Republican lawmakers to General Motors: We still hate you

Since its federally financed bankruptcy in 2009, General Motors Co. has made a remarkable turnaround. Sales, profits and employment are rising. GM even regained its crown as the world's largest automaker last year.

All of that is a terrible blow to Republican members of Congress who vehemently opposed the Obama administration's $50 billion bailout of GM two years ago. They may not have said so publicly, but many would no doubt liked to have seen GM struggling, at the least, to validate their view that the federal government had no business aiding a money-losing private business.

But, alas, there has been some good news for the GM haters in Washington--that greenie, government-subsidized Chevy Volt caught fire! The Volt, which is primarily powered by electricity and is eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, represents everything that is wrong with auto making to the free market, "drill, baby, drill" crowd.



House Republicans are in full investigation mode, attempting to put doubts about the Volt's safety in the minds of consumers. And they are trying to prove what they know must be true--that the federal agency charged with investigating such matters covered up the Volt battery fire to protect the government's 26 percent ownership share of GM.

In addition to holding a hearing on the matter Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform also released a report alleging that an "unnatural relationship" between GM and the Obama administration may have resulted in a cover-up of the Volt battery fire by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The battery caught fire last June, three weeks after a NHTSA crash test of the Volt. GM has since announced it will beef up the structure around the battery, but insists that Volt owners are in no danger.

"As one customer put it, if they couldn't cut him out of the vehicle in three weeks, he'd have bigger problems to worry about," GM CEO Dan Akerson testified to the oversight committee on Wednesday.

Akerson also lamented that the Volt has become a "political football" in a presidential election year. The success of the government's bailout of GM and Chrysler has regularly been cited by Democratic President Barack Obama as he seeks re-election in November. So, of course, the Republicans must vilify the automakers for their "unnatural relationship" with Obama.

All of this led me to wonder where Akerson, a Republican who once was an executive at the heavy hitting private equity firm, The Carlyle Group, was placing his political wagers these days.

Like most careful corporate executives, Akerson has hedged his bets. Last September, Akerson gave $5,000 to Republican Rep. Dave Camp of Midland, according to OpenSecrets.org. He also gave U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat, $5,000 in May.

But if I were Akerson, I'd be tempted to not give another cent to Republicans, who seem determined to damage GM in their effort to regain the White House.