Harris County commissioner says ‘hell no’ to GM, Chrysler vehicles – UPDATE
July 20, 2009 at 5:39 pm by Thomas Wheatley in NewsObama anger is alive and well in Harris County, Ga., home of Callaway Gardens and…uhm…let’s get on with the story.
In response to the recent federal bail-out of General Motors and Chrysler, the Harris County Commission tomorrow will vote on a proclamation that calls for a boycott of the automakers’ products and urges other Georgia counties to follow suit.
Penned by Commissioner Charles Wyatt, the proclamation says the bail-out “will result in a heavy burden upon future generations of citizens of the United States” and “is not in the best interest of the United States or the State of Georgia.”
It goes on to say the county will not purchase any GM or Chrysler vehicles and urges the other 158 Georgia counties to “join us in sending a message to Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, DC, of strong voices of unity against this recent action by the Federal Government.” It then “prays” the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (that’s not a typo, the organization only has one “of” in its name) “will stand with us.”
State Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, and representatives from GM and ACCG, and Harris County workers employed by the automakers will attend tomorrow night’s meeting to urge the commissioners not to pass the proclamation. Cars are near and dear to Jones’ heart — he’s an auto dealer himself.
Judging that there are about five working journalists in Georgia at the moment, the event’s not likely to receive much attention. But it’s worth noting, simply because we love it when our down-South brethren introduce legislation like this.
UPDATE – Commissioner Wyatt says why he introduced the proclamation after the jump.
Wyatt says he thinks Georgia, which contributes more to the federal government than it receives, is due its share of the stimulus money. The auto industry bailout was another matter, however.
“What bothers me is my future income tax money going to pay the salaries, benefits and retirements of the United Auto Workers Union,” he says. “That’s why I introduced the resolution.”
Since news of the proclamation broke this afternoon, the commissioner says he’s been on the phone with state lawmakers, business officials and constituents urging him to kill the legislation. One call that struck home was from a mother whose son works at a auto dealership in Harris County. She told Wyatt she feared her son would lose his job.
“I thought, My God what have I done?,” he says. “I asked this person if they support what’s going on in Washington. And she said, No, I don’t, but I care about my son keeping his job.’ But I understand what these people are talking about. I had some people ask me why’d I do it [and] if I was a strong conservative. I thought I was.”
“If I do [pull the proclamation], it’ll be for that one constituent,” he says. “Not for all these people in the other counties.”
July 20th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
This is a great idea. I sold my GMC Denail in response to this and bought Mercedes. I will not buy a GM or Chrysler Vehicle as long as it is owned by GM (Government Motors). I was planning to buy a Cadillac Escalade but changed my mind because Obama now owns it. I bought 3 GM Vehicles in 2007 and 2008 but they will no longer get my business. I buy about 1-2 cars every couple of years.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
lol at “owned by obama”. perhaps certain people are incapable of driving a car and should stick to riding horses?
July 21st, 2009 at 9:00 am
I, for one, support this boycott. The bailout of General Motors is yet another example of Comrade Obama’s crusade to save American jobs. I for one would be glad to contribute to the bankruptcy of a company that was recently the recipient of a large sum of taxpayer dollars. The reason for this is simple – I enjoy wasting tax dollars. I am also a big fan of acting against my own interests in general.