POSSIBLE SCANDAL BREWING - AT 7:31 A.M. ET:  I doubt if the mainstream media will show any enthusiasm for this story, but there is a possible scandal brewing around the decision to abruptly close a number of Chrysler dealerships.  This is the beginning of a potentially explosive story that, if handled correctly by the Republicans, can have serious implications.  The issue:  Was the list of Chrysler dealers to be closed based on real economic criteria, or on the political contributions of the dealers?  (Yes, that's a serious question.)  Blogger Doug Ross summarizes, in a post that is making its way, big time, around the internet:

A tipster alerted me to an interesting assertion. A cursory review by that person showed that many of the Chrysler dealers on the closing list were heavy Republican donors.

To quickly review the situation, I took all dealer owners whose names appeared more than once in the list. And, of those who contributed to political campaigns, every single one had donated almost exclusively to GOP candidates. While this isn't an exhaustive review, it does have some ominous implications if it can be verified.

However, I also found additional research online at Scribd (author unknown), which also appears to point to a highly partisan decision-making process.

Consider the partial list of Chrysler dealership owners, listed below. You'll notice that all were opponents of Barack Obama, most through sponsorship of GOP candidates and organizations, but a handful through Barack's Democrat rivals (Hillary Clinton and John Edwards in 2008, for example).

COMMENT:  All right, more research needed, but the preliminary information looks devastating.  As Ross asks, "Does it seem odd that the list of closed dealerships appears to have contributed a grand total of $200 to Barack Obama and millions to GOP candidates/causes?"

That question must be answered.  The issue should not be allowed to drop, or to be ridiculed by MSNBC.

May 27,  2009