When It Comes To This Administration, Where There’s Smoke…

Oh, wait – maybe that isn’t the best cliche when talking about a green energy company. Check that – a green energy company that’s gone belly up. After the White House evidently had a hand in this company getting $535 MILLION dollars of our money in 2009. Oh, and after Obama was touting this company as a “success” story. Well, yeah – they were successful in getting a big chunk of our money, so there’s that.

Yep, this is yet another example of the shenanigans Obama and his Administration have pulled. Well, either a shenanigan, or sheer incompetence. Take your pick. Here’s the story from ABC News:

House investigators said they have uncovered evidence that White House officials became personally involved in an Energy Department review of a hot-button $535 million loan guarantee to the now-failed California solar company Solyndra.

The allegation surfaced in a letter House Energy Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) sent to the White House Thursday night, saying he planned to accelerate efforts to understand an investment deal that may have left taxpayers out half a billion dollars.

“We have learned from our investigation that White House officials monitored Solyndra’s application and communicated with [Department of Energy] and Office of Management and Budget officials during the course of their review,” the letter says.

[...]

“How did this company, without maybe the best economic plan, all of a sudden get to the head of the line?” Upton told ABC News in an interview this week. “We want to know who made this decision … and we’re not going to stop until we get those answers.”

White House officials have said in interviews that they did not intervene in the Solyndra deal or others benefiting companies backed by supporters of the president. Yet the administration, from Obama to the Department of Energy, has very publicly praised the loan guarantee.

In 2009, the Obama administration hailed the Solyndra loan as the first in a series of federal infusions for “green energy” firms that held the potential to clean up the environment and create jobs. But earlier this week, Solyndra abruptly closed its doors, announced it would file for bankruptcy and laid off more than 1,100 workers.

While Energy Department officials steadfastly vouched for Solyndra — even after an earlier round of layoffs raised eyebrows — other federal agencies and industry analysts for months questioned the viability of the company. Peter Lynch, a longtime solar industry analyst, told ABC News the company’s fate should have been obvious from the start.

“Here’s the bottom line,” Lynch said. “It costs them $6 to make a unit. They’re selling it for $3. In order to be competitive today, they have to sell it for between $1.5 and $2. That is not a viable business plan.”

I would say not. It sounds like a losing proposition from the get-go. Gee, no wonder Obama and his minions supported it. Ahem. Oh, and I am sure it is a total coincidence that one of the main investors for Solyndra, George Kaiser, raised a boatload of money for Obama’s election campaign, and gave over $50,000 split between Obama For America (Destruction) and the DSCC. I am certain there is no connection at all between the amount of money execs at this company pooled for Obama. No sirree…Cough, cough.

Back to how this company was able to secure this loan – besides the donations, that is:

Other flags have been raised about how the Energy Department pushed the deal forward. The Center for Public Integrity’s iWatch News and ABC disclosed that Energy Department officials announced the support for Solyndra even before final marketing and legal reviews were in. To government auditors, that move raised questions about just how fully the department vetted the deal — and assessed its risk to taxpayers — before signing off.

The White House’s Office of Budget and Management viewed the arrangement as a riskier bet to taxpayers than DOE had. That forced the government to set aside millions more in case of a default, iWatch reported last month.

[snip]

The Obama administration has said the loan to Solyndra came only after a thorough review by Energy Department analysts, and that no one from the White House exerted pressure to influence the decision to back the loan in 2009, or to restructure the financing this year after it became clear Solyndra was not thriving financially.

Asked about the wisdom of throwing its support behind Solyndra, Press Secretary Jay Carney said there is always risk in such a financing. But in the case of Solyndra and other green energy firms, he said, the risk is worth it. (Click here to read the rest.)

Uh, yeah,I’ll say there’s a risk, especially when all evidence points to this company not doing well – laying off people should have been a bit of a clue. I would hardly say wasting over half a billion dollars of taxpayers’ money is worth it, though. But I guess that is what I am not Obama’s spokesweasel. That, and I can’t stand the man. But you know, those are the only things standing in the way.

Meanwhile, Obama has figured out another way to funnel our money out of the country’s coffers. Oh, and this is a god one. You’ll love this. In his infinite wisdom, Obama slipped into his “Stimulus” package, a tax credit. And this one is a doozy. Want to know who benefited to the tune of $4.2 BILLION – that is a B? Illegal immigrants. Get this – it is four times as much as they managed to get 5 years ago.

Isn’t that just nuts? No wonder our economy is going to hell in a handbasket when you have the president figuring out ways to give away money for seemingly political purposes.

Seriously – how much longer can we, as a nation, withstand this kind of undermining payback? I have said it before, and I’ll say it again: 2012 cannot come soon enough for me, or the USA.