Zoom
GM closed those dealership under Obama rule.

poobah- C'mon now you know that ain't gonna happen.

emac said, "Mr Knox, I rest my case."
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We can only hope you also rest your case regarding John Eyster's blog.

82 comments to date. Mr Knox, I rest my case.

I would be happy to stick to the subject here.
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Poor engineering, soft management, a stiff necked UAW, poor fuel economy as a brand and unskilled labor earning 80K + fringes, pension and full benefits sunk GM as a brand, and Janesville's closure was a byproduct.
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Republicans and Democrats alike have given more support to GM than they deserve... That is the only blame to be laid at all. Neither party screwed GM.

The billboard has been changed already.I find that strange. hmmm.

scott, maybe you should ask your boss, what he knows about the billboard. the gazette is a member of the wisconsin manufactures commerace, who paid for billboard. the gazette is a member of this organization. this how the gazette filters its donations to the republican party.

Actually MrA, I have the answer to your query of 10:34 pm. My seconds cousin's niece's brother's son's friend knew a guy who was related to someone who worked there who knew someone that told him what a guy at the bar said about what he overheard one of the 90% of all the employees were thieves group say. They had a backhoe that they "borrowed" from a local contractor whenever they had to "unload" a train one mile out from the GM Plant. They used heavy duty straps to lift the forktruck off the train so that they could get the goods unloaded.

Sorry, Chapter 7.

kaysbrew wrote: "Obama also responsible for closing down hundreds of GM dealerships. Most of them gave to Republicans.. and you cry about Walker."

GM closed those dealerships, and it was a good thing. When your customers can pit dealerships against each other that are only 20 minutes apart, you have a sales problem.

If GM would have went Chapter 11, ALL GM dealerships would have closed. You should thank the Obama administration that more didn't close. Besides, the vast majority of car dealers (and business owners) are Republican. What's your point?

donnaw (mistress of changing the subject), Obama had over a MILLION individual campaign contributors in 2011. His campaign takes no money from lobbyists or PACs. A guy like Newt Gingrich, on the other hand, just had ONE billionaire from Las Vegas poor $5 million into a pro-Gingrich Super PAC, and is willing to throw in another $25 million into GOP Super PACs.

Sigma40 wrote: "Too many competing brands? Are you kidding? GM did its best when it had all the different brands."

Yes, before Toyota and Honda and Nissan came along and changed the game.

"One engine for multiple brands...by then there was no individual brand anymore."

Huh? Competing cars were made as Chevys, Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles and Saturns, and often sold at different dealerships less than a 1/2 hour apart. Their downfall was not getting rid of Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Saturn sooner.

"What aided to their demise recently was lack of rear wheel drive practical vehicles,..."

Rear will drive is for enthusiasts (i.e. nich) and law enforcement. Rear wheel drive adds weight and cost, reduces passenger space, and handles poorly in snow. All major manufacturers have shifted the majority of their passenger vehicles to front wheel or all wheel drive, but you know better? lol.

"If GM made a desirable car people would buy it."

Nevermind that GM is always among the top three sales. You know nothing about the auto industry. What you know is what you like, and project that to the whole industry. LS1? Really?

@riche95- Once again unions are blamed for the downfall of the American econmy. Do you think that widespread failures in government regulation, corporate mismanagement and heedless risk-taking by Wall Street, shoddy mortgage lending by banks and savings and loans, the excessive packaging and sale of loans to investors and risky bets on securities backed by the loans had anything to do with the financial crisis in 2008? Or... was it the worker eking out a living trying to feed his/her family?

The real irony is that serious blame for GM closing belongs to those who are anti-Walker. The elite liberals including public employees who talk union and buy non-union. The runaway UAW including Mike Sheridan who threatened Woodmans at the same time GM was burning. The extreme environmentalists who attack US manufacturing - and on and on.

RECALL WALKER!

Maybe if Walker wasn't so willing to take credit for so much that he didn't have a hand in, people would be so willing to blame him for all the bad he didn't have a hand in.

I think Walker is about as useless as any politician that gets his pockets filled from ideological groups with big pockets, but even I don't think that you can directly connect GM and Walker. GM was running a bad business, and had products that weren't in line with what people were buying.

Walker has no business in trying to create jobs. PEOPLE should create jobs, not governments.

I've asked the why recall question any number of times (see blog site) http://brodheadcommonsense.blogspot.com/...

All I get is babbling, anger, and curses. Is there a knowledgeable composed opinion out there?

It's silly to blame Walker for GM closing. That would suggest that he is actually capable of accomplishing something he set out to do. We all know that Walker would do anything to make Wisconsin more attractive to the "job creators", like smash organized labor or turn over a truckload of tax break incentives while saying he won't raise our taxes. Jobs come and go over time for a lot of different reasons, but Walker's biggest failure will be as a job creator.

WisLady- if you Blame anyone.. How about "W" Bush...He was in office when the plant closed.. ( Yes another Republican)...

Q. "What did Walker have to do with GM closing?"

A. Absolutely nothing

Yeah, I haven't heard anyone blame Walker for closing GM...
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But yes, please take emac's suggestion and do a blog about "how ridiculous the exchanges are between people posting comments."

Obama also responsible for closing down hundreds of GM dealerships. Most of them gave to Republicans.. and you cry about Walker.
Obama is the King of Crony Capitalism.

NV read-em and weep-

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washing...

Kaysbrew...."Obama's one term.." How about a small wager on this one...LOLOL. Realism is not a part of the right wing vocabulary at all any more.

Zoom - Too many competing brands? Are you kidding? GM did its best when it had all the different brands. Once they started merging all the brands together in the early 80's by the 90's they were all basically one. One engine for multiple brands...by then there was no individual brand anymore. Years ago they shared the same frame and thats about it.
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What aided to their demise recently was lack of rear wheel drive practical vehicles, Ugly design, and cars that targeted a market that didnt exist. Everything they designed from 2005 is hideous looking.
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In the performance world The engines they designed and introduced back in 97 (LS1) are popular all over the world, you got people putting them in everything imaginable....Because they currently dont make anything cool to put the engine in. If GM made a desirable car people would buy it. The only thing they make is the vette which is costly and unpractical for most. Then the Camaro which is an overweight abortion looking car. Way too heavy. A 97-04 vette could get 36mpg on the hwy and have over 300hp. All of the safety BS they added to the newer cars makes them so heavy that the MPG they are getting is actually decreasing. How safe do they need them? Pretty soon we'll be driving tanks around.

poopoo...your comment about $250,000 per vote is rather ironic because Obama was in Chicgo just yesterday attending THREE campaign fundraisers. $37,000 per couple to attend. How many votes does that buy for Obummer? He has raised more than 3x the campaign funds than Romney has. It's amazing he can find time to campaign with all the vacations and golf he plays!

@zoom your making my point for me so I just want to say I appreciate that. The unions were not willing to take cuts in wages and benefits, with an aging facility, and the full awareness that GM wanted to close the plant for more than a few years every time I heard anything about concessions GM workers would blow up about it. It drove me crazy living in this town as a kid, going to school with kids wearing $150 jeans to school. I always felt poor, and looking back on it, we really weren't. But the shame that GM put on people that didn't work at GM, yep that's my rant. And I understand it's a rant but taking $22 an hour vs $28 an hour may have kept some more jobs here, and people would have still made more than people you know who put their lives on the line like police officers, or firefighters, or educate our youth like teachers, all would have been fine.

It's my understanding it was a four-wheel-drive forklift.
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If you don't understand what Walker has done to this state, perhaps this graphic might educate you:
http://twitter.com/#!/RepSondy/status/14...

Nobody's blaming Walker for GM closing that plant. It's just that with WI bringing up the rear in the nation as far as job creation goes, that billboard is ill-placed and ill-timed. It has probably already been taken down. I can't believe it ended up there in the first place. Now, to add injury to insult, Walker might be facing a half million dollar fine for over 1,000 campaign finance violations. This is really not his week. Couldn't have happened to a more deserving fella.

My neighbors brother has a friend who heard from his uncle that sigma40 is a genius with great insight. Worked at the plant since 85 and I gotta call BS on that post sig, did they tell you how they got the forklift out of the train?

I love all the "inside" stories about GM...that mean absolutely nothing in the big picture.

GM lost it's way when they developed too many brands that competed against each other, and too many dealers that competed for the same customers.

Mirror & Shopierehuh - Im not making this up. Lots of stuff walked away from this place. My coworker, a maintenance supervisor of 15 years, and 15+ more as a millwright told me. My dad has told me. I witnessed it. If you were someone of seniority down there you did not have to do much at all.....if anything. And if anyone needed anything....tools, car radios, wheels, tires, starters, ..you name it.. All you had to do is ask. Believe me...I know. this went on for many years up till GM really cracked down on this around the late 90's. The train went through the middle of GM, I know of people that unloaded parts, then drove the fork truck on there and left it.. and then the train parked a mile out of town where they unloaded stuff they got out of the plant. Johnny Cash even wrote a song mocking GM for this well known fact. "One piece at a time". Funny song..a little exaggerated but a whole hell of a lot of truth behind it. And...you wont find documents anywhere showing what people took. It wasnt considered "stolen" because the top senior employees in charge of everything ordered extra tools for everyone. Believe it or not...it was reality. It finally caught up to them.

Steve,
Good blog.
And facebook is full of dumb dumb's blaming Walker for it.....many wanting to send a picture of it to Jay Leno.... (Rolling Eyes)......
Funny how soon we all forget.
I do agree though, that it is a strange place to put that sign !!! lol....

I havent heard anybody blame wanker for GM leaving. Just another desparate wanker supporter trying to stir the pot and discredit those with an opposite view point.

@jtliszew

Oh, my mistake. I thought Obama was at GM speaking a few years ago, not GWB.

Ahh, Nothing. The point is he has'nt created jobs, hence the billboard in front of the closed up General Motors plant in Janesville Wisconsin. Remember: Walker is against organized labor and will do nothing to promote it.

I find is hilarious. BRETT FAVRE!!!!

Wislady- That was actually started under Bush. Obama was the one that sent everyone back because they flew in their private jets. He worked with them once they drove in cars or flew the commercial airlines. Obama would have rather seen GM go under, however he was under pressure from others to make it happen.

I don't think anyone believes Walker is in ANY way responsible for the GM closing...as for placement - probably dumb luck, or lack thereof...after all it's not a very busy street anymore with Gilman & GM gone....

I don't think anyone believes Walker is in ANY way responsible for the GM closing...as for placement - probably dumb luck, or lack thereof...after all it's not a very busy street anymore with Gilman & GM gone....

The reason people aren't buying the Volt is due to high cost and impracticality for most uses. We are "light years" away from having a system in place to make them practical for everyday use for the normal consumer. To me it would make more sense to "push" a movement towards natural gas.

I do not believe that Governor Walker had anything directly to do with the GM Plant shutting down however his policies certainly have not emphasized job growth in this state. Below is a list of companies who have been confirmed by the Department of Labor's Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance(OTAA) to have shipped Wisconsin jobs overseas, not simply out of the state but out of the country! In total 23 companies have confirmed to have shipped jobs out of Wisconsin since it became open for business. The billboard would have been more suited in front of one of the other shuttered factories which have occurred since Walker took office, not all listed below completely left the state however they have sent jobs away.

Whiting Paper Mill, Steven Point, WI, Everbrite, La Cross, WI, Serigraph, West Bend, WI, Fairbanks Morse Engine Beloit, WI, Cooper Industries Pewaukee, WI, Simmons Manufacturing Company, LLC Neenah, WI, The Buckstaff Company Oshkosh, WI, Allied Systems, Ltd Janesville, WI, Brookfield Data Center Brookfield, WI, Robin Manufacturing USA, Inc. Hudson, WI, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Fond Du Lac, WI, ISP Stitching and Bindery Product Racine, WI, Wellpoint, Inc. (Pewaukee) Waukesha, WI, Federal Mogul Corporation Schofield, WI, ILevel By Weyerhaeuser All Locations Across Wisconsin, WI, Journal Community Publishing Group Waupaca, WI, Pentair Residential Filtration Brookfield, WI, Pentair Residential Filtration Milwaukee, WI, Humana Insurance Company Green Bay, WI, Springs Window Fashions, LLC Pewaukee, WI, WellPoint, Inc. Milwaukee, WI, Time Insurance Company Milwaukee, WI, Wiza Industries, Inc. Muskego, WI

Zoom, that's an understandable mistake kaysbrew made saying $250,000 per Volt. She obviously was referring to the amount of money Romney is willing to spend to buy the Republican nomination and meant to say $250,000 per VOTE.

"$250,000.00 per Volt."

More lies from the right.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11354404/...

irebout, you are wrong on both counts. GM Janesville didn't close because of the Unions. GM made the best selling large SUV's in the market, but sales plumetted because of $4+/gallon fuel prices and a recession. It hasn't re-opened because the other idled plants were newer and better suited to what GM want's to build.

I have seen the post as well, and didn't really see alot of critisim on Walker for the GM plant closing, in fact I blamed the Unions, they are essentially the one's that ran GM out of Janesville. With that being said however, when they were looking at opening it back up, Janesville was one of the potential plants to open up, Walker was Governor at that time, Janesville lost out. If he is suppose to be so great for big business why is it that one of the biggest businesses didn't reopen here? Also any time the employment numbers are released by Walkers administration they are suspect, dont believe me http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepoliti... just saying guys.

you're

Steve, I know your just a "blogger", but why not do a little research before posting? The WMC Issues Mobilization Council paid for the billboard. Blaming the left for the billboard is dumb. How about blaming the right wing Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce group?

The location of the billboard is insensitive to all who lost their jobs at GM and it's suppliers. No, Walker had nothing to do with GM, but the WMC screwed up. Don't blame the left for pointing that out.

Steve, I think you're being realistic by not being "100% sold on his job creation plan." 16,308 jobs were created in the first 11 months of Walker being on the job. At that rate, he will have created 71,162 jobs over his four year term. 71,162 is 28.5% of 250,000, so it'd be safe to you're 28.5% sold on his job creation plan.

GM Janesville closed because of supply and demand. The rise of fuel prices to $4+/gallon during 2008, combined with job losses from the worse recession since the Great Depression, and sales of large vehicles like the Yukon and Tahoe plumetted.

The $4/gallon price shock is something people won't forget for a long time, and those large SUV's will never sell in the volume they once did.

Well said egghead!

Wislady, Ha, good stuff
Obama saved union jobs and screwed everyone else. $250,000.00 per Volt. All taxpayers pay up!
Ford and capitalism survived without socialism bailout. Proof of Obama failure as Pres, again.

Just another well thought out plan of Walker's.

jtliszew

But he SAVED the auto industry!

I think the more interesting signs are the pro Walker signs featuring Tom Barrett.

GM was a huge part of Wisconsin's economy many companies wouldn't have existed in Wisconsin if it wasn't for GM being in Janesville. You close a plant like that it don't matter who is in office unemployment will be high. GM had their minds set on closing the Janesville plant years prior to actual announcement but no one would believe it if you told them at the time. They wouldn't listen to any politician no matter what their minds were made up & frankly I don't blame them. Little hard to profit these days with a lot of overhead & high payroll expectations. Unions have an up hill argument & its getting worse for this area as long as taxes continue to climb. You can run a company & live in states like Texas for a fraction of the cost. Yeah i know public education & crime blah blah blah but in end you save big & that's what everything is about $$$.

You want jobs in Wisconsin focus on technology (software) & healthcare. I see a lot of biotech stuff blooming but hardly any technology. Its really not a good time to be criticizing politicians as far as employment goes because this is a problem everywhere & I think there is very little they can do. Companies are on this new trend of being profitable with zero or little employment & they're succeeding at it. I don't see this changing anytime soon. If you want jobs the government will have to create them & considering their spending & debt I seriously doubt that will happen. On a good note I do see jobs eventually coming back from China & elsewhere because China has its own financial problems but that could be decades from now. Only thing I see hurting the US on jobs front is public policy. Too many odd restrictions & military threats. This is hurting economics & frighting investors. US needs to tone this down & tone down the media speculation.

Wislady-Obama was not in office yet.

Walker didn't have anything to do with it.....but it's a sad reminder of what was once there. There are still MANY families that are living apart from each other and others struggling financially. It's just poor placement of the sign - in my opinion. When everyone says....Move on...GM is gone. I agree.....but with reminders like that.....it doesn't help the community to "move on."

I agree with this:

>I've seen it on FB and most comments are about the stupidity of the location of the billboard. Putting that message out in front of a vacant assembly plant would be a bad choice by any politician, no matter what party they belong to.<

And this:

>Steve, I've seen that picture floating around Facebook for a few days now and have not seen a single person who "blames" Walker for the closure of the plant. I think it's unfair for you to make this assertion that everyone on the "left" is misinformed or wrong. Based on many of your previous blogs, I think the real issue here is YOUR inability to understand irony and humor. Just a thought...<

And also this:

>Steve, I have heard nobody blaming Walker for the plant closing, and I think you're contriving a controversy of sorts by making many of your friends appear stupid. There's no denying that the location of the billboard is ironic and a little tacky. It comes across as a 'sand in your face' episode and very poor judgement.<

I work for an advertising agency that regularly places billboards for its clients. Clients can pick specific locations or they can buy a general market rotation, depending on budget. With the rotation, they get to see their location list before anything is posted, so either way there would be opportunities for the Walker campaign marketing person to say "Maybe we shouldn't post this particular sign in front of a large, empty factory."

It's not about Walker being blamed for the plant shutting down. It's about a sign that boasts of job creation in front of the former location of thousands of jobs. Those unemployed folks are probably wishing Walker would show them the jobs.

Steve, I have heard nobody blaming Walker for the plant closing, and I think you're contriving a controversy of sorts by making many of your friends appear stupid. There's no denying that the location of the billboard is ironic and a little tacky. It comes across as a 'sand in your face' episode and very poor judgement.

sigma40, your comment is untrue and hateful. If the plant was so unproductive, as you state, why did it continuously win production and quality awards over the years?

"Lazy, slow, 90% of the people there took a lot of stuff home." = Sigma40 @ 8:58am

I don't believe you Sigma40, do you have a cite, a link, any proof of this accusation? Or is this just another "fact" that you have pulled out of your?

You cant be very productive yourself, you spend a good portion of the workday on the internet. What is up with that?

Steve, I've seen that picture floating around Facebook for a few days now and have not seen a single person who "blames" Walker for the closure of the plant. I think it's unfair for you to make this assertion that everyone on the "left" is misinformed or wrong. Based on many of your previous blogs, I think the real issue here is YOUR inability to understand irony and humor. Just a thought...

It is all linked to Walkergate.
;-)

"Lazy", "slow" and "low work output" are words I would never use to describe what went on down there. You have no idea.

I work with former maintenance supervisors and other supervisors from GM, also having friends and family that worked there.... they did themselves in. Lazy, slow, 90% of the people there took a lot of stuff home. High wages, low work output... destined for failure some day....and that day came. They failed before Walker was even in office.

Maybe the sign has a hidden message and GM is returning to Janesville. I doubt it-but do find the sign placement to be tacky. So agree with alyssas71

Sad sad sad when people have to turn a stupid photo into a 'my party is better' because....

Its an ironic picture. Have a laugh people an lighten up. Or drop the en, either way you will probably see the pic in a dift perspective.

Nice job to yo hubby for snappin the pic!!

It is just the irony. My husband took the pic and found it hysterical! It's not a blame to Walker for the plant closing, just point out that his "job creation" plan is about as successful as this ad!

I've seen it on FB and most comments are about the stupidity of the location of the billboard. Putting that message out in front of a vacant assembly plant would be a bad choice by any politician, no matter what party they belong to.

Was Walker to blame for GM closing... No. Was Doyle, No. Was GM, Yes. While I am not a Walker supporter, I know he did not close GM. GMs poor management skills closed GM. However, the placement of the sign was tacky and does not sit well with those who lost their job or were forced to move away from their family's. Does Walker know where the billboard is, no probably not but I am sure someone on his staff worked with the billboard folks to put it up and that is what is wrong.

The billboard should have a picture of Obama on it.

It's the irony. That's what people think is funny. You are making it about a certain party, and making a bigger deal out of it than it is. I have seen it on Facebook several times, and nobody blames Walker for GM closing, they just think it's hilarious that the billboard was placed there, of all places.

I saw the exact same photo on facebook and just chuckled at people's inability to think past the shallow initial knee jerk reaction and apply a political spin to it. He had nothing to do with the closing of the plant but the union driven workforce from there is so rabid with anti-republican and more specifically anti-walker rhetoric they can't get past the stupid slogans they throw around. Furthermore, I am pretty sure Walker himself did not purchase that space or put the graphics up, although whoever did within his administration really should have been smart enough to realize that would cause a firestorm, perhaps it was purposely placed there specifically to ruffle feathers. The reaction to that billboard really illustrates the lack of thinking by the partisan fools that seem to be extremely vocal in this state. Would the same reaction be brought if it were a Democrat on that billboard?

Prepare for 100+ comments on this one. Are you looking to set a record? Maybe your next blog can discuss how ridiculous the exchanges are between people posting comments. Here is my prediction. It starts out with 5 or 6 comments about the actual blog and then will digress into 70 or 80 negative comments pertaining to comments other people have posted.

Wow, desperate times call for desperate measures. HA
Obama's one term and Walker's retaining the office is making liberals loonier then ever.

The anti-walker camp is getting desperate. It really is kind of funny how they hold Walker to a high standard--such as when they condemned him for the family care comments--yet their group should be totally justified in supporting an obviously misleading message such as this one. Total hypocrites, but most of us are used to it by now. We just shake our heads, laugh a little bit at them and go on with our lives.......