In “Detroit’s White House Problem,” David Welch of Business Week Online writes:
Relations between the Bush Administration and Detroit have grown so frosty that some Motown executives privately say they are looking to the Democrats for help. In some cases, they are even supporting them.
Perhaps we are seeing a change of heart. Granted, Detroit political action committees have thrown money at both sides of the aisle to hedge their bets. Still, in the past two Presidential elections, top executives at all three carmakers have individually showered Bush and Republican political action committees with money.
But perhaps the most telling statments come at the end of the article:
Then there’s health care. Bush and the Republican-led Congress have done nothing to mitigate escalating health-care costs. It doesn’t look as though they have anything in the works, either.
Detroit hasn’t asked for a bailout. For that matter, I have never even heard Wagoner or Bill Ford offer up a solution. So it’s unclear what they want government to do. But medical insurance and health care have clearly proven a massive burden on U.S. industry—and one that Bush and Co. has done nothing about.
All of this makes you wonder what Detroit has gotten for its long-standing support of Bush and the Republicans. From the sounds of it, auto industry leaders are starting to ask the same question.
