Fox News Blames Unions For Auto Companies’ Demise, Suggests Firing UAW Head
Fox News Blames Unions For Auto Companies’ Demise, Suggests Firing UAW Head
When Detroit’s Big Three auto companies first came to Washington last fall to ask for bailout funds, conservatives immediately insisted the companies’ woes were the fault of the United Auto Workers (UAW). Even though the Senate Republicans effectively blocked a fair bailout deal, they pointed the finger at the UAW, falsely claiming it was “willing to make no concessions — zero.”
Today, President Obama announced that the government will recommit to providing assistance to General Motors and Chrysler — but only if the companies presented restructured plans, including the firing of GM CEO Rick Wagoner. Fox News and Fox Business was apoplectic, insisting that the UAW had never been forced to make concessions (a false claim) and that the union’s leader, Ron Gettelfinger, should be fired instead:
– GRETCHEN CARLSON: Where’s the union in all of this? … Not one mention of the union possibly making concessions in this whole thing.
– BILL HEMMER: If you can fire the CEO, why can’t you fire the head of the union?
– STUART VARNEY: The union and General Motors have not agreed on how to take care of these legacy costs — that is, the health and pension benefits for retired UAW workers. That is what is breaking the bank at General Motors.
– SEAN HANNITY: I didn’t see any union reps get told that they had to get out in this endeavor, because Barack Obama wouldn’t anger his political base.
Watch a compilation:
It’s no surprise that Fox’s immediate instinct is to blame the UAW; the network has a history of animus toward organized labor. Just weeks ago, ThinkProgress tracked Fox’s misleading attacks on the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make unionization easier.
Unlike Fox News hosts, President Obama recognized that restoring the auto industry to health will require a shared sacrifice from everyone involved in the industry — including but certainly not limited to the union:
What we are asking is difficult. It will require hard choices by companies. It will require unions and workers who have already made painful concessions to make even more. It will require creditors to recognize that they cannot hold out for the prospect of endless government bailouts. [...]
Let there be no doubt, it will take an unprecedented effort on all our parts — from the halls of Congress to the boardroom, from the union hall to the factory floor — to see the auto industry through these difficult times.
It’s clear that the Fox hosts’ anti-UAW rhetoric has nothing to do with the specifics of the auto industry’s woes and everything to do perusing their own favorite pastime: union busting.
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This may be a rhetorical question, but are all Fox News Channel personalities this misinformed? Or do they know that what they are saying is false?
March 30th, 2009 at 7:04 pm13 levels of Management Chuck Cabbagesmasher….handsome devil
March 30th, 2009 at 7:07 pmFox News Blames Unions For Auto Companies’ Demise, Suggests Firing UAW Head
– - Nice screen shot. Krauthammer has this perpetual look of “I’m trying to pinch off a huge loaf.”
March 30th, 2009 at 7:07 pmYeah. thanks for that visual…just in time for dinner…
:[
March 30th, 2009 at 7:12 pmI wonder if these people really believe this crap or if they just do it for the money.
I also wonder when or if they will ever have their Atwater moment.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:14 pmOf course FOX ignores the fact that GM was involved in derivatives which knocked its stock value down 20% when Standard and Poor lowered its rating to junk.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:14 pmWayne Ant Schneider,Yes they are all willfully misinformed.They lie.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:16 pmThey just make stuff up and where is the Bill-O the self appointed vigilante that fights dishonesty?
Why, hes the head cheerleader, over there, with the falafel pom poms.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:18 pmYes the unions built a mind control device, planted it in the corporate office and had the leadership destroy the company because they were so overpaid!!
/snark
March 30th, 2009 at 7:20 pmI also wonder when or if they will ever have their Atwater moment.
They’d rather pray for alzheimers, to take away their shame and guilt.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:20 pmMore buffoonery from the Fake News Network!
March 30th, 2009 at 7:21 pmFaux News is a fraud. While some are to dumb to know, most know, just take the money, and follow the Party line. Racketeering and fraud are covered by the RICO act, which should be enforced against Faux News.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:21 pmLegacy costs are a big part of the problem. 30 years ago robotics replaced a lot of workers. Under contract those workers that took early retirement were to receive lifetime benefits. At that time there were no foreign automakers producing cars inside the USA. When they built plants here they used robotics as well but they didn’t have the legacy costs as well so they had an immediate advantage. Another problem was that the cars built in the 1980’s were crap — remember the Chevolet Citation. The other thing they did was to build too many models so they needed extra assembly lines to produce those cars. The choices are tough but they should have been made some 15 years ago. That way they could have conserved cash and maybe not be in such dire straits today.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:21 pmThe people at Fox (among many others)are so far right that they think anything inboard of the starboard rail is the radical left, which, when you think about it, makes them all wet.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:25 pmIs FAUX News studios a Union Free Zone?
… anyone know?
March 30th, 2009 at 7:26 pmI think that this “fire the union boss” equavilency is just about as credible as the banks vs. auto makers crap that’s been thrown around all day.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:27 pmOf course Faux would say that – bunch of corporate whores
March 30th, 2009 at 7:29 pmI’ll say it again, the union is not the problem. The shi**y as* cars designed and built by the big 3 are the problem. Nothing more, nothing less. If they didn’t have their fingers up their as* for the past 30 years they wouldn’t be in this position. The union had nothing to do with it.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:30 pmWayne Ant Schneider
The Fox personalities practice intentional ignorance, pure and simple.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:31 pmbogglesthemind Says:
Is FAUX News studios a Union Free Zone?
– - Fox has contracts with several IATSE local unions.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:31 pmUnfortunately Fox listeners are not always rich. Some work for a living… but I think they so much want to identify with the rich that they don’t see how against the workers Fox is.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:33 pmThis, is a problem.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:45 pmWho the hell are their sponsors anyway?
There’s an old adage in business:
“People who cash paychecks are, almost, always responsible for a company’s success. Those who sign the checks are, almost, always responsible for failures“.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:47 pmFox = Elitists
“blame the help”,
how very Howell of them…
March 30th, 2009 at 7:53 pmCan President Obama fire Charlie Krautpeen? Please?
March 30th, 2009 at 7:54 pmIf legacy costs are the PROBLEM…then what is the Solution/??
Is the Govt. going to force the Auto Companies to Cancel these agreements…forcing retired Auto workers to apply for work at Wal Mart and get their health care thru Medicade?
Can Bankruptcy even DO this???
March 30th, 2009 at 7:58 pmWhat’s breaking the bank at General Motors is the slumbering economy & the bad business model. If they turned out too many cars at once, the workers didn’t control the flow and shouldn’t bear the brunt of those penalties.
The rigid ideologues are so desperate for a platform, an outlet to plug in the cord, that they are willing to jam it in their and get electrocuted.
I bet these Fixed News heads donated big to the Nadya Suleman shop-’til-you-drop fund.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:59 pmTesla motors just announced their sedan model, really pretty, priced at about 50,000. They’re taking orders for delivery next year.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:04 pmIf any of these automakers had their heads anywhere but rectally inserted, they’d partner with Tesla and we’d have 25,000 sedans in 3 years. Fumbducks.
Er, $25,000 sedans. And hopefully a few million produced over the next five years.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:04 pmSouth Korea is perhaps the most heavilly unionized nations on the Planet. Please note that their automobile industries are doing just fine, thank you. Given that super-heavilly unionized South Korea is profitably making cars that people actually want to buy, why can’t American car companies do the same? This, unarguably ain’t the Unions fault. This idiocy of firing the UAW chief is Exactly like firing the Chief Engineer on the Titanic! That was a similar, preventable event, but the Engineers Didn’t steer the thing!
March 30th, 2009 at 8:06 pmRuCerious,
I don’t know about the sedans, but their sportscar is will over 100k mark, I think it’s actually closer to 200k. They tested one on Top Gear last week (yes, it’s a guilty pleasure) and it broke down in less than 1/2 hour.
Then they tested the new hydrogen/electric hybred by Honda and that looks like a winner.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:09 pmI wonder if these people really believe this crap or if they just do it for the money.
You can be sure that each and every one of them is deliberately lying. They are professional propagandists. They believe so fervently in their right wing ideology and authoritarianism that lying to them is simply a tool to advance their agenda, nothing more.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:11 pmThe dictator, Obama, head of the United Socialist States of America and central economic planning, can’t fire the head of the UAW because union members votes are a stake. By the way, where exactly in the U.S. constitution does it say the President of the USA can fire the CEO of a private corporation? Oh, it doesn’t. It is unconstitutional. Not that anyone seems to care about that. “Spread the wealth, baby.”
March 30th, 2009 at 8:12 pmWell, of course, all this foolishness about firing CEOs, seeking union give-backs and bankruptcy is unnecessary. All we need to do is follow the GDumbya Doctrine — “go out and buy a car or two” and cut corporate taxes.
I’m sure this would be Little Gretchen’s solution. She’s one neuron short of a synapse just like the rest of the bimbos and washed up weathermen at FoxSnooze.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:12 pmFox & CNBC will always blame everyone BUT the CEO’s of corporations. See?
March 30th, 2009 at 8:15 pmVerbalKint,
We know they’re lying because we’re rational. Alot of these people at the very highest end of income earners have no clue about the real factual world. Most of them come from very pampered beginnings and have never had to face reality their entire life.
Case in point: Mika Brzezinski – George Bush – BillO
March 30th, 2009 at 8:16 pmLegacy costs in auto’s need cutting.
Legacy assets in the banking system need rescue and the securitization process restarted.
The world’s gone flippy floppy.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:18 pmGee, I was waiting for a troll and look who walked in, kwsventures.
kw, do you anything to add to the story? Do you think the head of the UAW should be fired? Why?
March 30th, 2009 at 8:18 pmBoards and Executive teams bear the blame. Accountants allowing off balance sheet items share some responsibility.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:19 pmHey Dummy – Which Institution grants Corporate Charters????
clue: it’s not the Presbyterian Church.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:20 pmWhy is it a deal with an executive needs to be honored, but union deals need to be broken?
March 30th, 2009 at 8:20 pmPoor KindaWhiteSpittleVenture doens’t know the meaning of the word dictator. Look up Bush, GW. Then tell us about dictators.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:21 pmEvery publicly held company has a board. The board hires and fires CEOs. When they’ve done as shitty a job as GMs, it’s hard not to figure out why they might get the shitcan, like they did to their firm.
Actually, stupid troll, the federal government has very wide powers concerning endeavors which use federal funds. The short version is, “if you take the money you surrender authority over how it’s spent”.
Just ask Henry Kaiser or Howard Hughes.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:22 pmby mr. venture’s sense of it, any pack of pirates is fit to make its own law and flout the law of the land….
…probably a friend of Vince Shlomi.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:23 pmOh, by the way KWSV, your clown school provost called, you missed class this morning. Turn in your big red nose, you’re through.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:23 pmkwsventures, my father was a paper mill union worker and I can attest that the Unions NEVER represent the CEO’s of the companies. They represent THE SKILLED WORK FORCE.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:24 pmLet’s undercut this entire argument and provide universal health care.
http://www.pufferfishblog.com/
March 30th, 2009 at 8:25 pmTheir opposition to unions is just another area in which the political Right sings in harmony with the late Saddam Hussein.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:27 pmTrolls, name one Union in the country that represents the CEOs of the big corporations besides Wall Street.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:29 pmAnother troll, another shit-and-split.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:59 pmDon’t all those talking heads on FOX belong to some type of union?
March 30th, 2009 at 9:00 pm52 – nope – just the people who do all their work for them.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:06 pmGee, maybe we all need to kinda go with kwsventures on this one, folks. After all, just look at the progress we made in this country when GDumbya was letting the banking, insurance, car company and private mercenary CEOs run wild.
I mean, really, where would we be without BlackWater, Enron, AIG and Countrywide Financial?
March 30th, 2009 at 9:08 pmDon’t all those talking heads on FOX belong to some type of union?
Yes, the same old union against unions… But wasn’t it Olbermann who commented that if Murdoch thought that he could make as much money with a left-slanted show he’d do it in a minute?
Maybe that day is coming closer, as these Fox commentators come closer and closer to being the mouthpiece of the likes of Millard and Maddoff and all the rest who are basically worse than pirates.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:15 pmI never watch Fox News never liked it just for this reason.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:22 pmOT,
I’m watching the Rachel Maddow show and just saw the new UPS ad!! Awsome.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:28 pmUAW. Read up on what the 1113 bankruptcy process is. You will thoroughly be educated on it soon, This process stinks but nobody blinked when it was used on United, Delta, Northwest, US Air, America West. Obama knows the UAW is about to get skewered but he doesn’t want blood on his hands. After all he is pro labor.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:34 pmi’m sorry……
….anidiotsayswhat?
March 30th, 2009 at 9:37 pmFor the retirees they need to google the 1114 process. They will love this.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:44 pmTombaker, you obviously spend way too much time at the keyboard with your pants down around your ankles
March 30th, 2009 at 9:47 pmsayswhat?
March 30th, 2009 at 9:51 pmp.s. the millions of American families whose livelihoods you’re happily-doodily flipping the bird to really appreciate the sentiment, and send you their “warmest regards” in return.
but, hey – sweatshop profits first, Country later, right babe?
March 30th, 2009 at 9:55 pmidiot says what…
March 30th, 2009 at 9:55 pmkeep going Tom, I’m curious but not enough to get involved in this one.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:56 pmi’d rather not. “bush league”, if you know what i mean.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:57 pmOops. Still hilarious tombaker
March 30th, 2009 at 9:58 pmWhy hasn’t he blamed unions yet for the demise of Enron, Global Crossing, Lehmann Brothers, Washington Mutual, et al?
Could it possibly be that a non-unionized company could fall upon hard times as well?
March 30th, 2009 at 10:00 pmThis has been a very interesting troll day. After the nightmare that was SIG all we have today are a few extremely lame trolls who post and run. What’s up with that?
March 30th, 2009 at 10:03 pmpimpin’ is hard….
…bein’ a righty is murder.
March 30th, 2009 at 10:04 pmIt’s funny… the rightards constantly rag on and on abut how this country has degenerated over the last few decades and endlessly point to the 50’s as some sort of Golden Age in this country… a time when union membership was FAR HIGHER, along w/ the top income tax rates on the rich…
Very paradoxical… are they saying they WANT the country to go back to stronger unions and higher tax rates? But that’s what they wet themselves over endlessly, all whilst pointing out how much better this country was… when we had stronger trade unions and higher tax rates…
Similar funny thing going on w/ the rightards and the way they wet themselves endlessly over “the welfare” state.
GOOPers whine ENDLESSLY about the cost of “welfare” in this country, yet the Red Statesare the ones who get the most out of the system. The very voters who put the GOOPers into office are the welfare leeches the GOOPers decry endlessly.
Simply amazing.
Similar thingy going on w/ BillO and his audience. Someoen pointed out here that the average age of BillO’s audience is 71 – the folks who benefit the most from Medicare… which is the expense most likely to break the Fed completely in the end… how ironic… the very demographic that gives BillO his ratings and therefore his platform (his show) to rag on and on about, amongst other things, ENTITLEMENTS, is the same group that RESENTS those entitlements all whilst benefitting the MOST from those same programs…
Man… I’m gittin’ a splitting headache…
March 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pmIf the lower and middle class neocons get their way, eventually food, clothing, medicine, etc. will fall significantly in price. The only problem is that they won’t have enough income to pay for them.
March 30th, 2009 at 10:07 pmTRoHS – it’s a “resentment-driven model”, something the business school at pepperdine spent the ’70’s perfecting on a grant from nixon and the hunt bros.
March 30th, 2009 at 10:16 pmSimply… ASTONISHING, innit, Tom?
The very folks who benefit the most from welfare/entitlements are also the same ones who decry those same programs the most and point their fingers ENDLESSLY at others… whilst continuing to collect the benefits they claim they hate.
Just ASTONISHING…
March 30th, 2009 at 10:22 pmWe can count on Fox to turn everything in to a raison d’etre for themselves.
March 30th, 2009 at 10:35 pmWhen Union workers had to sacrifice, when Union contracts were amended. When the government demands affect the lower/middle classes, they couldn’t care less, but let one of their upper class pals get the ax and they cry bloody murder.
I’d like these Fox demagogues to tell me how many union employees are on Wall Street, where this all started.
March 30th, 2009 at 10:36 pmRich H. About 200 vehicles will be leased over the next three years, primarily in Southern California.
March 30th, 2009 at 10:43 pmAccording to their web site.
I love it. But we need to spend Huge $$$ getting hydrogen into our filling stations.
Thats right. blame the Unions. Thats always the first thing that the right wingtards ALWAYS do when a formally profitable company is in danger of going belly up. Did any of these idiots stop to think for a second that, perhaps it might have something to do with management’s competence or the lack thereof in running the Company into the ground?
March 30th, 2009 at 10:43 pmI’d also note that Wagoneer is going to walk with a $20,000,000 retirement package. The Rank and File Skilled Memebers of the UAW?
There SCREWED! There won’t be a dime left for them. thanks a lot GM!
TRoHS,
On a previous thread on the UAW there was a troll advocating the demise of the union. His screen name was gimmegimme. Go figure.
March 30th, 2009 at 10:45 pmA nearby town has a plant that makes parts for GM. Another 25% were just laid off. A local talking head interviewed them as they left work and questioned them about the CEO. To a man (and woman) they supported Pres. Obama and the firing of Wagoner. Either the common man is way smarter than FOX thinks, or a whole lot of blue-collar workers in VA have been reading “The Grapes of Wrath”.
March 30th, 2009 at 11:12 pmIt was those damn pigeons from the planet Xenu that made them do it……
March 30th, 2009 at 11:54 pmgimmegimme was actually making fun of democrats and their welfare programs! Ouch! I’ve had a job since I was twelve and I have always paid my fair share of taxes.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:12 amFaux News is where the wealthy and not so wealthy Reich wing nuts get all of their faux news so they can make really informed decisions based on their lies and deceit and half truths about unions and middle and working class Americans,like the fact that the average union worker makes $75 an hour, which of course is totally false, more $45 an hour including bene`s of which health care takes up a good portion after wages or that union workers drive up the cost of cars,unions make us less competitive,which is another lie, according to the dept of labors bureau of statistics we are number 2 in productivity,behind Ireland.Unionized Americans rank number 17 out of 20 in wages with our top 20 trading partners, that is really a sad reality that the Reich wing nuts will not talk about, especially on faux news.I would like to see the Kraut come do my job of stacking 100+ pcs of luggage in a bin of a Boeing 757 commercial jet, he would literally die.None of these people can comprehend what middle and working class Americans do for a real living and how we get it done.Labor makes this country work not these ignorant people on Faux news or any other network news.Unions gave us our middle /working class lifestyles through the hard won efforts of our fathers and grand fathers.They don`t have a clue.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:13 amHey, Look on the bright side. You won’t have to work, you’ll get free healthcare, the gomment will pay off your mortgage, you’ll have subsidized heating oil and electricity, you’ll get a tax refund even if you don’t pay taxes, free food, Fox News will be outlawed, and those darn rich people will have to pay for all of it. From each according to his ability to each according to his needs. What could be better than that.
Be positive, happy days are just around the corner.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:14 amrjulseth amen to that.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:19 amAs unions are the problem, could someone tell me which union brought the banks / Savings & Loans to their knees ?
And before Lehman brothers, which union brought down Enron ?
March 31st, 2009 at 12:21 amObama! I need your help! My cat’s stuck in a tree!
March 31st, 2009 at 12:21 amI guess what brought down the banks was excessive debt by American consumers. Everyone should be a little more “CONSERVATIVE” with their finances!
March 31st, 2009 at 12:23 amCall the socialist fire department. They’ll rescue your effing feline.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:24 amrjulseth Says:
Hey, Look on the bright side. You won’t have to work, you’ll get free healthcare, the gomment will pay off your mortgage, you’ll have subsidized heating oil and electricity, you’ll get a tax refund even if you don’t pay taxes,
________
Whoa.. are you suggesting we all move to RED STATES???
You know, the WELFARE SUCKERS?
March 31st, 2009 at 12:26 amNo, they don’t work anymore. They found out it’s easier to sit on the couch and take handouts.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:27 amgimmegimme Says:
gimmegimme was actually making fun of democrats and their welfare programs! Ouch! I’ve had a job since I was twelve and I have always paid my fair share of taxes.
Probably not if you were working illegaly at 12. Other than farm family employment, we don’t even allow that in the south.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:28 amWait. The head of the UAW is going to be stepping down next year anyways…
March 31st, 2009 at 12:29 amActually, I mowed people’s lawns and I never asked for a bailout. At 15, I got a job helping on a farm. At 16, (2 years older than legal working age where I live), I got a job at a fast food restaurant. That restaurant shut down in the winter, so I got another temporary restaurant job. When the prior restaurant opened in the spring, I kept both jobs. Then at 17, I moved out from my parents. So I also got a job at Wal-Mart assembling bicycles. Did I mention my other part time job in a body shop and another job detailing cars part-time. That’s right, five jobs at one time, while still taking part of a day finishing highschool. Did I mention I finished in the top of my class with full-ride scholarship offers and a score of 30 on the ACT test. Anyways, I’ve continued to become more successful and at 23, I make six figures a year. So, by working hard, not asking for handouts, you can achieve greatness. YES WE CAN!
March 31st, 2009 at 12:38 amgimmegimme Says:
Did I mention my other part time job in a body shop and another job detailing cars part-time. That’s right, five jobs at one time, while still taking part of a day finishing highschool. Did I mention I finished in the top of my class with full-ride scholarship offers and a score of 30 on the ACT test.
_____________
TRoHS’ Corollary #2: When a troll starts introducing “personal information” into a conversation to give its claims more validity, you’re dealing w/ a phony…
FFFFFFFing LIAR.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:43 amI’m impressed. You did however skip the graduation part. After your fabulous ACT score, where did you get your degree? What field did you enter that enables you to make such an impressive salary?
March 31st, 2009 at 12:46 amIt’s okay to be jealous. But the only way you can hurt me is by backing higher taxes on those who busted their butts to get where they want to be. Looks like you have that going for you.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:47 amActually, I’m just a high school graduate who is willing to work hard.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:48 amIf I told you what I do, you’d only hate me more.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:50 amgimmegimme Says:
Actually, I’m just a high school graduate who is willing to work hard.
Nothing wrong with that, but how do you get to six fugures with that experience?
March 31st, 2009 at 12:53 amrjulseth #84,
Are you talking about AK?
March 31st, 2009 at 12:53 amgimmegimme Says:
It’s okay to be jealous.
___________
Jealous? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…
Naaaaaaah… I just can’t stand lying FFFFFFin’ sacks of Cheney like you, pal.
Yer an FFFFFFFFFFin’ LIAR.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:55 amI manage a trucking company that moves oilfield equipment. That’s right, big bad oil that heats your house, burns in your car, and is going to kill your grandchildren faster than the guns you seek to take away.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:57 amAh gimmegimme showed up. Gimme, what would your perfect world look like? After you let all the businesses in the US implode and everyone was out of work just what would it look like? Would there be any unemployment, social security, healthcare or pensions? Would people have to work until they died to keep a roof over their head?
I saw you on the other thread and knew you where full of shi* then you had to come here and prove it.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:59 amMore right-wing projection.
Most of us here tend not to “hate” people because of their profession, unless that profession involves something hate-able.
Neither do we “hate” people just because they disagree with us or oppose us politically.
When they are dishonest, or focused on wasting time and bandwidth, however, you’re getting warmer.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:00 amThe current spending is only putting American’s in further debt. You’re a tough guy, Rich, bashing people over the internet.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:01 amgimmegimme Says:
I manage a trucking company that moves oilfield equipment.
___________
Gee… this is gittin’ better by the minnite…
Do you have a part-time job on weekends, driving the space shuttle on milk runs too?
March 31st, 2009 at 1:01 amgimmegimme Says:
I manage a trucking company that moves oilfield equipment. That’s right, big bad oil that heats your house, burns in your car, and is going to kill your grandchildren faster than the guns you seek to take away.
But, I like heat! Why would you want to kill my grandchildren? Even though you have now told me what you do, I assure you that contrary to your post above, I could not hate you more,
March 31st, 2009 at 1:03 amRalph, then how do you explain all of the swearing at me because of my opposing political views? Do you really come here just to sit with others who agree and talk about how Obama is fixing everything?
March 31st, 2009 at 1:04 amgimmegimme Says:
Did I mention I finished in the top of my class with full-ride scholarship offers and a score of 30 on the ACT test.
gimmegimme Says:
Actually, I’m just a high school graduate who is willing to work hard.
______________
So… w/ grades like that, you PASSED on the full scholarships to manage a trucking company?
Yer an FFFFFFFFFFFFin liar, pal.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:05 amgimmegimme Says:
Actually, I’m just a high school graduate who is willing to work hard.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:48 am
Top of his class and full ride scholarships — but just a high school grad.
Someone who calls himself “gimmegimme” would surely take advantage of free money.
I’d take all this with a massive grain of salt.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:09 amYes, I passed on full ride scholarships. I didn’t want to go to school anymore. I was raised in a family with a tight budget, and I wanted to get out and work and earn some money. I know a lot of people who went to college and came out of school to work in the oilfield with a bachelor’s degree.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:09 amZooey, I’m sorry, but I have to laugh when you say that, because I was actually making fun of democrats and the welfare programs they support. It’s a bit of sarcasm.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:10 amgimmegimme Says:
Ralph, then how do you explain all of the swearing at me because of my opposing political views?
___________
FFFFFFFFFFFFFF UUUUUUUUUUU…
Who’s swearing? I’m just reciting the alphabet…
Actually, what I DISLIKE soooooo intensely about you is the outrageoulsy blatnat FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFin lies…
Yer an FFFFFFFFFFFFFFin liar…
March 31st, 2009 at 1:11 amgimmegimme = F.O.C.*
* Full of Cheney….
March 31st, 2009 at 1:11 amgimmegimme Says:
Zooey, I’m sorry, but I have to laugh when you say that, because I was actually making fun of democrats and the welfare programs they support. It’s a bit of sarcasm.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:10 am
Sarcasm? No kidding…
Well, I live in Idaho, and ALL of the people I know on welfare and disability vote Republican.
That oil field work won’t be around for the rest of your lifetime. You’re going to regret passing up those scholarships — and you will be one of those taking advantage of welfare programs.
How much money do you have saved up?
March 31st, 2009 at 1:14 amAnyways, I gotta go now you guys, so continue on with how I left because you blasted me and I couldn’t handle it. And tell each other how smart you are too.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:14 amgimmegimme; as someone with a ‘wildly successful’ six-figure-salary job, shouldn’t you be getting some shuteye, instead of masturbating in front of the keyboard?
March 31st, 2009 at 1:15 am* Full of Cheney….
Sir, please forgive my ignorance, but is this the same thing as being a Dick head?
March 31st, 2009 at 1:17 amgimmegimme Says:
Anyways, I gotta go now you guys, so continue on with how I left because you blasted me and I couldn’t handle it.
____________
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA… and that REALLY is 8 inches too, no doubt.
Ya came in lying and left the same way.
Yer an FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFin’ liar.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:18 amOutstandingInAPlagueOfLocusts Says:
* Full of Cheney….
Sir, please forgive my ignorance, but is this the same thing as being a Dick head?
March 31st, 2009 at 1:17 am
Full of Cheney = Full of shit.
I’m not as polite as TRoHS. :-)
March 31st, 2009 at 1:19 amZooey Lepidoptera Says:
Full of Cheney = Full of shit.
I’m not as polite as TRoHS. :-)
___________
It’s been duly noted in the minutes…
Whatever you do, DON’T bring up birdbaths…
March 31st, 2009 at 1:32 amI don’t need to bring up birdbaths, TRoHS — I’ve got you reminding everyone! :-D
March 31st, 2009 at 1:34 amGimme still thinks the US would be better if the entire economy crashed. All I did was ask him what he would like our country to be like, what he envisioned. Then I get this:
“You’re a tough guy, Rich, bashing people over the internet.”
I guess that’s becausee he doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about. I guess if I’m going to be called on it I’ll have to hone up on my bashing skills (they seem to be pretty poor).
March 31st, 2009 at 1:44 amApparently gimme is ultra-sensitive, poor thing.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:49 amThanks Zooey I feel better. I didn’t want to think I was taking advantage of someone so helpless.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:51 amJust make sure to couch your questions with “if you don’t mind” or “no offense, but…” or “do you need some Sports Cream for that knot on your head?”
March 31st, 2009 at 1:56 amHow much of what gimme posted was true, 1%, 10%? It’s amazing after posting such drivel the trolls get all offended.
March 31st, 2009 at 2:03 amWhat I find amazing is that with all the horror going on this world, with things literally falling in around our heads — the trolls will focus on “naughty words” every single time. No matter that they support torture, corruption, and vile social ideas that will leave children hungry and uneducated — they are offended by naughty words.
It’s rather stunning.
March 31st, 2009 at 2:05 amWhy would anyone fire the head of the union?
Crazyass repugs.
repugs should just shut their no nothing mouths.
March 31st, 2009 at 2:05 amhmm. a “dystopian duo” of rugged objectivists….
what will they think of next?
March 31st, 2009 at 2:09 amZooey Lepidoptera Says:
I don’t need to bring up birdbaths, TRoHS — I’ve got you reminding everyone! :-D
___________
What can I say?
The moment made a LASTING impression… it’s an Official TP Classic™.
March 31st, 2009 at 2:09 amIn Baltimore they had a job fair in a Amory.
Needless to say there were thousands of people inside and waiting out side.
It’s a depression thanks to repug greedy and ignorance.
If you want a true picture of this depression just look at any community the inner city. The “Minority” people get hit the hardest and the worse.
March 31st, 2009 at 2:10 amThe Republic of Hymenoptera Stupidity Says:
The moment made a LASTING impression… it’s an Official TP Classic™.
March 31st, 2009 at 2:09 am
Heh. I have to do my part for the cause. ;)
March 31st, 2009 at 2:14 amGame of Life,
What does Bush need a Freedom Institute for when there’s already cities all over the US bearing his name. Tent cities to be sure, but they’re all Bushvilles.
March 31st, 2009 at 2:18 amgimmegimme Says:
Anyways, I gotta go now you guys, so continue on with how I left because you blasted me and I couldn’t handle it. And tell each other how smart you are too.
HAHAHAHA
Same teabag troll with a different name. How else would this teabag know about our kudos after the troll leaves?
March 31st, 2009 at 2:19 amRich H Says:
What does Bush need a Freedom Institute for when there’s already cities all over the US bearing his name. Tent cities to be sure, but they’re all Bushvilles.
___________
Heck… out here in the Bay Area, we’ve even got a sewage plant named for him.
March 31st, 2009 at 2:20 amGame of Life Says:
Same teabag troll with a different name. How else would this teabag know about our kudos after the troll leaves?
__________
I was wondering about that too… there was something… kinda familiar about that one… the faux outrage over the the bad language… the phony politeness right to the end… the blatant, over-the-top lying…
b-cup?
March 31st, 2009 at 2:21 amZooey Lepidoptera Says:
Heh. I have to do my part for the cause. ;)
___________
And indeed you did… that’s why the photo’s been chosen for this year’s issue of “The Best of TP Annual – The year In Review”…
March 31st, 2009 at 2:24 amOh jeebus…
March 31st, 2009 at 2:25 amA high school punk who gives up a scholarship to “manage” oil equipment. WOW. If I were you I would take the scholarship just to get some education because you are ignorant and are lying.
You are probably a 16 yo horny punk with nothing just like your repug club.
March 31st, 2009 at 2:28 am> A high school punk who gives up a scholarship
> to “manage” oil equipment.
Heh. Remember “rory” and “jake” who were allegedly retired multimillionaire war veteran lawyers? And yet somehow in thier busy, success and patriotism filled lives, they were somehow able to fit in “arguing daily on the internet” into their scheduels.. then there was mightly aphrodite, the hermaphrodite undergrad with hairy arms which were in desparate need of agent orange who claimed to be a JAG…hilarious stuff..
March 31st, 2009 at 2:52 amUnions drive companies out of business.
Now unions are driving state budgets into huge deficits due to pension obligations. The courts have determined in Vallejo that the union contract with the city can be thrown out.
Unions have been a disaster for American workers.
March 31st, 2009 at 4:06 amkwsventures Says:
I couldnt get past your first sentence it was so stupid my eyes began to bleed. You are a brainwashed moron spewing ignorant talking points. Far too stupid to be taken seriously. Thanks for the free clown show. I just love laughing at people as stupid as you.
March 31st, 2009 at 4:37 amrjulseth Says:
Wow. How did you manage to shoehorn THAT much stupid into a single paragraph? The stupid is strong in you. You do KNOW you are a moron dont you?
March 31st, 2009 at 4:40 amgimmegimme Says:
You need help alright moron. You NEED a functional cerebral cortex. Your stupidity IS amusing however so you arent a COMPLETE waste of precious oxygen
March 31st, 2009 at 4:42 amgimmegimme Says: 98
Actually you are just a moron with a string of boring and stupid talking points we have already heard a few hundred times. Yes they were stupid the first time and didnt get any better with age and repitition.
March 31st, 2009 at 4:45 ammarwick Says:
I am sure you have been TOLD to believe that and that you are stupid enough to be programmed with that kind of stupidity. Funny how my job has been union for more than a hundred years and is wildly profitable. You are a brainwashed moron
March 31st, 2009 at 4:48 am.
As per usual, the views of those expressed by those at Fox “news” differ greatly from those expressed by most Americans…
AMERICANS REMAIN BROADLY SUPPORTIVE OF LABOR UNIONS
Americans remain broadly supportive of labor unions, as they have been over the past 7 decades, including a 59% approval rating for unions in Gallup’s most recent update.
…Americans have generally held a favorable view of unions for decades — with most Americans saying they approve of labor unions in Gallup polls conducted from 1936 to 2008.
…In the last 4 years, a higher percentage of Americans have expressed a preference for increased union influence, with less saying it should stay the same. The percentage that favors decreased union influence has stayed relatively flat over the years.
…Americans have been consistently supportive of labor unions at a very general level for at least the past 7 decades.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/112717/Americans-Remain-Broadly-Supportive-Labor-Unions.aspx?version=print
FOX NEWS’ OWN POLL:
- A solid plurality of Americans lay the blame for the auto company crisis squarely at the feet of management executives.
Only about 1 in 7 Americans blames labor unions.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,465544,00.html
AMERICANS BLAME CAR COMPANY EXECUTIVES FOR U.S. AUTO CRISIS
Americans place the blame for the current U.S. auto company crisis squarely on the backs of those companies’ executives, with 65% of Americans saying the execs deserve a great deal of blame for the problems of the auto industry — a much higher percentage than blame labor unions, the current economic recession, government regulations, or the American consumer.
..When given a list of explanations or causes for the auto industry’s slump today, Americans are overwhelmingly most likely to blame the auto executives themselves. Almost 2/3 of Americans say the executives should shoulder a great deal of blame, well above those who feel that way about labor unions and those who fault the recession.
Even fewer Americans assign a great deal of blame to government regulations or American consumers who buy foreign rather than domestic cars.
…The average American is strongly likely to believe that auto company executives themselves should shoulder much of the blame when it comes to the current woes of the U.S. automobile industry.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/112999/Americans-Blame-Car-Company-Execs-US-Auto-Crisis.aspx
A key reason those at Fox/Republicans are hostile towards unions and want to see them fail…
UNION SUPPORT FOR OBAMA GROWS IN KEY STATES
Democrat Barack Obama is pulling away among members in the swing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan. …Obama has a 29-point lead (61%-32%) over his Republican rival, John McCain, in Ohio – a 16 percentage point gain since August. Obama leads among union members in Pennsylvania by 63% to 27%, up 22 points from August, and by 68% to 23% in Michigan, up 26 points since August.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/10/28/afl-cio-poll-union-support-for-obama-grows-in-key-states//
*
March 31st, 2009 at 7:19 amThis goes way beyond Fox News. Democrats and Republicans alike forced the Big Three to smack down employee wages and benefits to be “viable” in the investment-class trade scheme the millionaires in the legislature set up for themselves.
Apparently Obama didn’t think they smacked the workers’ salaries and benefits down enough. Wagner’s punishment? 20 million dollars.
How much “restructuring” did Obama think the banking industry needed?
March 31st, 2009 at 8:56 amAmericans blame the auto-execs only because they are ignorant.
Wagner was expected to make his American workers compete against the national healthcare, slave wages and lack of environmental and workplace protections in places like China.
In other words, American workers were expected to underbid the Chinese peasant standard of living without the benefit of national healthcare.
This is how much you Congress values you as an American worker. If you don’t contribute to padding the congressional, investment-class, personal portfolios, you can rot.
March 31st, 2009 at 9:05 amMarwick says unions have been a disaster for workers.
The only possibility that Americans have to bargain collectively for better wages and benefits is through unions.
The investment class trade scheme(eg NAFTA,CAFTA,ect)materialized by the millionaires in the legislature essentially gave the collective corporate little boy the keys to the candy shop.
When large corporations got the green light from those in Congress they bribed to produce so-called “free trade,” the writing for the American worker’s standard of living was on the wall. Nothing breaks unions more than tax incentives to move union manufacturing factories to China.
It is not the Unions that supported a trade policy that has hemorrhaged more than 6 million living wage manufacturing jobs, nor do they support the huge trade deficit with the very nation we gave our good-paying jobs to, the trade deficit that contributes to our dying economy.
It is the unions that are trying to preserve living wages for millions of Americans trying to provide for their children.
Regular Americans do not want to be payed too much. It is multi-national ceos and congressional investment class millionaires that make more in one year than these worker were already able to make in a lifetime even before the fascists in Congress started busting their unions.
March 31st, 2009 at 9:23 amBlaming Unions for the troubles at the Big three is exactly the same as blaming the passengers on 9/11 for their planes crashing into the WTC and the Pentagon…
March 31st, 2009 at 10:08 amrhodie #151,
“Americans blame the auto-execs only because they are ignorant.
Wagner was expected to make his American workers compete against the national healthcare, slave wages and lack of environmental and workplace protections in places like China”.
Thats’ a good one, not only are you 100% wrong on the issue, but how many chinese made cars do you see?
Get your facts, ideas and thoughts straight, then post them.
March 31st, 2009 at 10:18 amrhodie,
I just read your posts, yuor all over the place. Don’t blame the exec.’s, blame the government, is that it?
March 31st, 2009 at 10:20 amRhodie,
Since I’m off to work I’ll post this for your (apologies to everyone else it’s a re-post).
“A brief unoffical history of US car making.
Sometime in the past, around 1940 or so, US car makers decided the best way to build their product was with “planned obsolesence”, which would necessitate the pruchase of a new car or repairs every few years. It was a way for them to guarantee income, and our cars have been built that way ever since.
Japan, when they decided to sell in the US market looked at what they could do differently and better than the US. It was simple, build a better car that was dependable and relatively maintenance free.
Japan built those cars while the big three were and still are building pieces of shi*.
For all you anti union right wingers – It’s not the Unions fault! They don’t design the cars they just build them. Get a clue.
If the US auto industry wanted to stay competitive all they’d have to do is build something reliable that didn’t get 12 miles to the gallon.
Simple really. The big 3 only have themselves to blame”.
See Rhodie, the gov’t didn’t make the big 3 come up with this business model, they did it all by themselves.
March 31st, 2009 at 10:27 amWho watches this shit?
Only the braindead.
March 31st, 2009 at 10:39 amYea what does fox news know about unions there all republicans stupid morans lackys for the republican they get there talking points every moreing and sound like a bunch of fools, telling there lies what we need is to start a campaine to pull the plug on them there not a news channel , there just a poltical networth of the repucks, we own the air ways the taxpayer should demand better.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:51 pmRE: Post 87:
Should have read, “Help! President Obama! My _head_ is stuck up my @ss!”
March 31st, 2009 at 2:08 pmI don’t know why anyone acts surprised. It’s always been this way. When the plane is going down, the bosses get handed the parachutes. Then they give the workers a cheap umbrella and an anvil. Just like Wile Coyote. Who would have thought that saturday morning cartoons held so many life lessons?
March 31st, 2009 at 2:08 pmWhen Obama looks in the mirror he sees Hugo Chavez.
March 31st, 2009 at 2:11 pmYou’re all missing the most important point, mismanagement and unsustainable costs have all contributed to the problems of GM – but corporate America has always been the main enemy of those on the far left, who are now in power.
So lets break down corporate America and rebuild them in our own image.
(Never mind that our standard of living in this country is the highest of any in human history, (thank you auto makers, life saving drug makers, etc.))
Those in power are skillfully using populist rhetoric and class envy to play us all like a fiddle. Did you not notice that our President, Secretary of the Treasury, Chris Dodd, Nancy Pelosi, etc. had no problem with the AIG bonuses until they noticed our outrage and got scared for their political lives?
GM needs good economic answers to its problems, and we think our government is equipped to provide this?
March 31st, 2009 at 2:50 pmI’m agreeing.just got laid off of my 3rd union job.2 of the companies have closed and the company that i just got laid off from making auto parts for ,for g.m. will be closing there doors.our union hasn’t done anything for us over the past 2 years but take our dues.Screw the union execs.it’s all a big scam joke.15 years with the union and what do i get ?screwed along with 125 others from this company here in lansing MI. I’m never going to work for another union company again.And for Obama.I voted for change to keep my job.well looks like more lies of a typical politician.
March 31st, 2009 at 6:43 pmkwsventures Says:
When YOU look in the mirror you see an ignorant punk. A moron with the intellectual capacity of a tangerine
April 1st, 2009 at 4:23 amConsidering that at least one of the rightwingers has admitted that UAW workers get paid comparably to workers in the nonunionized auto manufacturers, but that health care is the big difference, maybe this should be used as another push for a public component to the health care reform.
When I was younger, I also worked for a unionized company. At the time I resented that I had to pay dues, but later I realized that what I was getting paid, was a lot better than what nonunions were getting. I was making about twice minimum wage in a foundry. My brother was working in a different foundry at the same time doing essentially the same job. I did much better than he did. So not only are unions doing things behind the scenes that most people don’t realize, but these things they’re doing have real benefits for the workers.
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:38 pm