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Solyndra: Politics infused Obama energy programs
Meant to create jobs and cut reliance on foreign oil, Obamas green-technology program was infused with politics at every level, The Washington Post found in an analysis of thousands of memos, company records and internal e-mails. Political considerations were raised repeatedly by company investors, Energy Department bureaucrats and White House officials.The records, some previously unreported, show that when warned that financial disaster might lie ahead, the administration remained steadfast in its support for Solyndra. The documents reviewed by The Post, which began examining the clean-technology program a year ago, provide a detailed look inside the day-to-day workings of the upper levels of the Obama administration. They also give an unprecedented glimpse into high-level maneuvering by politically connected clean-technology investors. They show that as Solyndra tottered, officials discussed the political fallout from its troubles, the optics in Washington and the impact that the companys failure could have on the presidents prospects for a second term. Rarely, if ever, was there discussion of the impact that Solyndras collapse would have on laid-off workers or on the development of clean- energy technology. Whats so troubling is that politics seems to be the dominant factor, said Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group. Theyre not talking about what the taxpayers are losing; theyre not talking about the failure of the technology, whether we bet on the wrong horse. What they are talking about is How are we going to manage this politically? Posted by: Beavis 2011-12-26 |
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