Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Advertisements
Advertisements

Obama’s Chicago-style politics conceal Solyndragate

Here is some news you will not hear in the mainstream liberal media because it puts President Barack Obama in an embarrassing light. Anything that does that is immediately covered up, and the Solyndra scandal is big news, really. If it was any member of the right wing, then they would be crucified by the liberal media by now. 

Obama has wasted a huge amount of money (that part is not new) by attempting to fund a failed alternative energy corporation in the private sector. Do not get me wrong – I am all for supporting the private sector. But playing favorites is wrong and unfair to the rest of all the business owners, large and small. Solyndra, an alternative energy company, was given $535 million from your pockets in the form of the enormous taxes that the Obama administration has instituted. This was not a successful venture, as the company went bankrupt almost immediately. 

 Despite being told by accountants and auditors in his own party that Solyndra was in rocky financial shape, Obama decided to blow taxpayer dollars on a worthless venture. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Michigan, and Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Florida, called out the poor decision to Obama before the company went bankrupt. They were criticized as being “wrong” and “having no faith in renewable energy.”  Somehow, according to Obama, Upton (who served several years in the Office of Management and Budget under Reagan) and Stearns (who was part of the Committee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade) apparently have no idea how to spend money and run a business. 

Advertisements

Despite warnings by conservatives who had strong knowledge of the floundering business, Obama went ahead and signed away more than half a billion dollars of tax payer money to a failing company. He publicly visited the factory himself, praising it generously. Months and taxpayer dollars later, the firm folded, putting more than 1,000 American workers out of a job. 

What is bothering is the fact that this story may go a bit deeper. Not only did Obama decide to ignore the Republicans who were entirely correct (that part is not new), but he also decided to ignore the experts in finances inside his own party and those nonpartisan ones hired to investigate Department of Energy spending. Despite criticism on both sides of the aisle, he still wastes more than half a billion dollars. 

What would cause him to make such an expensive and ill-advised move? Was it an intoxicated Biden calling him a softie? The answer is that one of Obama’s highest fundraising people, Steve Spinner, is an employee of the U.S. Department of Energy and was one of the monitors of the deal that threw easy cash to Solyndra. It seems that Obama is quite bendable to the will of his fundraisers. 

Our president, the one who promised to never play party politics if he was elected, has reneged on his promise (this actually is not the first time) and is wasting our taxpayer money to support his fundraising friends. It is unsure how deeply Spinner and Obama are entangled with Solyndra’s executive board or shareholders, but it seems quite apparent that they at least know each other very well and will “help each other out.” 

 GOP legislators have issued a subpoena for the president’s communication on Solyndra, and Obama’s office is stonewalling them. This is what really screams coverup to me. So far, they are turned over 85,000 pages of documents, but when Republicans pushed to see 1,000 more pages, they balked and called the subpoena “overbroad.” These further 1,000 pages are the critical ones which reveal that Obama made this poor decision despite warnings and that his fundraising buddy has ties to Solyndra. Furthermore, Republicans asked for this months ago, and it still has not come to light. 

This signifies the very definition of corruption. Obama has abused his power for far too long and wasted far too much money. He got away with it for two years due to the lack of legislative oversight from a Democrat-controlled Congress. We should be thanking our lucky stars for such people as Upton and Stearns who are not afraid to call out Obama when he makes (yet another) mistake. 

It is disgusting by how much money we can throw to the wind so that Obama can have his way. This represents nothing more than what is known as “Chicago-style politics” in which your fundraisers get to have a huge say in any legislation a politician passes if elected. It was seen back in 2008 when Obama was able to escape detection for selling his Senate seat (Gov. Rod Blagojevich was punished instead) using an intermediary. It is seen now with Obama playing favorites based on who won him the most cash. Obama awards those who play his lap dog while he destroys American jobs in the process.

Vince Borkowski ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in neurobiology.

Advertisements
Leave a Comment
Donate to The Badger Herald

Your donation will support the student journalists of University of Wisconsin-Madison. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to The Badger Herald

Comments (0)

All The Badger Herald Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *