Liberal Talk Radio

Funny thread going on over at Kos right now… 278 comments and counting. Kos brought up his bad clutch in his Subaru and it got everyone talking. Are liberals more likely to drive standard transmissions? Anecdotally, I think so. A disproportional amount of my liberal friends drive stick. Hmm… let’s posit a few reasons (I’ve beeen drinking again, folks…):

1. Liberals are cheap
2. Liberals are pragmatic (the nice way of saying #1)
3. Liberals love the “authenticity” of the stick — it’s the automotive equivalent of organic food

I’m probably closest to #3, though I have to say that I just simply think stick shifts are more fun. Maybe liberals are just more fun.

Other things we find out from the comments section: they drive Volvos or Toyotas, all of which have ridiculously high mileage. Some drive Priuses, and LOVE to talk about it.

P.S.: some of the comments on the site also begrudge Kos for buying a Japanese car (non-union!!). I have to say I find that odd. One of the commenters all the way down finally gets it right:

GM left us before we left GM. My dad’s GM auto parts warehouse closed in 1989, when GM phased out its parts manufacturing. The car is now only put together with American hands.

Most of GM’s wealth and holdings are overseas. Believe me, they avoid their lion’s share of the taxes. And their corporate leadership is off-the-chart Republican.

Now, lots of cars are put together with American hands even though the companies may be foreign-owned. And more and more of those foreign managers, particularly Japanese choose to live in the US where their standard of living is better.

I am convinced that in this case, the globalization is offering us a better product and improving working conditions for auto workers. GM & Ford did very little to improve working conditions without being strongarmed by the unions.

Not so with many of the overseas companies, many of which offer much better benefits and conditions for their employees. Unions are important and very much needed. But I have no love lost for GM. They never did right by this nation or by its workers.

I try to buy mass produced items from good, quality companies whereever I can find them. If they treat their workers right, why should I care about where they live on the earth?

Exactly.