Daily Kos

Why Lee Iacocca Is My Hero!

Mon May 22, 2006 at 09:09:12 PM PDT

I never dreamed that some people would actually read this article and come away with anything bad to say of Mr. Iacocca. Perhaps the few who did, haven't really read the article or didn't understand the snippets that I posted. It's a shame that some people can't value another person's opinion simply because the other person may happen to be wealthy. If the article were read, it would have been obvious that Mr. Iacocca has a vastly kind and generous heart and he has dedicated the last 20 years to eradicating the worst form of diabetes... autoimmune Type 1 diabetes which took his wife's life and left him searching for a cure. It is my hope that someday, people will stop discriminating on the amount of money a person may have and instead, concentrate on the deeds and words. If that level of critique were given to Lee Iacocca, I've no doubt that you would see what I see...a rare human being. An old fashioned hero in a modern day world.
For the past year, I already knew that Lee Iacocca was exceptional because of his efforts with the grassroots JoinLeeNow.org campaign to raise funds to cure the underlying autoimmunity of Type 1 Diabetes. However, this article had me gaping in amazement as I read words that were so truthful yet, depressingly, so rare. In the article he is speaking of the current administration and I'll quote a bit below but the entire article should be read to fully appreciate Mr. Iacocca's candid and honest character. It's a PDF file: http://www.joinleenow.org/...
What sort of CEOs do you think George W. Bush and his administration make? ...Well, let's see how George Bush qualifies. The people that surround him are just friends,and I think most of them are just schmucks, because I know a lot of them. Who runs the country? Cheney, who is getting old and sick and had this hunting accident. And "Rummy," Rumsfeld, whom I know real well, they?ve been together forever, and they run the country. They had Condoleezza Rice for lunch. I don't know what she's got on Bush, but, boy, he believes in her. Other than those three, the mastermind of them of all, the boy genius, is Karl Rove, slime bucket that he is. You've got to know him to see how slimy he is."
here's more:
"How would you rate the priorities Bush and his friends have set?" Forget the economy, global warming, our infrastructure of roads and bridges that are rotting away. And forget health care, which is a scandal, and is our Achilles heel. A civilization that doesn't take care of its young people and their young minds through education, and that doesn't take care of its aging parents. Do you think our priority was going to Iraq, really? They didn't have nuclear bombs that I knew of. We're in a war we should never have gotten into, and yet they haven't resolved the nuclear powers like North Korea and Iran, so the priorities are wrong. Meanwhile, it's going to be a half-trillion-dollar war in Iraq. And we brought what to them? Democracy? I think we brought them civil war. We're after oil. Hitler bombed the hell out of Romania because he wanted the oil fields. Before Pearl Harbor, we forget how we were twisting the Japanese in the wind and shutting off their oil supply. No matter what you talk about, every real confrontation is based on fossil fuel because we're just hooked on it. Selling nukes to India? Common sense has gone out the window. You can tap my phone without a warrant? Where is the media? I would think they'd be outraged at the way they?ve been conned.
on foreign policy and diplomacy:
When I go to Europe, they love Americans but they hate Bush and think he's nuts. Through the debacle of Iraq, I would have first fired all his speechmakers. "Shock and awe,...axis of evil,...dead or alive...that's old Europe, not new Europe". How can you write s--- like that without insulting your [European] friends? Those are fighting words. ...It's time for the press and the loyal opposition, the Democrats, to be enraged and obnoxious. I think the press should stop all this political correctness and just tell it the way it is and not worry where the chips fall.
There is so much more in the article, I'll link it again: http://www.joinleenow.org/... It says something about today's society when an 81 year old retired executive is the best hope to fund honest diabetes research without letting politics get in the way of what has the most potential; and on top of all that, he also has the bravery to tell the truth about the current state of affairs... so there you have it. That's why Lee Iacocca is my hero! Honesty and bravery; there's no substitute for the real thing and you know it when you see it. Mr. Iacocca has both in abundance.

Tags: honesty, bravery, JoinLeeNow, patriotism, diabetes, Lee Iacocca, privacy (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

Permalink | 33 comments

  •  Who knew? (2+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    pucklady, bebacker

    I do admire his rhetorical style: schmucks and slime bucket. Yep.

    All governments are run by liars and nothing they say should be believed - I. F. Stone

    by va dare on Mon May 22, 2006 at 09:09:47 PM PDT

    •  I read Iacocca's autobiography years ago-- (0+ / 0-)

      He was a striaght shooter then and now.

      Politically, he talked about supporting Republicans in good times and Democrats in bad times, over the course of his childhood and adult life.

      He's very pragmatic and an accomplished businessman. Say what you will about Amerian cars, but he turned Chrysler around from the brink of bankruptcy and he wasn't afraid to get help (dollars) from the federal goverment (Jimmy Carter, if I'm not mistaken) to do it.

      He was so respected after turning around Chrysler that there were many who tried to draft him to run for President.

      Believe me, consdidering what we have now, we could do much worse than Lee Iacocca, a man who despite his riches, genuinely cares for the USA.

      Political Expediency: Its The New Black!

      by BentLiberal on Wed May 24, 2006 at 01:12:04 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  'Karl Rove, slime bucket' (2+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    pucklady, bebacker

    Wow!  What a find!  I we had a real media any more, this would be front page.

  •  Way to go after them, Lee! n/t (2+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    pucklady, bebacker

    The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. - 9th Amendment

    by TracieLynn on Mon May 22, 2006 at 09:12:29 PM PDT

  •  Nice that he's doing those things. (4+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    mbc, gabbardd, Halcyon, bebacker

    He is also working on electric bicycles.

    At the same time-

    • He spent years running a some of the very companies which are directly responsible for the ecological disaster we're in now.
    • He was able to convince the government to give Chrysler ridiculously huge loans while paying himself a salary that didn't reflect the trouble that he claimed the company was in.
    • Most importantly: he covered up the dangers of the Ford Pinto.

    I think it's great that he's redeeming himself in some ways, but I would like to see him own up for his past as well.

    Flying Squid Studios - Cartoons to Rot Your Brain!

    by Arken on Mon May 22, 2006 at 09:25:23 PM PDT

    •  And one more thing: (2+ / 0-)

      Recommended by:
      Arken, bebacker

      Friend of Roy Cohen. (Sen. Joe McCarthy's #1 boy).

    •  Don't forget... (0+ / 0-)

      he also forced contract concessions down the thoats of the UAW, starting w/cutting health care benefits.  And, when Chrysler was tettering on the edge of bankruptcy, he was paid in stock options/warrants which he could exercise at a later date.   Made a damn fortune!!!!

      "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." George Santayana

      by Street Kid on Tue May 23, 2006 at 10:30:45 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Lee worked for (4+ / 0-)

      Recommended by:
      jqb, dwahzon, newfie, AllanTBG

      several years @ Chrysler for 1 dollar a year.

      Chrysler was the first company to pay back a government loan & did that faster than the company signed up to do.

      So after Chrysler became profitable Lee got pay back.

      If I remeber right there were bonuses for workers in the mid 80's after the turn around.

      I read that first book he wrote.
      I like it then & still think Lee's a cool cat.

    •  Nitpicking (3+ / 0-)

      Recommended by:
      jqb, floundericiousMI, newfie

      Well, that's not exactly how it went... Iacocca agreed to run Chrysler in 1979 for the enormouse sum of one dollar. He managed to negotiate a bailout package that included 2 billion dollars in concessions from creditors, labor and dealers and 1.5 billion in loan-guarantees, not loans, from the goverment.

      Chrysler paid those loans back seven years ahead of schedule and by 1984 was gushing with cash thanks to the K-cars and minivans. Thanks to his stock options, he was able to start reeling in some obscene amounts of money in the mid-80's after the company's health was restored. Unfortunately he didn't know when to stop and when Chrysler was laying off people in the early 90's, a lot of people were offended by his sizeable compensation he was still receiving.

  •  His personal knowledge of the cronies is great. (4+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    Arken, bebacker, Topaz7, Opakapaka

    I wish he'd write a book about them.

    The price of joining Lee now?

    I guess it's up to you.

    The price of reading Lee say this about Karl Rove:

    the mastermind of them of all, the boy genius, is Karl Rove, slime bucket that he is. You've got to know him to see how slimy he is.

    priceless!

    I love the smell of impeachment in the morning!

    by gabbardd on Mon May 22, 2006 at 09:35:08 PM PDT

    •  Actually he wrote a book years ago. (0+ / 0-)

      Talk about a puff piece--he's damn good at playing victim and telling people what they want to hear.  Remember, he was in marketing...

      "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." George Santayana

      by Street Kid on Tue May 23, 2006 at 10:27:26 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Great find. My roommate has diabetes and I will (0+ / 0-)

    show her his site. She is not political so maybe this is another chance to show reality through another venue. great diary. Thank you.

    "How far up your ass do these guys dicks need to be before you realize they're fucking you?"- Bill Hicks -9.62, -9.23

    by bebacker on Mon May 22, 2006 at 09:54:53 PM PDT

  •  Like most people, (6+ / 0-)

    an imperfect, complicated and contradictory human being...'neither fish nor fowl,' as they say.

    My favorite oddity re Iacocca came up when he was CEO of Chrysler...someone pointed out that his name was an acronym for his job...

    ie. I Am Chairman Of Chrysler Corporation of America!

    Woooooeeee....don't you love it?

    Tell me how you spend your time and how you spend your money -- I'll tell you what your values are.

    by oldpro on Mon May 22, 2006 at 09:59:50 PM PDT

  •  Someone has to head up companies (12+ / 0-)

    I swear to God sometimes I wonder how people on the left think the world actually works.

    It's not a fucking tenants' action committee ... Iacocca is/was a capitalist and now he's talking straight about what he knows and it isn't ENOUGH for some of you. Jesus!

    Be grateful that someone on the "inside" is willing to call it like he sees it - these slimeball who've rigged the system against our collective well-being.

    But no, you feel compelled to slam him. Why don't you try to learn something from him? Sometimes I think we are as closed-minded as the freepers about some stuff.

    Dumb asses.

    Proudly wearing a tin-foil hat since 1972.

    by pissed off hippie on Tue May 23, 2006 at 09:06:20 PM PDT

    •  As someone who has a lot of experience (0+ / 0-)

      with tenants action committees, I had to chuckle at your remark!

      NetrootNews coming soon!

      by ksh01 on Tue May 23, 2006 at 09:28:28 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Just remembering (0+ / 0-)

      how he screwed a lot of people who worked in the Factories at Ford and Chrysler over.  

      hmmmm, I do remember talk of him going into politics at one time....wonder if that is what he is up to now?

      Until Chrysler needed Federal Loan Guarnatees, he was a registered republican.

      Can we say opportunist?

      (And I know I probably misspelled it.)

      BTW, my Dad used to work at Chrylsers, so did my brother...not even going to start on how both were screwed over.

      "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." George Santayana

      by Street Kid on Tue May 23, 2006 at 10:36:06 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Spelling was right... (0+ / 0-)

        I hate to say it, but your spelling was correct...and I couldn't think you more wrong if I tried.

        The auto industry (I am a 5 year white-collar veteran) is so whacked I can't even believe it stays upright from year to year.  How Ford and GM and DCX are supposed to compete, considering the outright hostility of the UAW, is beyond me.

        The UAW contracts might seem, from the perspective of an Hourly employee, to be "barely fair" or "somewhat acceptable," but from any other perspective auto factory operators are GROSSLY overpaid.  

        I mean, really, if a manufacturing operator can afford to have a house, multiple cars, and a log cabin up north WITH snowmobiles......is it just me or is that a rather extravagant standard of living.

        The seniority effect is quite ludicrous...watching some guy who, by way of his NUMBER of years of service, get to sit in a cushioned chair and wave a barcode scanner at a manufacturing label on the window of a car while drawing over $100k/year and some of the best health benefits in the US is, well, ludicrious.  

        Turning around and seeing some really hardworking, intelligent, capable, earnest 5-year employee (one of those people who can just make parts fit right - a true art-form) get forced to bounce around from station to station on relief or get shoved, at short notice, to night shift...while getting paid half what the other guy gets paid.  That's ludicrous.

        If the higher paid, more experience employee had some obligations in terms of training newer workers or contributing experience back into the process...it might be worth it (take full advantage of his/her years of experience).  But that's not really called for...they've been there 20 years and they get to sit on that chair and get paid a load and sleep in the back seats of cars when they can snag a new employee for relief.

        I'm sure I've picked the worst example (oh wait, no that'd be the 15 year employees who steal whole cars), but it's indicative.  The UAW, and the inability of the OEMs to stick up for themselves in that fight, has almost surely DOOMED the auto industry.

        It is amazing how much can be accomplished when you don't care who gets the credit - Harry Truman
        PoliticalCompass Scale: -2.13, -2.97

        by floundericiousMI on Wed May 24, 2006 at 10:00:48 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

    •  Right On Right On (1+ / 0-)

      Recommended by:
      newfie

      How many people in his postion would be so straight talking as he is?

      I read his book years ago. He was a striaght shooter then and now.

      Politically, he talked about supporting Republicans in good times and Democrats in bad times, over the course of his childhood and adult life. That's very human and very common.

      He's very pragmatic and an accomplished businessman. Say what you will about Amerian cars, but he turned Chrysler around from the brink of bankruptcy and he wasn't afraid to get help (dollars) from the federal goverment (Jimmy Carter, if I'm not mistaken) to do it.

      He was so respected after turning around Chrysler that there were many who tried to draft him to run for President.

      Believe me, consdidering what we have now, we could do much worse than Lee Iacocca, a man who despite his riches, genuinely cares for the USA.

      Political Expediency: Its The New Black!

      by BentLiberal on Wed May 24, 2006 at 01:21:26 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  He's milked his first wife's death for YEARS! (0+ / 0-)

    Think his second wife was a model or a flight attendant.  Not sure if she is older or younger than his daughters.

    "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." George Santayana

    by Street Kid on Tue May 23, 2006 at 10:41:27 PM PDT

    •  oh, really? (0+ / 0-)

      And what's your point, exactly? Sounds to me like he actually loved his first wife. Good for him. Not so good for you, though. Must you have the person closest to you die young in order to gain a little empathy? I don't wish this on you, brother. Get some help.

  •  That anybody would listen to Lee (0+ / 0-)

    and trust him on his words - is hilarious.

  •  Nice. Thanks... Glad this was 'caught' (0+ / 0-)

    If you dance with the devil, then you haven't got a clue; 'Cause you think you'll change the devil, but the devil changes you. - illyia

    by illyia on Wed May 24, 2006 at 02:30:41 AM PDT

  •  Great rescue (3+ / 0-)

    Recommended by:
    newfie, Ari Mistral, AllanTBG

    This is an excellent diary.

    I admit I had no particular feelings one way or the other about Iacocca.  But I think that is part of the problem:  

    SOME of us in the progressive movement tend to homogenize some groups of people and assume they are all against us.  In particular, we tend to think that all evangelical Christians are against us (I have seem several diaries here rebutting this idea good and that CEOs and such rich corporate types are against us.  Many of them are.  But not all, e.g. Sorss is one of the richest people in the world, and very progressive; from this diary, it is obvious that Iacocca may not be exactly Soros, but he is not Bushite

    These two group (evangelicals and the rich) can be enormously helpful to the progressive cause.  One has a lot of people (I saw an article in the NYTimes saying 40% of self-described born-again consider themselves 'moderates' or left of that) and the rich, obviously, have money and power.

  •  Interestingly though..... (0+ / 0-)

    In 2000, Lee Iacocca endorsed the Bush/Cheney ticket. Thankfully, he learned the error of his ways and endorsed Kerry/Edwards in 2004.

Permalink | 33 comments