Congress Plays Monday Morning Quarterback on Chrysler and GM

In the "closing the barn door after the horse has left" tradition Congress tells the Obama administration to take a "time out" on the GM and Chrysler restructuring.

While many auto plants are confined to Rust Belt states, the loss of car dealership jobs affect communities throughout the country. With an upcoming Memorial Day recess looming, members of Congress are expected to field questions about the job losses.

While GM has not made its list public, Chrysler has identified 789 dealerships in 49 states that are scheduled to be closed. Only Alaska was spared.

"These dealers deserve a little more than a pink slip in the mail," wrote Missouri Sens. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, and Kit Bond, a Republican

Yup, the closing of 789 Chrysler dealerships finally wakes up the slumbering Congress. The problem is that the dealerships seem to have been closed with not much thought involved. From what I have been reading many of them are still making decent money and are profitable. While others have been selling cars for decades in the same place and are probably fixtures in their communities.

I would be willing to bet that these car dealerships gave thousands of dollars to politicians in their communities as well. So of course they get on the horn and called in their favors with their local Senator or Representative. Let's see if Congress makes any headway especially because a GM bankruptcy will probably shutter thousands of dealerships and lay off tens of thousands of workers and might cost a few Congressmen their jobs as well.