Jun 03 2012
Renewable Energy Myth Busted
I have to laugh when politics becomes so hyperventilated the two sides lose all perspective. Case in point, the left want to highlight how Renewable Energy companies backed by Romney are also failing (miserably):
On Thursday, Mitt Romney campaigned at the headquarters of Solyndra — the first renewable energy company to receive a federal loan under the stimulus — and reiterated his debunked claims that its bankruptcy symbolized the corruption and cronyism of the Obama administration. But just one day later, a solar panel developer “that landed a state loan from Mitt Romney when he was Massachusetts governor” went belly up, the Boston Herald reports, creating an inconvenient storyline for the GOP presidential nominee.
This from the moronically named “Think Progress“!
Solyndra is one of many Obama campaign supporter backed energy comnpanies that got free tax payer money and lost it – while walking away unscathed financially themselves. These tax payer loans and grants were basically play money for left wing dunces to experiment with. And when they inevitably hit reality (which is the fact that renewable energy, like wind and solar, cannot provide sustainable levels of energy nor compete on price) these campaign donors left the tax payer to foot the bill for their mistakes. They obviously got to keep their salaries, etc.
Why this is so funny is how this plays to the Tea Party libertarians who are worried Romney will be just another Government-Solution-First leader, just like all the other GOP establishment pols. Romney’s weakness has been his belief not only in government solutions, but specifically in human-driven (CO2) global warming and government run health care. RomneyCare and Obamacare are bad enough. But the left wing efforts to control CO2 and de-legitimize gas, coal and nuclear power will literally destroy the western world through the destruction of our economies. This is a real threat to everyone other than the super wealthy. You think this last recession was bad (and the left’s inane solutions), wait to you see what they do with the world’s energy supplies.
These are two topics where Romney HAS TO distance himself as they relate to Obama – and to his own past.
So here comes a leftist’s article pointing out clearly why he must do this. If Romney is as deft as people claim he is, then he will use this to ‘learn his lesson” and chart a new path for America. A path of energy independence through energy exploitation here at home and market driven solutions for new energy technologies. No more play money lining the pockets of big contributors. If he does this, he will signal a change Americans do support – a change both from the current administration’s naive nonsense and his own naive past efforts.
At least the ink was dry on the loan papers before the Mass. outfit went belly up. Hopefully Romney has either learned some lessons from that and from RomneyCare, or we get enough fiscal conservatives into congress to keep a tight rein on him.
Another basic difference between what Romney did and Obama did is that the money that was given to Obama’s cronies was basically just a payoff for them for getting him elected. They never had a chance of success in building solar panels, but what they could be successful at was milking the taxpayers to make Obama’s pals rich. and they were.
I doubt that Romney had any buddies getting rich off the deal in Mass. I also suspect that the deal put together there was a dimocrat legislature deal. I’d like to know more about the details of it, but it was probably a payoff from some Dim buddies from their legislature.
Romney does (as all politicians do) play politics, but I do think his business sense is such that he will use it wisely in an attempt to get the country headed in the right direction again (something the Dims will never do). If he is successful, then of course the political payoffs will come later, but at least we have a chance of getting the economy headed the right way with him, not a chance in hell with Obama.
Romney is the only person running for President that has any chance of getting the country headed the right way, so anyone that doesn’t want the present calamity to continue needs to be sure to vote for Romney. Tea Party support, or not. (They will support him, they have no alternative)
Ok, a little basic googling reveals that the company Konarka, was not a big green Romney flop. This company was founded with no help from Romney, in 2001, before Romney became governor. It had, at most, 20 million total from the Government, only 1.5 of that from Mass(just a loan guarantee) and that was basically waiting on Romney’s desk, passed by the Dims, when he became governor in 2003. This company had also raised 170million in private capital. (none from Romney). Compare that to Solyndra which got over 520 million from US taxpayers, courtesy of Obama and they raised no private capital and it was all on Obama’s ‘watch’.
So it is a pretty big stretch to even attempt to compare the two situations.
Redteam,
I had heard most of what you posted about Konarka. Equating Romney’s involvement with it to how Obama funded Solyndra is simply ludicrous and dishonest. But, the dems are pulling out all the stops, going back to any tidbit they can pick up and exploit about Romney, be it a bully story, a $100 donation to planned parenthood back in the 90’s, his dog riding on the family car’s roof — all pretty trite, even silly stuff that might spread a little muck on their opposition.
I tell you, the older I get the more I disrespect the dems and their tactics. In WI they are doing psych-ops by passing out flyers saying which neighbor voted or not (a shame tactic). And, even dug up an 11th hour love-child story on Walker, which has been refuted. But, nevertheless accomplished a goal to cast last minute doubt.
…really makes me mad!
The real problem for the “Think Progress” crowd is that in Romney’s case, no public money was used to fund his failed venture. Obama used tax money to fund his failed ventures.
It’s easy to excuse the “Think Progress” folks though. Since they probably pay almost no taxes, they really don’t see the difference.
Trying to portray this as Mittens’ “Solyndra” fails on a simpler, basic level than what Redteam listed: Konarka paid back the money long before they filed their Chapter 7 bankruptcy papers.