Dealergate . . . Its Better Than Watergate

It is an ancient custom for kings to confiscate the property of disfavored subjects and distribute it among their supporters to cement the king's power. Indeed, it is a tradition as old as non-democratic government itself. In the modern era, it has been a particular hallmark of communist governments. It is clealry unconstitutional for our government to do this under the 5th Amendment which reads, in pertinent part,:

. . . nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

In fact, until a few days ago, it was impossible to envision something like this even being attempted in the U.S. That was until people started shining a light on what has been happening with dealerships as part of the reorganization by Chryseler and GM pursuant to plans of Obama's "auto czar." A clear pattern is developing, though it is still awaiting more data. It appears that, among the many dealerships being cancelled by those organizations - all seem to be Republicans or dealers who did not affirmatively support Obama. If you supported Obama, you not only keep your dealership, but you get the huge benefit of your nearby competition getting axed.

It is clear that many of the dealerships getting axed were quite profitable - thus negating any claim that the decision to kill them was based on economic considerations. If the decision of which dealships to axe is being directed by the Car Czar, with GM and Chrysler merely acting as intermediaries, then this act would be as unconstitutional as if done directly by the White House itself. If all of this in fact holds up to further scrutiny, then it is an unconstitutional act whose illegality dwarfs Watergate, where the only illegal acts were spying and coverup.

Doug Ross broke this story several days ago. He has since updated his post. Here are some of the things we know now, based on review of partial data:

- The initial pass at the list of shuttered dealers showed they had donated, in the aggregate, millions to Republican candidates and PACs and a total of $200 to Barack Obama.

- Dealer Jim Anderer told Fox News' Neil Cavuto he can't comprehend how his dealership can be among those killed: he stated that his sales volume ranking is in the top 2 percent of all dealers.

Then there is this from Rick Moran, writing at the American Thinker:

Now comes more evidence that these dealer closings were politically motivated.

Through Reliapundit at Astute Bloggers, we learn that the lawyer for the dealers being torpedoed believes that the closings were ordered not by Chrysler, but by the White House: (via Reuters )

A lawyer for Chrysler dealers facing closure as part of the automaker's bankruptcy reorganization said on Tuesday he believes Chrysler executives do not support a plan to eliminate a quarter of its retail outlets.

Lawyer Leonard Bellavia, of Bellavia Gentile & Associates, who represents some of the terminated dealers, said he deposed Chrysler President Jim Press on Tuesday and came away with the impression that Press did not support the plan.

"It became clear to us that Chrysler does not see the wisdom of terminating 25 percent of its dealers," Bellavia said. "It really wasn't Chrysler's decision. They are under enormous pressure from the President's automotive task force."

The dealer closings were not ordered by the bankruptcy judge but by the White House. This puts a whole new light on how the dealers to be closed were chosen and, more importantly, who did it.

And do see the post from Gateway Pundit:

Now there's this...

RLJ-McLarty-Landers is owned by three men. One was the former Chief of Staff for President Clinton.One is the founder of Black Entertainment Television and a huge Obama supporter.

All 6 of their Chrysler dealerships will remain open. And, get this... Their local competitors have been eliminated!

Doug Ross calculates the odds of all six of these dealerships remaining open while all of their competition has been axed as being to be about "one ten-millionth of one percent." Do see his calculations.

Bottom line. This is starting to stink more and more. This has the potentail to be a huge scandal. Any bets on whether the MSM will take notice?