tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post3006402306382602681..comments2020-04-11T03:30:02.282-05:00Gary R. Welshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15185079937305083438noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-9078729034206428062009-05-30T09:32:24.286-05:002009-05-30T09:32:24.286-05:00Car dealers and their relationship with the Republican party are a good example of what's wrong with the GOP today.<br /><br />As the Nate Silver bit makes clear, 88% of car dealers are big R donors. Fair enough: they are small businesses, many of them run by quite wealthy individuals, so it makes sense that they would support a low-tax, low-regulation party.<br /><br />But...car dealerships are also the beneficiary of numerous laws designed to protect them from competition; these laws are also sponsored by R's. As recent news articles have made clear, state laws make it almost impossible for manufacturers to close dealerships - in 2000, state laws required GM to give billions to Olds dealers to be able to stop manufacturing money-losing Oldsmobiles. To my mind, this is more egregious than anything the UAW did.<br /><br />Indiana also has a law the prohibits new dealerships from opening up within 10 or 6 miles (depending) of an existing dealership...again, designed to protect dealers. (Note that this also explains why most Indy car dealerships are on the edge of the city - you can open more dealerships that way.<br /><br />So what are we left with? A party that talks low taxes/low regulation, but that is just as happy as the D's to impose regulations to help their favored businesses. And this is really, in a microcosm, part of what caused people to grow tired of the recent R. administration...it talked about free markets, but was more than eager to institute anti-free market policies to help favored donors at every turn. <br /><br />The D's, at least, were honest about their plans to help favored groups.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07519737020352873595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-59549587492619113942009-05-29T13:08:00.869-05:002009-05-29T13:08:00.869-05:00Have you considered that dealerships run by Republicans are simply badly run and unprofitable?<br /><br />I mean, keywords, Republican, incompetent, unprofitable all go together...<br /><br />I really, REALLY doubt that the Obama Admin is targeting Republican-owned car dealerships. It doesn't track, and sounds like a 'Net-born conspiracy theory.Danahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12932890854416698514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-27323141540488425662009-05-29T08:30:16.092-05:002009-05-29T08:30:16.092-05:00The Palmer Dodge owners are big GOP contributors as well.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14561221216687065467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-63641155119951344362009-05-29T03:49:55.139-05:002009-05-29T03:49:55.139-05:00This 'evidence' looses any weight when you consider that nearly 90% of the dealers are Republican to begin with. http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/05/news-flash-car-dealers-are-republicans.htmlIndyPaulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15940502801797040457noreply@blogger.com