Van Jones Says Those Who Question Solyndra Loan Are Not Patriots!

During a “Real Time” Panel discussion hosted by Bill Maher, our communist buddy Van Jones declared that those who question the government’s handling of the Solyndra loan and subsequent bankruptcy are not patriots! Coming from Van Jones, this patriot will take that as a compliment!

During the discussion, one guest even declared that Solyndra was a “very noble failure.” Really? How noble can it be to cost the American taxpayer more than half a billion dollars – when the Obama administration knew it was a bad deal from the beginning! That’s not noble. Pushing a green agenda regardless of the risks is not noble – it’s arrogant and stupid!

Van Jones, who has launched a fall progressive offensive against the Tea Party, responded to the Solyndra failure by saying:

This is a Bush loan guarantee program. It’s George Bush’s program… Don’t get mad at Obama for trying to stand our company up, be mad at China for knocking them down.. and rather than Republicans standing with the President to get our industry going, they say, “Hey, take our critical industries as long as Obama gets a bad rap.” These are not patriots, these are not patriots!“

First, Van Jones is correct – the Department of Energy green loan program did begin as a Bush program. However, what Van Jones is not telling you is that the Bush administration resoundingly rejected the Solyndra loan application. Despite being shelved, within two months, the incoming Obama administration had resurrected the application against all advice and fast-tracked it for political reasons. Once again, the blame Bush argument is an epic failure.

Second, Van Jones can argue about China’s influence on the global green market until he’s blue in the face but it has nothing to do with an unsustainable company – Solyndra – that makes solar panels for six dollars a piece and then sells them for three! China or no China, the company is going to go bankrupt!

It was a recipe for disaster and everybody knew it. The Obama administration simply didn’t care about the economics of the deal – it only cared about the politics of the loan. Politics that included a radical green agenda and a desire to reward political supporters and financial contributors.

Bil Maher added, “In a new industry, some companies are going to fail. That’s not a scandal. When we were trying to get to the moon, some rockets blew up.”

That’s like comparing apples and oranges. There is a huge difference between private venture capital firms making financial decisions to back a developing technology and the government doing it. In the case of private investors, they make the decision based purely on economics and if they are wrong – they alone bear the financial loses.

However, when government tries to pick winners and losers, all taxpayers are put at risk and are on the hook if the government is wrong – which it often is! Especially when the government makes the decision based on political motivations and against the advice of economic experts and advisors!

This is clearly evident when former Governor Jennifer Granholm (D-MI) told the panel, “When you’re investing in upstream technologies, some are going to fail. But if you place no bets, you loose every single time.”

That’s why government has no business in the “bet placing” business! I don’t want Obama – or any administration – using my tax dollars to bet at the track! My hard earned tax dollars should go towards paying government expenses – not financing risky business ventures! I didn’t give you permission to risk my money! Granholm is a perfect example of liberal elitism. She believes she has the right to do whatever she wants with our money and the audacity to think she actually knows better than us – and the markets! Absolute foolishness!

I’m all for private venture capital – just not federal government venture capital! Private investors are highly equipped to determine the risk-reward potential for a given investment, while government bureaucrats and elected officials are not! They need to stick to managing their own personal investment accounts and stay out of the venture capital arena when it comes to taxpayer funds!

The Van Jones assertion that those who question this deal are not patriots is absurd. Except, that is, when viewed from a politically-motivated progressive mindset! Only in their futile world could we be considered un-American and not true patriots!

Finally, what Van Jones and the panel is completely missing is that Solyndra is a scandal not because it failed but because:

• It was a risky investment made with taxpayer money and little to no oversight
• The administration knew it was a bad investment but made it anyway
• The loan involved investors that were major donors to Obama
• The Department of Energy modified the loan to put those investors in front of the taxpayers – AFTER it knew the company was going to go bankrupt

Those are just some of the reasons why Solyndra is a major scandal for the Obama administration – and will only continue to grow! Obama is all but ignoring the mounting scandal and the mainstream media is white-washing the troubling facts. Patriots are not! We’re looking at for the folks and asking the necessary and reasonable questions!

A Few Related Common Sense Articles on the Solyndra Scandal:

• Solyndra Becoming Tip of a Massive Obama Corruption Iceberg!
• Solyndra Scandal Deepens – What Did Obama Know and When?
• Federal Financing Bank – The Personal Green Bank of Obama

© 2011, Mr. Common Sense. All rights reserved.

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Mr. Common Sense – who has written 148 posts on A Return to Common Sense.

Defending Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness by providing the people with common sense commentary. The key to restoring America to greatness is an educated citizenry equipped with critical-thinking skills. Follow on Twitter: @Common_Sense4U

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Tags: Bill Maher, Department of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, Obama, scandals, Solyndra, Van Jones