Solyndra:Watergate = Apples:Hand Grenades

by Stuart Shapiro

I’ve largely been ignoring Rep. Bachmann and Herman Cain lately because of their long term irrelevance to the future of this country (except when they make Governor Romney say something he will reverse in July).  Sometimes, however, they come out with a whopper that is too hard to ignore.

Appearing Friday afternoon on Fox News, Michele Bachmann made a striking accusation against the Obama administration, presenting a severe conspiracy surrounding the government’s involvement in the failed Solyndra solar power company.

“It just stinks on every level. This makes Watergate look like child’s play,” Bachmann declared — referring to the vast criminal network that had been operated out of the Nixon White House and re-election campaign.

Um, no.  Solyndra was a bad decision.  I’d go so far as to say that someone should be fired for it.  On the scale of bad decisions though, it doesn’t come close to going to war in Iraq (the standard by which bad decisions should be judged).  And when it comes to illegal activities, well, that is a different category altogether.  And Watergate still rules the roost there.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.