# The Solyndra Scandal:Does It Have the Potential to Hurt Obama? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 15, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401 "2011-09-15T16:04:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/61 "2011-09-19T18:51:24Z")
Bush was trying to approve the loans in 2007. We had an economic crisis that ended that. The loan is 1.3 percent of the DOE portfolio. To date it is the only loan in trouble. It is not a Democratic company but has a Dem and Republican Board of Directors and many private investors. It is really not much of a scandal. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/62 "2011-09-19T19:27:58Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Bush was trying to approve the loans in 2007. We had an economic crisis that ended that. > The loan is 1.3 percent of the DOE portfolio. To date it is the only loan in trouble. > It is not a Democratic company but has a Dem and Republican Board of Directors and many private investors. > It is really not much of a scandal. The question isn’t necessarily the failure rate of the business invested in. That is one metric. But no one is complaining about that. The question is the degree to which this one particular loan might have been structured or pushed to eagerly. As an aside, Solyndra [is not the only one in trouble.](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/15/despite-stimulus-funding-solyndra-and-4-other-companies-have-hit-rock-bottom/) ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/63 "2011-09-19T20:22:29Z")
In addition, it’s extremely premature to talk about how few companies are in trouble within a year or two of receiving significant funding. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/64 "2011-09-19T22:56:43Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Wow, that’s a surprise. The President and a flock of WH lawyers don’t incriminate themselves with a paper-trail of pressure. They just made a few phone calls to see how things are doing because that’s what President’s do, check on loans. It’s like a hobby only for some reason the phone calls are linked to people who are top fund raisers and major contributors. > > So to review, the loan was “postponed”. Contributions were made. Phone calls were made. A loan that has been wallowing for over 3 years becomes the pet project of the President and is granted. the company folds within a year. > > Meanwhile a military general testifies that he was pressured to to include language in his testimony supporting another pet project of the President. Funny how this tactic of inference and innuendo was invalid during the Bush years, but now it makes perfect sense to say that since we can’t prove it, Obama must be guilty. I guess this will last (conditionally) until Jan 2013, and then once again it will be necessary to have rigorous proof before we say the President did something wrong. Is that about it? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/65 "2011-09-20T04:54:48Z")
You know, if we just had a “liberal hypocrisy” smilie, we could save the hamsters about ten thousand turns per year. ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/66 "2011-09-20T05:24:00Z")
The very first thing we need to do is pressure Obama to resign, the way Shirley Sherrod was forced to resign when the Republicans ginned up a fake scandal.\* Then, only after concrete evidence of his innocence is fortuitously established by a third-party, can we let him back. Given how many people the blue dog/centrist coalition has thrown under the bus at every fake scandal created by the Republicans, I’m not going to shed a tear for Obama. Maybe he can just tell the Republicans that they should look forward and not backwards! I’m sure that will help. But to answer the OP, I don’t really think it has much of an impact on Obama. The economy is so crappy that I think the economy will be the major make or break issue for him. The only people who would bring this up are people who wouldn’t have voted for him in any case. JMO, of course. \*I suppose it’s possible there’s a real scandal here, but given how often the Republican gin up fake scandals, I’ll need concrete proof before I believe it. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/67 "2011-09-20T13:12:00Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > You know, if we just had a “liberal hypocrisy” smilie, we could save the hamsters about ten thousand turns per year. We probably could. But in this case: > [@Bricker](#): > > Funny how this tactic of inference and innuendo was invalid during the Bush years, but now it makes perfect sense to say that since we can’t prove it, Obama must be guilty. > > I guess this will last (conditionally) until Jan 2013, and then once again it will be necessary to have rigorous proof before we say the President did something wrong. Is that about it? I was inveighing against conservative hypocrisy. Read it again. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/68 "2011-09-20T14:45:33Z")
Since a good part of the push for the stimulus was to produce green jobs, the following is significant as well - > [@](#): > > The company, once a rock star in the solar industry, filed for bankruptcy protection last month, saying it couldn’t compete with Chinese rivals without reorganizing. The company intends to focus on building up its manufacturing facility\*\* in China\*\*. > > Read more: [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/15/despite-stimulus-funding-solyndra-and-4-other-companies-have-hit-rock-bottom/#ixzz1YVIIC2zK](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/15/despite-stimulus-funding-solyndra-and-4-other-companies-have-hit-rock-bottom/#ixzz1YVIIC2zK) If BHO is going to make this kind of company his showpiece, it is entirely legitimate to point out when it turns into an abject failure. costs a lot of money, and doesn’t do what he claims it should. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/69 "2011-09-20T14:50:13Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > If BHO is going to make this kind of company his showpiece, it is entirely legitimate to point out when it turns into an abject failure. costs a lot of money, and doesn’t do what he claims it should. The fact that Chinese incentives are so much larger than US incentives for green technology that a solar company finds it more lucrative to build factories there instead of here is evidence that we shouldn’t have offered the incentives in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/70 "2011-09-20T15:06:52Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > We probably could. But in this case: > > I was inveighing against conservative hypocrisy. Read it again. Its a trap! (Point taken.) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/71 "2011-09-20T15:28:04Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/72 "2011-09-20T15:28:57Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > The fact that Chinese incentives are so much larger than US incentives for green technology that a solar company finds it more lucrative to build factories there instead of here is evidence that we shouldn’t have offered the incentives in the first place? It’s evidence that the companies that Obama chose as his showpiece on the rationale that it would create green jobs in the US failed and cost a lot of money. Are you familiar with the concept of “wasting money”? It’s what happens when the Obama administration spends a half-billion dollars to create green jobs, and talks up some companies as an example of what he wants to accomplish. Then he doesn’t accomplish it. In other words, we could have saved a half-billion dollars if we did not do what Obama wanted. So - [ul][li]The Obama administration pushes thru a half billion dollars in subsidies and loans (to a company previously rejected), in an effort to build up green industries and create jobs. [/li][li]Obama spends some time trying to attract attention to his policy by visiting the factory and mentioning it in his speeches. [/li][li]Then the companies go bankrupt.[/li][li]Net result is the waste of a half-billion dollars and the loss of a thousand American jobs.[/ul][/li] One might consider the above in deciding whether further implementation of policies pushed on the same basis and by the same administration are a good idea, or not. Or you can adopt the standard approach and treat “Obama is a great President and the answer to all our woes” as a non-falsifiable hypothesis. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/73 "2011-09-20T15:37:45Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Or you can adopt the standard approach and treat “Obama is a great President and the answer to all our woes” as a non-falsifiable hypothesis. You may not have noticed that way back in post #19 I indicated that this was a failure and that the government should not be in the business of picking specific companies for success or failure. The entire mechanism failed, and it appears that some in the government were aware and tried to raise issues while it the loan approval process was active. I personally think that a carbon tax is the most market-friendly and even-handed approach to dealing with the external costs of dirtier forms of energy. That said, the failure of this company also indicates that if the US is serious about being a part of the global solar energy market the current scheme is laughably inadequate. The Chinese are dwarfing our investments in this area. Claiming that the failure of Solyndra indicates that clean energy subsidies _in general_ are a bad idea is fallacious. A large percentage of all companies in cutting-edge industries fail. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/74 "2011-09-20T15:46:59Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Since a good part of the push for the stimulus was to produce green jobs, the following is significant as well - > If BHO is going to make this kind of company his showpiece, it is entirely legitimate to point out when it turns into an abject failure. costs a lot of money, and doesn’t do what he claims it should. > > Regards, > Shodan Sort of like Bush and Enron? ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/75 "2011-09-20T16:08:15Z")
I think that it plays right into the view that Obama is a well-meaning but inept President. So far he has been unable to right the unemployment issue. Right or wrong, this will look like a leftist, big government ploy to throw a ton of money at an unproven company in an unproven industry that tugs at the heart strings of liberals (“green” energy). And you have Obama talking the company up like it’s the greatest thing ever and goes bankrupt after getting a half of a billion dollars. It looks just like something Jimmy Carter would do. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/76 "2011-09-20T16:11:57Z")
Eh… I’d say the whole situation doesn’t exactly make Obama look great, but as far as “scandals” go, this is pretty weak sauce. That, of course, doesn’t mean his detractors won’t try to milk every drop of mileage they can out of being outraged by it, but it seems to me like the sort of thing that might resonate with the folks who’ve already decided they’re not voting for him, while it’s not nearly enough to scare away anybody who might. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/77 "2011-09-20T16:20:48Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Sort of like Bush and Enron? No, not particularly. Unless you have a cite that Bush made Enron a showpiece for his economic policies, pushed it as an example of how to create jobs, and so forth. You don’t, so … Pop quiz, **gonzo** - who was President when Enron committed its various frauds? _:cue **gonzomax** to produce a cite having essentially nothing to do with his claim, but which (on a good day) might actually have the word “Enron” somewhere in the article:_ Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/78 "2011-09-20T22:57:39Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > _:cue **gonzomax** to produce a cite having essentially nothing to do with his claim, but which (on a good day) might actually have the word “Enron” somewhere in the article:_ Too friggin funny. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/79 "2011-09-21T01:24:29Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Like pretty much all of \*\*ralphie’\*\*s posts, this is a non-story. Solyndra’s financing was [originally a Bush Administration pet project](http://www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2011/09/the_phony_solyn.htm). > > The Department of Energy has backed loans to something like 500 “green tech” companies. Of course some of them are going to fail. Solyndra’s problem was trying to build stuff in the US, which made it uncompetitive on price. Wow, it only took 5 post to get to the “But, But it’s all Bush’s Fault” defense. I think you need to take a look at the facts again there. This isn’t Bush’s problem, it IS Obama’s. Isn’t it about time your “Saviour” took some responsibility for his own terrible decisions? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401/80 "2011-09-21T03:59:29Z")
It will have staying power for those who are anti Obama types. The rest will shrug it off. It is background noise. Not much of a story. But you people desperately dredge up a non story and pretend it a big crisis. It is a familiar pattern that results in rightys talking to each other and congratulating themselves on some deluded victory where none exists. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-solyndra-scandal-does-it-have-the-potential-to-hurt-obama/596401.md?page=5)