Paranoia Strikes Deep

And it certainly has hit "Diersen", who blogs at Illinoize and at Illinois Review. Today, Diersen claims that his co-workers [Diersen spent much of his life on the government payroll] "to make an anti-American statement. . . started buying foreign nameplate cars as soon as they became widely available."

Fascinating, deeply paranoid (buying a car to make an anti-American statement? I'm sure there are less expensive ways), and most likely, completely untrue.

Diersen talks a lot about his Corvette. Does he talk about how much of it was made with parts outside the U.S.? Did Diersen buy his Vette to make an anti-American statement?

Moreover, he misses some obvious points which would counter his claim that his co-workers were out to get America. For instance, foreign car makers responded to the 1970s gas crisis by making fuel efficient cars. American manufacturers were slow to pick up that trend. It seems likely that Diersen's payrolling pals bought those foreign cars because they got 15 miles per gallon more than the American products did.

Finally, Diersen ignores the truth behind why so many of his Vette parts are made outside the U.S. The reason is that because his union-busting pals in the GOP were able to gain control in certain states. They passed laws busting those unions. Companies saw that they could pay lower wages there, so they closed plants paying real wages to Americans, and they shipped those jobs south. What happened next? Those companies saw that by continuing to move south -- across the border -- they could pay even less to the workers. That great move south -- which destroyed jobs for Americans -- started with Diersen's pals in the GOP.

Maybe they did it to make an anti-American statement. Maybe not, but that sure was the result.