The liberal Democrats in New Hampshire have sunk to a new low. They are smearing a private citizen in the press because he opposes the Obama-Pelosi agenda. I’ve never really seen anything like it, but I fear it is emblematic of what will happen to other small business owners who are suffering from Obama’s policies.
Last Thursday I held a press conference in my race for Congress in New Hampshire’s First Congressional District with a gentleman named Alan Silberberg, whose auto dealership was shut down arbitrarily by Chrysler, Obama’s “car czar” and his “Auto Task Force.” The purpose of the press conference was to demonstrate how Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and my Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter’s policies are destroying our economy.
It’s important to know that Alan wasn’t shut down because his business was failing. He was shut down because the government’s policies put his business on the chopping block without transparency and without accountability. To let people know how he felt, Alan painted a sign on his storefront that reads, “This business now closed because of Obama’s economics.”
Folks don’t need to listen to me or to Alan. They can listen to Neil Barofsky the special inspector general for TARP:
The Obama administration’s push to accelerate General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC dealership closings, aimed at helping the companies compete, may not have been necessary and added to unemployment, a U.S. watchdog said.
The Treasury Department should have considered whether speeding up the closings was worth the potential loss of tens of thousands of jobs, according to a report released yesterday by Neil Barofsky, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The U.S. had rejected reorganization plans from the carmakers in March 2009, in part citing a “slow pace” for GM to scale back its dealer network.
“Such dramatic and accelerated dealership closings may not have been necessary and underscores the need for Treasury to tread very carefully when considering such decisions in the future,” Barofsky concluded.
The report may prompt congressional criticism of the administration’s handling of the automaker bailouts. Lawmakers have already complained about the job losses in their districts from dealership closings and the process by which retailers were selected for shutdowns.
Of course, the Democrats attacked me in the press for having the guts to stand up to Obama’s policies. I’m a candidate for Congress. I expected it and I can handle it.
But I didn’t expect them to attack Alan.
He’s not a candidate for any office. He’s not even involved in politics. He’s a small business owner who got railroaded by the Democrats’ economic train wreck. Yet that’s what the New Hampshire Democratic Party did – they distributed a press release attacking Alan, attempting to damage his personal credibility.
Think about it: First their economic policies robbed this man of his livelihood and then when he objected to their policies they personally attacked him.
This entire episode is symptomatic of Washington’s contempt for the very small business owners and working families who power our economy. They would rather have the government run the every industry. That’s why they are driving up the debt while spending trillions on bailouts, the failed stimulus and Obama’s government run health care.
Worse still, my concern is that such bullying tactics will prevent others from speaking out on their own behalf in the future. So I’m here to provide some comfort to those small business owners and working families who are suffering under this administration’s policies. There is a whole group of us conservatives who stand behind you. Many of us are running for office this year. And if we win – when we win – we are serious about repairing the economic damage Obama and his liberal allies have brought to our economy.
We are going to fight to repeal ObamaCare. We’re going to stop the bailouts. We’re going to cut government spending to reduce the debt and budget deficits. We aren’t like the Republicans you are used to; those who run as heirs to President Reagan but govern as Jimmy Carter. We are conservative and we aim to make a real difference in Washington.
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