The Solyndra plot thickens

We did a post yesterday about the bankruptcy of Solyndra, a company that manufactures solar panels, and received a $535 loan guarantee to construct a new plant in Fremont,California.  It now seems that there is far more to this story than originally thought.

It turns out that George Kaiser, a Tulsa billionaire and Solyndra backer, has a long history of raising campaign funds for President Obama.  But, it gets worse.

In a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu in February, the House Energy and Commerce Committee raised concerns about the loan, noting that the company had suffered ‘financial setbacks’, and asking for information about ‘whether Solyndra was the right candidate’ for the loan guarantee.

Whether Secretary Chu ever responded is not known, but, the Department of Energy proceeded anyway.  When the bankruptcy was announced yesterday, the DOE responded by saying, that it had,

always recognized that not every one of the innovative companies supported by our loans and loan guarantees would succeed.

And, all the while, I thought the President really meant it when he railed against millionaires and billionaires.  I can only assume that millionaires and billionaires who contribute to his campaign are not only exempt from the President’s vitriol, but also deserve $.5 billion of your tax money.

 

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SoundOffSister

The Sound Off Sister was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and special trial attorney for the Department of Justice, Criminal Division; a partner in the Florida law firm of Shutts & Bowen, and an adjunct professor at the University of Miami, School of Law. The Sound Off Sister offers frequent commentary concerning legislation making its way through Congress, including the health reform legislation passed in early 2010.

27 Comments

  1. Anybody but Obama on September 1, 2011 at 4:40 pm

    The plot thickens.



  2. Lynn on September 1, 2011 at 5:05 pm

    Sammy, What say you?



  3. sammy22 on September 1, 2011 at 6:09 pm

    In the immortal words of Donald Rumsfeld: “Mistakes were made”.



    • GdavidH on September 1, 2011 at 7:11 pm

      Sammy….Apologizing for your 2008 vote?
      //
      ?Sorry….I couldn’t resist.?



    • Dimsdale on September 1, 2011 at 9:28 pm

      That big, fat one that resulted in ?bama being elected was the worst!



    • Lynn on September 2, 2011 at 8:21 am

      Sammy that was a class act.? We will never agree on the state of our country and the right approach, but we need to admit that both parties have made a mess. Let’s just hope we get rid of the corruption and scams by both sides.



  4. johnboy111 on September 1, 2011 at 7:12 pm

    so many mistakes…costs all of US..stop spending till we can gain some control??????



  5. cherwin on September 1, 2011 at 7:22 pm

    These things aren’t mistakes they all just more examples of Obama’s lies and illegal activities. When is something going to get done to stop this idiot?



  6. kateinmaine on September 1, 2011 at 7:27 pm

    come on everybody, say it with me:? chi-ca-go!



    • Dimsdale on September 1, 2011 at 9:28 pm

      I prefer “?bama gotta go!”? 😉



    • johnboy111 on September 2, 2011 at 8:37 am

      ME-O-my-O???



  7. Plainvillian on September 1, 2011 at 8:31 pm

    I learned about Secretary Chu when I attempted to read Malkin’s “Culture of Corruption”, and found it too depressing to finish.? The Solyndra debacle is no surprise.



  8. Gary J on September 1, 2011 at 9:31 pm

    Can we set up a company designed to fail? then get a few billion, divide? it amongst ourselves,ans simply retire?



  9. Shared Sacrifice on September 1, 2011 at 10:13 pm

    Good thing Barry is working on a VAT tax because someone’s got to pay for all of this graft.? http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2011/08/29/obama-taps-value-added-tax-sympathizer-for-key-economic-advisory-post/



  10. essneff on September 1, 2011 at 10:28 pm

    We’re actually running out?of chances of taking this country back?…. we just dropped a half a billon of?yet to be borned taxpayer’s money?to support this crap & add more jobs in China?

    can you imagine the distress if our?only source of power were wind turbines & Hurricane, I mean tropical storm??Irene? came along



  11. ricbee on September 2, 2011 at 7:59 am

    ?Every one of these “green” things are backers of the various administrations which throw our money at them. Sometimes even relatives & friends of the very legislators who push these loans & gifts through.



  12. Lynn on September 2, 2011 at 12:16 pm

    OK Kate, Chi-ca-go



  13. Dimsdale on September 2, 2011 at 6:48 pm

    Is Solyndra green an economic variation on Soylent Green?



  14. Anybody but Obama on September 4, 2011 at 5:50 pm


  15. andy@american on September 6, 2011 at 10:44 am

    What the powers that be in the government do not understand is that all this green technology will not succeed until some private sector inventor/businessman figures out how to do it while making a profit for himself independent of government handouts.? Of course when that businessman does figure out how to make a profit he will then be villified for doing so and probably taxed out of business.? Who is John Galt?



  16. sammy22 on September 6, 2011 at 11:29 am

    I believe that even the oil companies are getting some tax breaks, though they are making plenty of profits.



    • Dimsdale on September 6, 2011 at 2:44 pm

      When the oil company profits are about $0.02 per gallon and the taxes are averaging $0.48, I hardly think the “tax breaks” (i.e. you get to keep some of? your money, but can only use it where we tell you) are much compensation.
      ?
      Even if you don’t completely agree with those figures, it cannot be argued that the government is profiting far in excess of the dreaded oil companies.? And that cost gets passed onto us.?? So who is the bad guy again?? The company investing its money in exploration and production, or the government that parasitizes off of it efforts?



    • Dimsdale on September 6, 2011 at 2:46 pm


    • Lynn on September 7, 2011 at 2:32 pm

      Thanks, Dims your facts were eye opening and indeed the govt. is profiting more than the oil company. How sad, to those of us that understand the govt. should not make a “profit”.



  17. sammy22 on September 7, 2011 at 11:53 am

    You missed the point, simple as that.



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