Media Trying to Convince Themselves They've Found Romney's Solyndra
The Boston Globe is reporting on a Massachusetts solar company that received state loans under Governor Romney, and is now filing for bankruptcy. The Globe insists that this news means that Romney's attacks on the President's failed Solyndra investment have backfired, and are implying that it opens up the Republican presidential contender up to charges of hypocrisy.
An excerpt:
A Lowell-based solar technology company that received $1.5 million in state loans when Mitt Romney was governor has filed for bankruptcy, opening the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to charges of hypocrisy.
Konarka Technologies disclosed Friday that it had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and would fire its 80-member staff and liquidate its assets.
Romney has chided President Obama for investing $535 million in a different solar company that failed, and has insisted governments should not pick winners and losers in the private sector. He held a press conference at the Fremont, Calif., headquarters of that company, Solyndra, last Thursday, saying, “Free enterprise to the president means taking money from the taxpayers and giving it freely to his friends.’
The Washington Post has also chimed in, stating that this incident leaves him "vulnerable to criticism". What the media isn't reporting on is some very obvious differences between the two solar ventures.
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Despite using the above quote about giving taxpayer money to his friends, the Globe fails to demonstrate any parallel with Romney, citing no evidence of Romney's associations with Konarka. Whereas Solyndra has the George Kaiser/Obama direct relationship.
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The difference between the loans offered the two companies is vast. The $1.5 million in state loans offered Konarka represents less than 0.3% of the $535 million loan granted to Solyndra.
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Konarka paid back their loan according to CEO Howard Berke, while taxpayers will not be seeing their Solyndra investment returned anytime soon.
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Solyndra's demise happened just over two years after receiving their hefty helping of government loans, while still under Obama's term as President of the United States. Konarka's bankruptcy is now being filed nearly a decade after they received their state money, and a full five years after Romney last occupied the Governor's office in Massachusetts.
Then of course, there's this kicker from the Globe article itself. Painting the Konarka bankruptcy as a blemish on the record of Mitt Romney, who awarded them the $1.5 million in state loans back in 2003, is misleading, since such funding was not the most recent received by the company.
Konarka it seems received a $1.6 million army contract in 2005, and a $3.6 million award from the Department of Energy in 2007 under then-President Bush.
Even more interesting is the fact that the company shared in an announced $2.3 billion in tax credits that they received under President Obama for clean-energy manufacturing projects. The tax credits were part of the $787 billion stimulus bill, and were awarded to 183 total companies. The average tax credit per company would have been roughly $12.5 million each, though a previous Globe article doesn't specify the amount received by Konarka.
Only the mainstream media can take something that can be more closely associated with President Obama, and turn it into a blight against Mitt Romney's record.
- Rusty Weiss's blog
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Comments
It was only $1.3 million
Submitted by povertypimpin on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 4:38pm.
AND the company already paid it back. LOL
And it took the company 10 years
Submitted by CarlosS on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 5:49pm.
after receiving and paying back this loan and 6 years after Romney left the governorship before it filed for bankruptcy. Hmm, maybe there were just a few changes in the business climate in the last 10 years..., or even in the last 3 1/2 years
It's difficult to excuse any
Submitted by robert108 on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 4:43pm.
It's difficult to excuse any public money being used for so-called "green energy", but the magnitude of obama's corruption and Romney's mistake in MA aren't comparable. Furthermore, Romney seems to have seen the light(pun intended), while obama promises even more wasteful spending on this hoax.
They repaid the loan?
Submitted by KornKing on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 4:47pm.
Now maybe the lapdogs will point out Obamanomics led to their downfall?
Poor, poor Obama-loving media
Submitted by bkeyser on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 4:56pm.
Tonight, they're likely to learn that one of the most important parts of the democratic political machine is headed for extinction -public employee unions- and that republican fiscal policies are the best way forward. I can see them all looking at each other in newsrooms all over the country in complete bewilderment. "Recount! Recount! He only won by 12 points! Recount!"
Tomorrow begins the full-on liberal freak-out. I'm sure Dr. Sam can lend some insight as to what we're likely to see, but I'm guessing it starts with a full-fledged temper tantrum on the morning news shows. It's entirely possible that MSNBC will experience that tonight, and may be dark tomorrow night. I'm not sure there's enough Scotch in New York to convince Ed, Chris and Rachel to try to perform after the coming devastation.
But no worries; after a few days of alternating between sulking and pulling their own hair out, the media will embark on an attack the likes we've never seen. Massachusetts Solyndra? That ain't nothin'. There will be women claiming everything from unequal pay while working at Bain, to claims of sexual harassment and unwanted sexual advances from Mitt's sons. Herman Cain will be saying "Dayum, I thought what they did to me was bad! This sh*t is crazy!"
There'll be people in Boston on food stamps paraded in front of cameras blaming Mitt Romney for their plight. Dogs that look like Seamus will be plastered on every newspaper claiming to need therapy. And anyone with a horse or that loves to ride horses will be attacked as part of the Romney-elite.
It's about to nasty folks. Liberals don't lose easily. And since most of them don't have the maturity level of a toddler, we're about to see a lot of poop slung around. Make sure you've got some towels and hand cleaner at the ready.
There it is!!
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 4:57pm.
Konarka it seems received.......a $3.6 million award from the Department of Energy in 2007 under then-President Bush.
This is easier than 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon!!
So a repaid loan is "hypocrisy"? WOW. Talk about redefining
Submitted by drsamherman on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 4:57pm.
the meaning of the term.
What's next? Calling lying "honest" because it doesn't hurt the self-esteem of the "honester" (liar in old-speak)?
Comparing Obama to Osama
Submitted by DontFeedTheTrolls on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 5:07pm.
Facts don't matter to the left.
Obama smoked pot, Romney ate pot-luck. Same thing.
One other small problem with
Submitted by ant on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 5:33pm.
One other small problem with this tactic. Regular MSM viewers won't know what Solyndra is...they've never heard of it.
Notice from this story, as well, how accustomed we have become to the lamestream press doing Obama's campaigning for him.Public watchdogs my butt.
besides
Submitted by MidAmerica on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 5:43pm.
Romney hasn't been Governor for six years.
That company lasted a lot longer than Solyndra.
So now Solyndra is an issue?
Submitted by needle on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 6:03pm.
“Media Trying to Convince Themselves They've Found Romney's Solyndra”
Really? All of the sudden the [DNC] media now KNOWS about Solyndra?
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
To make it more interesting
Submitted by gs-425 on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 7:05pm.
The loan to Konarka was approved before Romney took office and the agency that approved was/is not under the governors control. It also fails to mention that Romney tried to defund the underlying green energy financing program and tried to kill the racket that is taxpayer-funding of green energy.
Konarka went on to raise $170 million in private capital as it amassed more than 100 patents for a variety of solar products, including thin, flexible panels that its customers then build into bags and umbrellas.
It also raised $5 million more in state loans under Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick's administration.
With desperation, comes the media lies.
Can you source your
Submitted by ThisnThat on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 7:35pm.
Can you source your information, GS-425?
__________
“Didn't win the Medal of Honor? Didn't even serve? Then lie about it. We'll support you." — 9th Circuit Court
Very Easy to Source
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 10:03pm.
Project Overview:
Konarka received a $1.5 million subordinated loan with warrants in December 2002. The MTC financing was provided in conjunction with a $13.5 million Series B private venture round, led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Proceeds from the MTC loan were used to finance research and development activities, and to fund the development of a pilot production line in the company’s headquarters in Lowell, MA. At the time of the MTC investment, Konarka had 30 employees in Lowell, MA; there are now 35 employees in Lowell and 15 additional employees elsewhere. This project has been assigned and is now being managed by the Clean Energy Center.
It took me all of five minutes to find a ton of websites backing up the information that I posted above.
Romney was sworn in as Governor of Mass on Jan 3rd, 2003. Do you need to have that sourced too?
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
So at the end of the day, we
Submitted by Bruzilla on Wed, 06/06/2012 - 11:19am.
So at the end of the day, we have a $1.5 million loan to a company that was at the time a business success, that won multiple contracts, and was doing well until the economy went south; and another $535 million dollar loan to a start-up company that never made it out of the starting gates but spent the money anyway. Yeah, the similarities are staggering. lol