Governor Rick Snyder (R - Michigan)
Generally, in this country, new cars are produced by car companies and sold by car dealerships. There's one exception, however. The new Tesla, a very expensive, premium electric car, is sold to consumers directly - no dealerships involved.
Holy Henry Ford! That's not good, say the car companies and the car dealerships! It's not good because some folks who might become Tesla dealers won't be able to increase their personal fortunes and it could lead to other people producing cars and selling them on their own, and omigod, everyone in the car bizness is going to lose!
In fact, Republicans in several states have already passed legislation making direct sales from car company to consumers illegal.
The latest state considering such a proposal is Michigan, where a bill is sitting on the governor's desk awaiting his signature to ban direct sales of cars to consumers. The guv has until Tuesday to sign the bill.
You can bet your bippy he'll sign it! For one thing he's a Republican. But then wouldn't dare do anything else as big names in the automotive industry, such as Ford, have been funding his campaign coffers for a long time!
Isn't it interesting that when push comes to shove, Republican business magnates tend to think freedom in this country is overrated. They don't want to regulate carbon emissions or greenhouse gasses or air travel or financial transactions, but when they see a threat to their unconscionable profits, they cry foul and pull out the rule book which they rewrite to their satisfaction!
Tesla, in their view, should not enjoy the same rights as Chase or ING or even Burger King. Freedom is good only if it doesn't threaten their bottom line.
If you want to know more about Tesla, click here.