FOLLOWUP: Alec Baldwin clarifies his auto industry ramblings... sort of
To pull the plug means to stop, give up, lay off, discontinue, cease. It's clear, concise language that leaves little room for misinterpretation. That is, apparently, unless you're Alec Baldwin. In a recent blog entry on Huffington Post, the actor had harsh words regarding the Detroit auto industry, blaming Motown for everything from global warming to wars over oil. He ended his diatribe with a simple message: pull the plug.
After a wave of controversy and, we can only assume, plenty of hate mail, Mr. Baldwin has issued a clarification of sorts. The 30 Rock star now says that he never said that he wants union workers to lose their jobs. You're probably wondering what a couple hundred thousand blue collar workers will do if they're not producing cars and trucks, right? Well, it turns out Alec doesn't want D3 automakers to go quietly into the night, either. Baldwin writes:
"I state, by using the phrase "pull the plug," that taxpayer funds should no longer be made available to bail out U.S. automotive corporations. They should file for bankruptcy, reorganize and emerge as wholly reconfigured entities, perhaps with labor owning significant positions in those companies."In his first op-ed, Baldwin stated "I'd like to buy an American car, but I'd feel like a fool doing that now." He then went on to say that he was likely going to purchase a Japanese hybrid built in the American South. Just what the United Auto Workers union wants to hear.
Click through to the jump for more of Baldwin's best.
[Source: Huffington Post]
We pointed out in our earlier post about Baldwin's blog entry that the only Japanese hybrid made in the U.S. was the Camry, and others must have pointed out the same thing. In Baldwin's new entry, he states: "Two comments that stuck out to me. One is that I should look into a Ford Fusion, which I will do ASAP. If the best hybrid is American-made, I am elated. The other is that I am anti-labor."
We love the Fusion and we wouldn't want to discourage anyone from buying one, but it may not be the best gesture to smooth things over with organized labor. The Fusion is made in Mexico by a non-American, non-UAW workforce. Don't worry Alec, you can still opt for the made in Kansas City Ford Escape. It gets 33 mpg city and it has soy foam seats.
If you're dying to hear who is responsible for the current mess in Detroit, Baldwin provides a simple answer in his newest editorial:
"The rank and file of the UAW have three people to blame for this: Big Three brass, Washington chickenshits who let Detroit roll over them, and the UAW leadership itself, which let its members play in traffic, if you will, for decades, until a fleet of better made Japanese cars came down that road and you know the rest."Awesome, we're sure the union feels better already.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Cary 3:33PM (5/22/2009)
???
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tuxchown 1:35AM (5/23/2009)
He is just clarifying that he is a ignorant waffling t*at.
Xa 3:33PM (5/22/2009)
yeah.......... so what ever happened to steven baldwin? or for that matter, steven segal. you know, segal kinda sounds like seagull.
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larry a 3:39PM (5/22/2009)
I'd love to here what Stephen Baldwin would say, did anyone see him debate Ron Paul on marijuana legalization on CNN? He got his ass handed to him it was hilarious.
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James 4:19PM (5/22/2009)
Isn't he the Baldwin who supported the...McCain-Palin tandem.
FAIL
Jake B 5:23PM (5/22/2009)
LEGALIZE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111
Smegley 3:40PM (5/22/2009)
I wish Hollywood would die and go away already.
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Edsel 3:41PM (5/22/2009)
Why do we care what professional entertainers think about things they know nothing about? This is no different than asking hairstylists or chefs for their advice on the Detroit debacle?
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Gary 3:52PM (5/22/2009)
I'm sure that most us who frequent this web site fall into the same category... we can't know it all either... the auto industry is a complicated thing... the current troubles are not due to ONLY unions, or ONLY management, or ONLY credit markets, ONLY this, ONLY that. It's all of it.
Taglane 3:43PM (5/22/2009)
I'm sorry. My mommy told me not to listen to crackheads.
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Jim 3:46PM (5/22/2009)
Mr. Baldwin, we still don't care what you think.
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iamhoff 3:48PM (5/22/2009)
Like so many, I love how the Hollyweird elite tend to spout off about topics of which they know practically nothing, which then tends to get them in trouble with those who claim to be on the same side. Stick to 30 Rock, at least you minimize the damage you can do that way.
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HCL3 3:50PM (5/22/2009)
Who cares whether it's made in America, Europe, Mexico, or the Moon... just buy what you like.
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Gary 3:54PM (5/22/2009)
There is something about buying local. If everybody in Town A did all its spending at Town B down the road, Town A would become a very bad place to live very fast.
Jim 4:07PM (5/22/2009)
"There is something about buying local. If everybody in Town A did all its spending at Town B down the road, Town A would become a very bad place to live very fast."
See: Detroit, MI; Gary, IN;
tankd0g 5:52PM (5/22/2009)
If everyone in Town A only bought things in town A, we'd call them Amish, because that's about how much variety Town A would have available to them.
Coolio 3:55PM (5/22/2009)
Actors are intelligent sounding when they are reading lines written by someone else. Stick to the script, boys and girls, at least then you'll sound intelligent.
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geo.stewart 6:26PM (5/22/2009)
ahh, so that's why Obama has teleprompters. Otherwise, he would sound like Biden, or Baldwin?
Mr.Oak 4:41AM (5/23/2009)
So wiseass, A Columbia U grad, and President of the Harvard Law Review = the two half-wits you mentioned? And GWB = Einstein? Remember he was the one who squeaked through Yale with a C average, and so stupid, that he couldn't accurately read the tele prompter.
BoxerFanatic 3:57PM (5/22/2009)
Why is Baldwin via Huffington Post making headlines on Autoblog???
This isn't even worth a foot note.
WHO THE HELL CARES???
There are much more serious things at stake here. Like what color the next cosmetic special edition mustang variant will be, or something equally mind-numbing.
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