”
Alabama has, to my knowledge, never sought a Big 3 plant in recent times.
Don’t forget about all the Chrysler activity in Huntsville for decades.
This reminds me of the stories about Nixon’s reactions to the 1972 election. Nixon won in a landslide, yet he responded to his victory by fixating on his “enemies.” You can see what good that did for him.
Detroit won this round. If they spent more time trying to put their victory to work in a positive way, and less of it focused on their opponents, they might actually get somewhere.
Boneheads like McCormick just don’t understand how ironic their behavior is. It is this very attack-the-world mentality that caused Detroit to fail in the first place. Instead of just making better products and gaining the trust of consumers, they constantly blame their dilemmas on everyone else.
The editorial highlights why the turnaround plans aren’t going to work. The mentality of those running the show is one that exalts failure. No amount of money can fix that. They could have free labor, free healthcare and an unlimited supply of free steel, and they would still blow it.
Now that they’ve gotten one installment, they are going to want more. Obviously, they feel entitled to it.
I’m embarrassed to be from Michigan sometimes, and I’ve said it many a time. Wouldn’t Ohio be interested in taking oh, say the lower 1/3 of southeastern Michigan off our hands so we can elect some reasonable people without having no say due to Detroit robo-voters? (”you will vote democrat – signed, the UAW”) It’s not like Ohio hasn’t got plenty of crummy cities now, what’s a few more?
President Bush felt free to ride roughshod over the United States Congress (not to mention the U.S. Constitution).
The auto loan passed the House, and there were 52 votes for it in the Senate. The loan was bottled up by Sens. Shelby (R-AL) and Corker (R-TN). Subsequently, President Bush carved funds out of the TARP, which was clearly and legally within his purview as President.
You do realize you’re going back to Uncle Sugar in March, right?
It’s about time “Uncle Sugar” provided something to Michigan and other manufacturing states. This was a loan. The South has been hoovering cash from the Feds since the inception of the Republic.
Not withstanding our years-long recession in Michigan, we are still a “donor state” (must be all those UAW members paying payroll taxes). Looking at just the past 10 years, on average, Michigan has only received $0.81 back for every dollar we’ve sent to Uncle Sugar, while Alabama received $1.40. (Link.) And that’s not a loan — it’s straight up welfare.
@pleiter Might as well include the 2 coasts in your boycott, also. That leaves Detroit alone with….North Dakota.
And bit players like Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, etc. Heh. We actually make stuff here. Oh, and we have water. The drinkable kind.
Anyway, as this last election has shown, it is
Jesuslandthe South that has made itself an irrelevant region in this country.Shelby and Corker are relics. President Obama? Illinois. Vice President Biden? Delaware. Speaker Pelosi? California. Senate Leader Reid? Nevada.
The South overplayed its hand and whined for decades, all while being a giant welfare queen suckling at the Federal teat. Now, no one at the center of power has a Southern drawl.
The South can boycott Michigan and the UAW if they wish. It doesn’t matter.
Sectionalism is a dangerous card to play. I wonder how many cars and light trucks the Detroit 2.2 won’t sell in the south if this kind of thinking gets off the ground and people in the south become aware of it. And of course Michigan does have a tourist industry of its own, so two could play that game too.
I personally think Corker is far less dangerous to the US auto industry in the long run than the Pelosi wing of the Democratic party is. Remember, these are people who have been eating up a steady diet of “Who Killed the Electric Car”, “Roger and Me”, and stories about how GM ripped out public transit in major cities. These are people who have been trying to force one stupid idea after another down Detroit’s throat since the early sixties.
GM, Chrysler and the UAW have just handed their erm Manhood to people who loath everything they stand for. How long before the Democratic leadership is dictating the exact mix of cars and what color seats they have and what kind of battery they’ll use instead of that yucky internal combustion engine? And how many solar panels and windmills they have to install to replace that yucky coal power? And how exactly the pension plan invests its money? And exactly what is covered and not covered by the health plan?
“We’re from the government and we’re here to help” /y/o/u /i/g/n/o/r/a/n/t p/e/o/p/l/e /d/o/ t/h/i/n/g/s o/u/r/ w/a/y/.
@Detroit Todd : The loan was bottled up by Sens. Shelby (R-AL) and Corker (R-TN).
Correction. It was Ronald Gettelfinger that stopped the loan. Shelby and Corker were fine with the loans. It was Gettelfinger that wouldn’t agree to the terms. Place the blame where it belongs.
@mcs It was Ronald Gettelfinger that stopped the loan.
When did Ron Gettelfinger become a U.S. Senator? What Shelby and Corker did was offer up a poison pill. It’s a very old political maneuver.
How did I get Detroit Todd’s “click to edit” when I just opened up the page?
What Shelby and Corker did was offer up a poison pill.
The poison pill came from those in management who believed that cars with the quality and appeal of the Chrysler Sebring or Chevy Aveo could ever turn a profit.
LALoser: How did I get Detroit Todd’s “click to edit” when I just opened up the page?
I had yours the other day, LA. I thought it was just a fluke and ignored it. There must be some kind of glitch.
Thanks for taking the time to point it out.
Are we talking apples-to apples? The one who wrote the piece is a journalist….re-interpeting something from a reader? The other is an elected offical…who is supposed to be doing the best for his country and state?
Hey Michigan,
YOU’RE WELCOME.
Ingrates.
like Keith Crain of the Auto News said,”if GM sold another million cars a year these problems would go away”. really it all comes down to selling cars, something Wagoner and Company have no idea how to do and refuse to listen to anyone who does. get rid of Red Ink Rick and things will turn the other direction.
Detroit Todd; Think of the fun we could have if we got others….Robert F’s: “I love the Aveo, it reminds me of the engineering masterpiece, the Vega”…..or something like that :D
When did Ron Gettelfinger become a U.S. Senator? What Shelby and Corker did was offer up a poison pill. It’s a very old political maneuver.
They were simple loan terms. It was no poison pill. Gettelfinger was the one that rejected them. A true poison pill would have been to give the Union what they wanted.
Detroit Todd; Think of the fun we could have if we got others….Robert F’s: “I love the Aveo, it reminds me of the engineering masterpiece, the Vega”…..or something like that :D
Heh!
Maybe the entitlement-minded parasites should go further south and vacation in Cuba with their “intellectual” soulmates.
Detroit has become this and the fear is that the rest of the country will, too.
http://www.thereturnofscipio.com/?p=1142
It’s amusing to read comments from those who want to “wave the bloody shirt” against the South. Regional rivalries and resentments have always been a part of the American experiment. First it was New Englanders who muttered about secession.
Next, decades before the War for Southern Independence, southerners began formulating justifications for Nullification. They were upset about tariffs that protected Northern industry, federal spending on “internal improvements” up north, and the profits of New York middlemen and Northern shipping firms on the South’s exports. Slavery got added to the list of issues by the 1850’s.
Now it’s Michigan that’s talking secession. Or would it just prefer that the Congress belatedly recognize the Confederacy?
Oh, and about Joe Biden being one of the north’s political phalanx: Slavery was still legal in Delaware when the Uncivil War broke out, and Delaware is (mostly) below the Mason-Dixon line.
Way to go Detroit News!
Stick it to those elitist, ivory tower bastards living in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana.
/sarcasm
Well, I guess the Civil War did nothing to stop racism.
And here I thought redneck idiots were only from The South. Apparently, Michigan has created its own strain.
It just goes to prove that people will do/say almost Anything to avoid admitting they were wrong in any way. -Something about spiting noses for faces, and spars in eyes.
–
++If those people you propose to boycott ever find a non-Detroit alternative to the F-150, you’re even more screwed than you are now.
+++@Cicero,@Luther: Awesome.
War for Southern Independence, southerners began formulating justifications for Nullification. They were upset about tariffs that protected Northern industry, federal spending on “internal improvements” up north, and the profits of New York middlemen and Northern shipping firms on the South’s exports.
In other words, the indolent (for those of you living south of the Mason Dixon line, you can look it up at dictionary.com, well, that is, after someone shows you how), agrarian South has always resented the industrial and industrious North. Hell, most of the most ambitious and hardworking folks in the South came north to work in factories or otherwise make a living. It’s interesting that the South’s own industries, textiles and furniture, have collapsed in the face of foreign competition. So much for their “business friendly” reputation. Most of the successful industries in the South today are imports, either from other parts of the United States or from overseas. The agrarian culture of the South is deeply rooted.
Transplant assembly facilities aren’t the only things that the South has in common with Japan and Germany. All three declared war on the United States and all three were defeated with the help of American industries.
If big Dick, Shelby wants to act like Detroit is stuck in the past, two can play that game. Lynching, Jim Crow and Bull Connor’s German shepards.
As for the war of “Southern Independence”, flying the Confederate battle flag is no different than flying the rising sun of imperial Japan or the swastika of Nazi Germany. Just another group of racists who declared war on the United States. The stars and bars do, however, make an adequate substitute for Charmin.
Goin’ to Detroit Michigan,
Girl I can’t take you.
Hey I’m goin’ to Detroit Michigan,
Girl, you got to stay here behind.
Goin’ to get me a job,
On the Cadillac assembly line.
I’m tired of whoopin’ and hollerin’
Up and down the Mississippi road.
Oh I’m tired of whoopin’ and hollerin’
Pickin’ that nasty cotton.
Gonna catch me a bus up North,
I won’t have to keep sayin’ yessir boss.
@50merc
If you want to turn this into a full blown discussion of the Civil War, I’m happy to do so.
If you want to argue the southern side, their misnomer is not “War for Southern Independence” — it is “War Between the States” or the “War of Northern Aggression” that was/is mistaught in southern school books. In reality, it was the Civil War, started by traitors in the South.
The traitorous behavior continues, with Corker and Shelby bending over for MB, VW and Hyundai, while attempting to knife GM and Chrysler.
Oh, and about Joe Biden being one of the north’s political phalanx: Slavery was still legal in Delaware when the Uncivil War broke out, and Delaware is (mostly) below the Mason-Dixon line.
Delaware stayed within the Union, unlike other traitorous states.
Finally, since we’re on the subject, let’s remember who lit up Hotlanta the first time. Hint: There is a statue of General Sherman in downtown Detroit. (Sorry, but General Lee didn’t make the cut.)
Now it’s Michigan that’s talking secession. Or would it just prefer that the Congress belatedly recognize the Confederacy?
No one is talking about secession here in Michigan. We don’t believe in treason.
In all seriousness, who in their right mind vacations in ALABAMA?
Detroit needs its customers in the South, so those badmouthing Alabama need to tone it down. Also I still want to vacation in the South. And my wife is from the South.
What bailing out Detroit has to do with the Civil War (or whatever you want to call it) is beyond me.
I support an intelligent bailout attempt, although GM looks like a lost cause (just like the Confederacy)and desperately needs a prepackaged bankruptcy. We need both points of view argued in Congress, so I cannot fault Shelby. A vigorous debate is healthy.
The mindset here is: The Big 3 have done so much for America over the decades that when they came to Washington, they should have received their money immediately and without question. That they didn’t is a crime, and anyone who participated in this crime must be punished.
If regional bigotry is the game Detroit is going to play, this New Yorker (traveling in the Southwest at the moment) is buying a Southern built transplant and Detroit can take a flyin’ leap.
If keeping them in business was about “the good of the country” I’d have assumed that would have included the South as well. Since it was really just about the good of the Detroit sow and all the piglets at her teets, the true colors are beginning to shine.
If anyone but industry followers and locals actually read the irrelevant Detroit paper, I suppose this article could have inspired a new shift at the Tundra factory in San Antonio.
Shelby and Corker are just following a time – honored tradition of Senators from the Slave States; “My way or the Highway!” They’ve ALWAYS put their region above the National interest from the getgo. They wouldn’t join the Revolution or ratify the Constitution unless slavery was approved. They hollered about “States Rights” while forcing the Fugitive Slave Act on the Northern States. They threatened for years to secede unless they could keep their slaves, then did. The Great Slaveholder Revolt cost the lives of more American troops than all the other wars combined. Southern cities are littered with statues of those traitors who killed more Americans than Hitler, Ho Chi Minh, and Osama bin Laden put together.
Afterwards, they had it their way for a century – their region locked in a system of serfdom, apartheid and poverty. Any attempt to rectify it was met with murder and political parties led by Strom Thurmond and George Wallace.
Repeat: The South has NEVER put country first!
BTW, who vacations in Alabama? Mississippians!
jnik
Southerners have disproportionately fought and died in all of America’s wars, including the World Wars. It is wrong to question their patriotism.
The Big 3 have provided employment for many, at a good pay rate over the years. Standing back and looking at it shows a lot of tax, corporate and personal, has been paid for a long time. From that, infastructure, higher education, and a lot of liquid cash flowed into house buying, (Michigan and Florida), larger pension funds were formed, who then invested in more infastructure and state spending via bonds, etc. The question: When the transplants offer less, pay less and take tax breaks….Which one is more valuable to America in the big picture?
The anti-Southern stuff is a mind-blowingly self-defeating line for supporters of the big three to take. People on the east and west coasts stopped taking Detroit-built cars seriously decades ago. The Great Plains have pretty much emptied out. That leaves the Midwest and the south as the primary markets for cars from the Detroit 3.
Hmmm. Let’s deliberately alienate people from one of the two regions where the Detroit 3 can still sell cars because a couple of Senators wanted to attach terms to the bailout that we didn’t like. That’ll help Detroit for sure. Then you figure that there a lot of people in Illinois, Wisconsin,Ohio, etc with southern roots. That makes it even sweeter. Good job.
LA Loser-
I think everyone here would like to see the big 3 succeed, even the transplants for various reasons. the question is, are one or two of them too far gone to save.
Detroit needs every customer it can find right now, and if the new strategy of their supporters is to alienate a whole region of the country it is no wonder the shrinking 2.8 are circling the drain. The south is one of the few areas in the US where Detroit iron is still popular (particularly trucks) and buyers of domestic cars are not universally looked down on. Deriding a huge part of you customer base does not seem to be a good business decison, but seems to be in keeping with the short sighted thinking of the auto industry and those who populate it.
To review, Detroit has lost the support of:
-The west coast
-The east coast
-The young
-Environmentalists
-College educated buyers
-Consumer Reports readers
Detroit has managed to keep:
-The Elderly
-Midwesterners
-The South (we love our pickups)
-Democratic Politicians (via union contributions)
Seriously, can Detroit supporters afford to cross the South off your customer list? The elderly are dying, the midwest is shrinking, and politicans will only stick around until the contributions dry up.
BTW, I grew up in Michigan and spent almost three decades in the area before I got the hell out (to the south, incidentally). It is sad to see a state that is so rich in resources and educated people turned into what has been called the “welfare wonderland,” whose residents seem trapped economics and politics of the early 1970’s.
Isn’t all this brewhaha over a dis-credited journalist? Journalists cover the spectrum from Rush Limbaugh to Jim Hightower and work for companies like Fox News to MSNBC. Maybe there is a little over-reaction going on…..
Detroit Todd
The President had no such right to carve out money from the TARP funds. TARP was specifically written, by Congress, for funding banks and other financial institutions, as defined in the legislation. Industrial businesses had NO access legally to that money and GWB violated the law by using those funds for purposes not envisioned in the law. Whose going to stop? Seems like even Corker and Shelby don’t have the nerve for that.
The Bailout was the single worst thing Bush did and that is saying something.
GF
I don’t see why we shouldn’t be angry. The south is and always has been unrepentant traitors to this nation. We won WWII by not just destroying the Japanese and German militaries, we broke their victory culture. Sadly, that same thing never happened after the civil war.
At one time places like Youngstown, Gary, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, were king with steel mills cranking out continuous trainloads of steel every day. The Mesabe Range in Minnesota was sending freighter after freighter of iron ore to those towns.
Then Detroit decided to buy steel from anywhere but the US. Detroit thought foreign steel was more desirable than good old US steel. UAW was down with Steelworker jobs disappearing. Detroit’s Dear John letter to those towns was basically, drop dead.
And so the US steel industry went belly-up.
So I understand Michigan’s point of view about boycotting the South. And by the exact same token I’d say it’s time the boys of Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana, start boycotting Michigan. Michigan can keep its TV and radio and print travel destination ads to those neighboring states, and most of all it can keep its hapless Wolverines.
Without an engineering and design base does the south really have a true auto industry? It resembles more of a third world economy where there is manufacturing with little or no product design.
Apple builds IPODS in China, but they don’t call IPOD’s Chinese products. For the same reason Camry’s built in the US are Japanese not American cars.
I would like to point out that black people were not particulary appreciated anywhere in the US up until recently.
AG
the US won ww2by having control of oil and having far more…well everything and as your governments occupation of Iraq has shown victory culture are hard to erase with a jackboot.
really your real enemy is not alabama or michigan or texas or…. It is that cesspool on the Potomac that causes the problems for every one.
Wow… lots of old wounds ripped open on this one.
To those schnockered into this us v. them argument, it’s really not about North v. South. It’s about 2 companies that, due to their lack of leadership and vision, have uncompetitive cars. Instead of fixing it, like a four year old whose toy has been taken away, the leaders of these companies are throwing a tantrum and begging for money.
Like giving money to a crack whore while she’s in ‘recovery’.
Without an engineering and design base does the south really have a true auto industry? It resembles more of a third world economy where there is manufacturing with little or no product design.
I have also wondered about this. Why haven’t we witnessed a massive migration of R & D to the South along with manufacturing???? If Michael Randle is so hellbent on “steering the auto indusrty South” then why doesnt he put some attention on the brainpower and not just the grunt work?
Why did Toyota keep its RD in Ann Arbor and not move to the south? Why did Hynudai and Kia open up shop in SE Michigan?
Wow. This place has gone downhill in the last eight months.