Ari Fleischer just went on the air and claimed that in fact that auto plant in Janesville, Wisconsin didn’t go under on George Bush’s watch — in contrast to our reporting and that of every other news organization which has looked at this question.
I looked around. And Fleischer seemed to be referring to this, from Politifact …
By December 2008, when President George W. Bush authorized nearly $14 billion in loans to General Motors and Chrysler, both of which were near financial collapse, GM had already warned it might close the Janesville plant because of sagging sport-utility vehicle sales. The plant was effectively shut down on Dec. 23, 2008, when GM ceased production of SUVs there and laid off 1,200 workers. (Several dozen workers stayed on another four months to finish an order of small- to medium-duty trucks for Isuzu Motors.) [emphasis added]
So in other words, since Fleischer undoubtedly got the reference from the Romney camp, they’re hanging their hat on the few dozen workers who stayed on to finish the final order from Isuzu.
