MSNBC Uses Liberal Green Jobs Activist to Blame Solyndra on George W. Bush

September 24th, 2011 5:00 PM

The lengths MSNBC will go to deflect blame from President Obama for anything bad that can be tied to his administration is simply amazing.

On Friday, a liberal green jobs activist was brought on "MSNBC Live" to falsely accuse former President George W. Bush of making that ill-advised loan to failed solar company Solyndra (video follows with transcript and commentary):

THOMAS ROBERTS, MSNBC: Dr. Mijin Cha is a senior analyst for Demos Sustainable Progress Initiative and a blogger at Policyshop.net. Dr. Cha, it’s nice to see you this morning. And you point out on your blog that the green is under attack, basically. Take a listen, though to what one Republican lawmaker said just last night.

CONGRESSMAN MARIO DIAZ-BALART (R-FLORIDA): What the previous gentleman did not say is that Solyndra received $500 million because they have friends in high places. Despite even people in this administration that said, “Don't do it,” they received $500 million. If that was in a different country, we wouldn't call it waste. We would call it corruption.

ROBERTS: So how much damage has Solyndra done, Dr. Cha, when it comes to the greens job movement? Is this something that can't be turned around?

J. MIJIN CHA, GREEN JOBS ACTIVIST: No. I definitely don't think it can’t be turned around. I think what you find the hearings will show are two things. One is that the administration actually didn't do any wrongdoing, right? This loan was begun under the Bush administration. Solyndra had raised a billion dollars in private capital and then was invited by the Bush administration to apply for this loan program.

Yes, but as ABCNews.com reported September 13, the Bush administration unanimously denied that loan:

The results of the Congressional probe shared Tuesday with ABC News show that less than two weeks before President Bush left office, on January 9, 2009, the Energy Department's credit committee made a unanimous decision not to offer a loan commitment to Solyndra.

 


You got that, Doctor? The Bush "Energy Department's credit committee made a unanimous decision not to offer a loan commitment to Solyndra."

I guess this liberal green jobs activist missed that little point.

Ironically, at roughly the same time Cha was spewing her propaganda on MSNBC, Brian Ross was reporting the truth at ABCNews.com:

The Obama administration had selected Solyndra as the first to receive a loan under a program designed to provide government support to companies that would create jobs while generating energy from cleaner sources, such as solar, wind and nuclear. President Obama personally visited the Solyndra complex, hailing it as a leader in this emerging field.

For MSNBC to allow anyone on its network to say anything contrary to the truth without being challenged is an affront to journalism.

As NewsBusters reports on a daily basis, this is par for the course at this so-called "news network."