Romney cites incorrect auto manufacturing claim in Ohio
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney campaigns at the football stadium at Defiance High School in Defiance, Ohio, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012.
/ AP Photo/Madalyn RuggieroRepublican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's statement to an Ohio rally late Thursday that Chrysler is considering moving production of all Jeep vehicles to China was disavowed by Chrysler and blasted by the Obama team, but Romney's campaign has not indicated whether they knew the claim was inaccurate or whether Romney will continue repeating the debunked claim on the stump.
On Thursday, Romney told a rally in Defiance, Ohio, site of a General Motors plant, "I saw a story today that one of the great manufacturers in this state Jeep -- now owned by the Italians -- is thinking of moving all production to China. I will fight for every good job in America. I'm going to fight to make sure trade is fair, and if it's fair America will win."
The Republican was seemingly riffing on a series of right wing blog reports circulating Thursday that incorrectly interpreted a Bloomberg story from earlier in the week. Bloomberg reported that Chrysler was considering moving production of Jeeps sold in the Chinese market to China, but emphasized that Jeeps sold in the American market would continue to be manufactured in America.
The confusion stemmed from the first paragraph of the Bloomberg story, which explained that Chrysler-owner Fiat "plans to return Jeep output to China and may eventually make all of its models in the country."
The piece subsequently clarified that Chrysler was considering "adding Jeep production sites rather than shifting output from North America to China."
A Chrysler spokesman scorned the misinterpretation as "a leap that would be difficult even for professional circus acrobats," explaining, "Jeep has no intention of shifting production of its Jeep models out of North America to China. It's simply reviewing the opportunities to return Jeep output to China for the world's largest auto market. U.S. Jeep assembly lines will continue to stay in operation."
CBSNews.com emailed the Romney campaign to ask whether they knew the blog reports were inaccurate and whether Romney will continue using the inaccurate story on the trail. The campaign did not respond to those questions but insisted that "the larger point that the Gov. made is that rather than creating jobs here, the foreign owner, handpicked by President Obama, is planning to add jobs overseas - which is still true." Romney did not mention the report at a campaign event in Ames, Iowa this afternoon.
Meanwhile, President Obama's campaign, which has sought to put Romney on the defensive regarding the auto bailout and sees the issue as key to its success in midwestern manufacturing states, slammed Romney for the misfire.
"Mitt Romney shamelessly tried to scare voters into thinking Jeep was moving to China and taking American jobs with it," said Obama campaign spokesman Matt McGrath. "That is blatantly false, and speaks to how Romney will say absolutely anything to win votes."
Mr. Obama and his campaign used the kerfuffle to segue to a broader indictment of Romney's stance on the auto bailout. "President Obama has fought on behalf of U.S. auto workers by challenging unfair Chinese tariffs on U.S. auto exports to China, including Jeeps, while Romney would have let the American auto industry and a million jobs go under," said McGrath.
It's a charge that the president himself has leveled, both at the final presidential debate and on the stump this week. "If Mitt Romney had been president when the auto industry was on the verge of collapse, we might not have an American auto industry today. We'd be buying cars from China, instead of selling cars to China," said Mr. Obama in Cleveland on Thursday.
Romney has disputed this characterization, arguing that while he would not have provided government money to the auto industry, he would have provided government guarantees to encourage private financiers to loan money to the companies during a managed bankruptcy.
At the time of the auto bailout, however, many analysts identified the government as the auto companies' lender of last resort. Private credit markets were frozen enough to prevent private lenders from extending a helping hand to the ailing companies, regardless of the insurance provided by a government loan guarantee.
Without private or public money, a managed bankruptcy could have more closely resembled a liquidation process in which the companies were subdivided and sold, piece by piece, to the highest bidder.
CBSNews.com's Lucy Madison contributed to this report.
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NOW THE IMPORTANT FACT TO KNOW - To sell in China, some or all of the product must be produced in China. PERIOD
Jeep will build cars in China or they will not be able to sell cars in China.
Sure they will create jobs for the Chinese, but they will send the profits home.
This is a common business practice. Toyota Tundras (just to name one) are built in the USA = USA jobs but profits sent home to Japan. Is this bad? You decide. This is just one example.
Romney just flat out twisted the story to suit his agenda. As a savvy business man he darn well knows the way this all works far better than most.
If you vote for Romney I can guarantee that he will "twist" every campaign promise he's made into a totally new direction. (Promise, LOL!)
Bush II = Worst president of my lifetime
Romney = Bush III = The total economic destruction of the country!
Have you ever seen Wall Street with Michael Douglas, I swear that character is what Romney basis his life on! BTW the character goes to prison in the end...I wonder why?
"At the time of the auto bailout, however, many analysts identified the government as the auto companies' lender of last resort. Private credit markets were frozen enough to prevent private lenders from extending a helping hand to the ailing companies, regardless of the insurance provided by a government loan guarantee.
Without private or public money, a managed bankruptcy could have more closely resembled a liquidation process in which the companies were subdivided and sold, piece by piece, to the highest bidder."
This is a complete lie and only the people supporting President Obama believe in this point of view.
Any government loan guarantee is just as good as a loan itself or cash injections.
The person writting this artical has not a clue how finance works.
"Romney is right on one front. In his infamous New York Times op-ed, titled by the paper "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt," he did say that government money should be made available for automakers if they needed help emerging from bankruptcy."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/23/romney-auto-bailout_n_2006706.html
Here is what Gov. Romney actually said in his op-ed piece in the New York Times.
The American auto industry is vital to our national interest as an employer and as a hub for manufacturing. A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs. The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk.
In a managed bankruptcy, the federal government would propel newly competitive and viable automakers, rather than seal their fate with a bailout check.
Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, was a candidate for this year's Republican presidential nomination.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/opinion/19romney.html
Jake Mill and the main stream media should be held to a higher standard and should be ashamed of their blatant lies.
Chrysler, under government control, did sell to Fiat, which they have total control over where and when to build new cars. If it costs less to build their cars in China, do you really think they are going to build any new cars in the USA? Think people, use your brains for a change.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-21/fiat-says-china-may-build-all-jeep-models-as-suv-demand-climbs.html
Bloomberg updated today to say the Jeep is seriously considering Italian production
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2012/08/29/mitt-romney-tells-533-lies-in-30-weeks-steve-benen-documents-them/
How Mitt and Ann made millions-and Mitt's hedge fund donors made billions-from the auto-industry rescue that he condemned.
By Greg Palast
http://ballotbandits.wordpress.com/
Excerpt:
Romney has done a good job of concealing, until now, the fact that he and his wife, Ann, personally gained at least $15.3 million from the bailout—and a few of Romney's most important Wall Street donors made more than $4 billion. Their gains, and the Romneys', were astronomical—more than 3,000 percent on their investment.