Fact-check: Text of 2008 Romney Op-Ed Debunks Obama’s Auto-Bailout Attack

Fact-check: Text of 2008 Romney op-ed debunks Obama’s auto-bailout attack

Excerpts from:  Matthew Boyle Investigative Reporter at The Daily Caller  10/23/2012

The text of a 2008 op-ed on the auto-bailout by Republican nominee Mitt Romney debunks attacks by President Barack Obama, who accused Romney of changing his position during the third and final presidential debate on Monday night.

 Debate 3 - Barack Obama and Mitt Romney Florida 2012
More:

The Romney op-ed both candidates were referring to ran in The New York Times on Nov. 18, 2008 under the headline “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt,” and appears to support Romney’s position.
In the op-ed, Romney said he thought the government should play a role in handling a managed bankruptcy. “The American auto industry is vital to our national interest as an employer and as a hub for manufacturing,” Romney wrote in the op-ed. “A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs. The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk.”
“In a managed bankruptcy, the federal government would propel newly competitive and viable automakers, rather than seal their fate with a bailout check,” Romney added.
Under the Obama administration, Detroit still went bankrupt. General Motors and Chrysler sank into bankruptcy, but instead of having open bankruptcy proceedings in a court, the Obama White House ran the proceedings. Many people won as a result of the bailout, but many others lost, too. Perhaps the biggest loss was that of the 20,000 non-union Delphi salaried retirees, who lost their pensions and benefits programs as they were headed into retirement as a result of a Treasury Department and White House decision

GM Bailout
Inspector General Neil Barofsky- The Overseer of Tarp Part I
Inspector General Neil Barofsky- The Overseer of Tarp Part II


 TARP Overseer Neil Barofsky on Bailouts & Obama