I guess Romney is going to skip Michigan when he runs again

Romney: Detroit 3 should go bankruptRejection of auto aid called a slap in faceBY CHRIS CHRISTOFFFREE PRESS LANSING BUREAU CHIEF As a Republican presidential candidate this year, Mitt Romney said he'd help the U.S. auto industry retool and recover. Romney, a Michigan native and son of former Gov. George Romney, stunned even some Michigan political backers on Wednesday by saying that the automakers should go bankrupt rather than obtain a $25-billion government bailout. "A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs," Romney said in a New York Times opinion column that derided auto executives' pay and perks, high labor costs and inferior products. "I can't believe those words tumbled out of his mouth," said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, one of Romney's influential supporters for the Republican presidential primary this year. "I think Mitt is way off base on this one. I'm disappointed because I'm a big fan of his." Patterson said the industry needs a government bailout to avoid collapse. He said bankruptcy would chase away car buyers from Detroit Three products. Consumers still would fly on an airline that is in Chapter 11 reorganization, but "You're not going to spend $30,000 on a car while the companies are in Chapter 11," Patterson said. "If that company isn't around, what are you going to do with that piece of junk you can't get parts for?" David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, said Romney has incorrect notions of the industry, adding, "We see a lot of people who say, 'I drive a car, therefore I know the auto industry.' " Cole said independent research has shown consumers won't buy cars from a company in bankruptcy if they can buy other brands. Even more troubling, he said, is that automakers' bankruptcy would put their suppliers out of business because they couldn't absorb losses. And that, Cole said, could collapse the entire U.S. auto industry. Romney, in his Times column and in broadcast interviews Wednesday, said a structured bankruptcy should be backed by the government to guarantee vehicle warranties and financing. He did not return calls seeking comment on Wednesday. Before he was Massachusetts' governor, Romney ran a private equity investment firm that specialized in leveraged buyouts of struggling companies. In the op-ed piece, Romney said bankruptcy would allow the companies to rewrite labor contracts and eliminate retiree costs and excessive pay for executives. State House Minority Leader Craig DeRoche, R-Novi, one of Romney's supporters in his presidential bid, said while he doesn't necessarily agree with bankruptcy as a solution -- he favors some government financial aid -- Romney makes good points about the need to restructure the auto industry. But Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano called Romney's suggestions a slap in the face to Michigan voters after he promised to help the state's auto industry when he ran for president. "It's all part of a shortsighted view of how they think the market will straighten this out," Ficano said.