Paul Ryan blames Obama for Bush era closing

Paul Ryan is either completely incompetent or a shameless liar. Last week
Congressman Ryan blamed President Obama for a GM plant closing in his home district that happened while George Bush was still president. He also lied when he claimed President Obama “promised” to keep the plant open.

The facts are clear.

…Obama made no such promise and the plant halted production in December 2008, when President George W. Bush was in office.

“I remember President Obama visiting it when he was first running, saying he’ll keep that plant open,” Ryan said Thursday at a campaign stop in Ohio, recounting the fact his high school friends worked at the plant. “One more broken promise. We used to build Tahoes and Suburbans. One of the reasons that plant got shut down was $4 gasoline. You see, this costs jobs. The president’s terrible energy policies are costing us jobs.”

GM cited the low demand for SUVs and high gas prices during the Bush administration as the reason for closing the plant.

When GM announced the plant closing in June 2008, “the Bush administration framed GM’s decision as evidence the troubled automaker was getting its finances in order.”

The Bush White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino, said it was “a sign that Detroit continues to adapt and evolve and address the change in consumer tastes and attitudes. … They’re adapting well and they’ll make these changes and hopefully be able to pull themselves up out of what has been a rough several years.”

In October 2008 Congressman Ryan announced he had secured a $1.6 million national emergency grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to help the displaced workers, “including workers at General Motors, Lear Corporation, Logistics Services Inc., and United Industries.”

Congressman Ryan was also one of a handful of Republicans who voted for the auto bailout. Indeed his vote was key in getting it passed. For more details on the chronology, Sam Stein has an excellent timeline of the events.

If Congressman Ryan honestly doesn’t remember these events, so critical to the Congressional district that he represents, then he is grossly incompetent. If he does remember, then the only conclusion that can be drawn is he is a shameless liar, willing to say anything to get elected. Either way it renders him unqualified to hold the second highest office in our government.