Rise and Shine

Steve Benen: For the last few months, Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign has had quite a bit of success driving the major political discussions of the day. Team Romney says Hilary Rosen’s comments matter, so for a short while, the political world obsesses over Hilary Rosen. They say Cory Booker’s comments matter, so for a short while, the political world obsesses over Cory Booker. They say Solyndra matters, so for a short while, the political world obsesses over Solyndra.

This week, President Obama’s campaign wants to know if they can work the refs, too (see video above)

More here

****

****

ThinkProgress: 5 Facts About The Massachusetts Economy Under Mitt Romney

1. Ranked 47th in job growth …. The state’s total job growth was just 0.9 percent, well behind other high-wage, high-skill economies in New York (2.7), California (4.7), and North Carolina (7.6). The national average, meanwhile, was better than 5 percent.

2. Suffered the second-largest labor force decline in the nation: Only Louisiana, which was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, saw a bigger decline in its labor force than Massachusetts during Romney’s tenure as governor…..

3. Lost 14 percent of its manufacturing jobs …. The loss was double the rate that the nation as a whole lost manufacturing jobs. In 2004, Romney vetoed legislation that would have banned companies doing business with the state from outsourcing jobs to other countries.

4. Experienced “below average” economic growth and was “often near the bottom”….

5. Piled on more debt than any other state: Romney left Massachusetts residents with $10,504 in per capita bond debt, the highest of any state in the nation when he left office in 2007……

Full post here

****

****

****

Morning everyone 😉

This and That

Donna Dem is just $125 away from her target – help!

****

****

Friday:

9:15: President Obama departs the White House en route Joint Base Andrews

9:30: Departs Joint Base Andrews en route Minneapolis, Minnesota

11:45: Arrives Minneapolis, Minnesota

12:45: Tours Honeywell’s Golden Valley facility

1:10: Delivers remarks urging Congress to act on the ‘to do list’

2:15: Delivers remarks at a campaign event

2:50: Attends a campaign event

4:20: Departs Minneapolis en route Chicago

5:20: Arrives Chicago

****

Link

****

****

Nick Anderson

****

On mature reflection, I’d like to apologize for using a shrub to cover Shrub’s face in the previous post. I meant no offense at all – to the shrub.

Sorry shrub.

****

Chat away 😉

‘the birthing of solyndra’

Dana Milbank: ….Solyndra has become a tool for Republicans to discredit most everything the administration seeks to do … this week, the government faced the prospect of a shutdown because House Republicans added a provision to the spending bill to draw more attention to – what else? – Solyndra.

“…. we have all agreed to add emergency funds we didn’t originally plan in this bill, and Republicans have identified a couple of cuts,” explained Mitch McConnell, including “a cut to a loan-guarantee program that gave us the Solyndra scandal.”

…. What McConnell neglected to mention is that Solyndra was cleared to participate in this loan-guarantee program by President George W. Bush’s administration. He also did not mention that the legislation creating the loan-guarantee program, approved by the Republican-controlled Congress in 2005, received yes votes from – wait for it – DeMint, Hatch and McConnell.

…. the Republican paternity of the program that birthed Solyndra suggests some skepticism is in order when many of those same Republicans use Solyndra as an example of all that is wrong with Obama’s governance.

…. DeMint said the Solyndra case exposed the “unintended results when our government tries to pick winners and losers.” That’s a valid criticism, but it would be more valid if DeMint hadn’t been a supporter of the loan-guarantee legislation in 2005.

But that was before Obama’s presidency, and views back then were different. They were more like the March 2008 press release from Bush’s Energy Department, announcing that it was funding research projects on photovoltaic technology: “These projects are integral to President Bush’s Solar America Initiative, which aims to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional forms of electricity by 2015.”

Among the winners listed in the press release? Solyndra.

Full article here

solyndra

ThinkProgress: It’s often claimed that the Solyndra loan guarantee was “rushed through” by the Obama Administration for political reasons. In fact, the Solyndra loan guarantee was a multi-year process that the Bush Administration launched in 2007.

You’d never know from the media coverage that the Bush team tried to conditionally approve the Solyndra loan just before President Obama took office…..

Because one of the Solyndra investors is funded by George Kaiser – a man who donated money to the Obama campaign – the loan guarantee has been attacked as being political in nature.

What critics don’t mention is that one of the earliest and largest investors, Madrone Capital Partners, is funded by the family that started Wal-Mart, the Waltons. The Waltons have donated millions of dollars to Republican candidates over the years.

…. the media has decided on a narrative that matches right-wing talking points but not the facts….

… To set the record straight, Climate Progress is publishing this timeline – verified by Department of Energy officials – that shows how the loan guarantee came together under both administrations. In fact, rather than rushing the loan for Solyndra through, the Obama Administration restructured the original Bush-era deal to further protect the taxpayers’ investment (See timeline at the link)

What critics fail to mention is that the Solyndra deal is more than three years old, started under the Bush Administration, which tried to conditionally approve the loan right before Obama took office. Rather than “pushing funds out the door too quickly,” the Obama Administration restructured the original loan when it came into office to further protect the taxpayers’ investment.

Full post here

west wing week (“i, state your name” may 28, 2010)

“i’ll be back” “you won’t arnie, honest”

President Barack Obama talks with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Solyndra, Inc., construction site in Fremont, California, May 26, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)