PrintMay 24, 2009
Bipartisan Team to Destroy Sanctity of Contracts
As if any more proof were needed, here's further evidence that the difference between Republicans and Democrats is practically nil in many parts of the country.
The St. Louis Business Journal reported on Friday, Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Kit Bond (R-MO) have sent a joint letter to President Obama "seeking answers to concerns raised by Chrysler and General Motors dealerships in Missouri that learned last week their contracts will be terminated."
The article goes on to say,
"Auto dealers statewide have expressed frustration to McCaskill and Bond about the lack of information they have received from Chrysler and GM, saying they didn't know the criteria used to make the contract termination decisions."
Then there's this from the same article: "Other Missouri and Illinois lawmakers have pushed to keep the dealerships open."
There is no doubt that Dealership Agreements (contracts) between dealers and automobile manufacturers include specific bilateral termination provisions. If those termination provisions were violated by either the dealer or the manufacturer, or even if one party cared to challenge the validity of termination, the remedy is litigation NOT whining to politicians. Frankly, it is no surprise that Democrats would miss this point but for the distinguished Republican Senator from Missouri to join the error is jaw-dropping.
Note to Dealerships: If you've got a legal leg, file suit.
Aside from this seeming triviality, note that politicians-turned-advocates appear intent on trapping Chrysler and GM in a no-win-bankruptcy-sure populous gambit: If established Dealership Agreements are subject to the whims of utopian ideals these manufacturers are destined for extinction rather than mere bankruptcy. Then what happens to the dealership network?
This episode is yet another outgrowth of governmental interference in business. Now that the gauntlet has been thrown, momentum will no doubt gather against the dealership closings. Never mind what the contracts were. Politics is placed in command of the private economy.
Note to politicians: When bad things happen, people suffer, wishing won't make it different. If the whole auto business mess is not already in an infinite twilight-zone vortex, it will be soon.
