Mitt Romney secretly traveled to Fremont, Calif., with a select group of reporters on Thursday to hold a surprise press conference in front of the headquarters of bankrupt solar company Solyndra. The cloak and dagger routine somewhat overshadowed the proceedings — Romney told reporters with a straight face that he feared the White House would sabotage him if things weren’t kept under wraps. But the event itself provides the most dramatic example of Romney’s ongoing effort to resurface the months-old Solyndra story for the general election.Solyndra received more than $500 million in loan guarantees through a Department of Energy program begun under President Bush in 2005, but struggled and ultimately went bankrupt. Romney has put the story at the forefront of his campaign recently, declaring it an example of “crony capitalism” gone bad (a handful of Solyndra executives donated to Obama’s campaign) and a perversion of the free market. The White House has defended itself from both charges, arguing that Solyndra was already on the fast track for DOE aid under Bush and that clean-energy programs are critical to job growth and energy independence despite missteps by individual companies.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=98406