Clinton, in the Indiana ad below, complains that Bush let a defense plant in Valparaiso move to China, and promises that she'll stand up to the Chinese. It's supposed to show how tough she is on trade -- or, how tough she's become since she was First Lady and the Clinton administration pushed to give China most-favored-nation trading status.
Anyway, there's one possible embarrassment in the ad, according to the Indianapolis Star:
"Magnequench moved its equipment to China in 2003. But the sale of the company to a Chinese consortium was approved in 1995, during the Bill Clinton administration. In 1988, Congress gave the president authority to block foreign acquisitions that could threaten national security."
Of course, how was he to have any idea that just because they were buying it, the Chinese might actually want to move it to China some day? Full text of the story is after the jump. Here's the Clinton ad:
Indianapolis Star, April 17, 2008:
Clinton ad: Bush to blame for Indiana plant's closing
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's second campaign ad in Indiana blames President Bush for the move to China of an Indiana plant that made magnets for smart bombs.
"George Bush could have stopped it, but he didn't," Clinton says after the camera shows the empty Valparaiso plant and former Magnequench workers. "American workers should build America's defense."
Magnequench moved its equipment to China in 2003. But the sale of the company to a Chinese consortium was approved in 1995, during the Bill Clinton administration.
In 1988, Congress gave the president authority to block foreign acquisitions that could threaten national security.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an interagency panel that reviews foreign acquisitions, approved the Magnequench sale in 1995 after a 30-day review.
The committee had justification to object but did not recommend that the president block or suspend the transaction, according to an analysis by the Congressional Research Service.
A spokesman for the Treasury Department, where the committee is housed, said investigations by the committee are not public, so she can't comment on the Magnequench case.
Clinton spokesman Jonathan Swain said the 1995 deal was approved because the company promised to keep production in the United States.
When that didn't happen, Swain said, Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Merrillville, asked the Bush administration in 2003 to review the old approval or take steps to block the move.
The lawmakers argued that moving production raised concerns about maintaining a significant source of domestic production of rare-earth magnets, as 80 percent of the magnets for the Pentagon's precision-guided missiles were made in the Valparaiso plant.
Swain said Bayh and Visclosky did not get a response from the administration.
Comments (2)
This is exactly what I've been saying on blogs for month's. Bill Clinton sold America to the highest bidder, 'campaign donations'.
This is why I think the pair of them are dangerous in the WH, reckless, irrisponsible and truthfully....unstable.
Magnequench started relocating the company to China in June 2000, not 2003 as claimed by Hillary.
GA Powders, a subsidiary of Magnequench was relocated to China in June 2000, WHILE BILL WAS PRESIDENT.
This completely counters Hillary's argument that although Bill allowed the sale, it was Bush that let it relocate to China.