The Republicans have been jumping all over the Obama administration for the collapse of Solyndra; Paul Ryan accusing the Obama administration of "crony capitalism". Guess which administration actually approved the loan? The Bush administration! The loan was not actually made until Obama was in office. See "Clean Energy: Obama Says It's the Future, Paul Ryan Calls It a Fad", Stacy Curtin, Daily Ticker, 2012-08-16.
Meanwhile, the Republicans don't seem to notice the subsidies to oil, gas, coal, and nuclear.
Ryan also said, "We want to get Washington out of the business of picking winners and losers." He seems to forget that the last great Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, was very much in the business of picking winners and losers and providing subsidies. What would this country be like if he hadn't pushed the Transcontinental Railroad with "subsidies" of bonds and free land?
BTW: one of the commenters asked where Paul Ryan called clean energy a fad. Given how quotes of any kind get distorted and go viral, it is hard to find sources for a supposed quote. What Ryan said was "fads like Solyndra" on "60 minutes" with Bob Schieffer. I can't find a direct quote from 60 minutes, but dozens of repeats by many sites, each with its own particular bias.
Whatever, the fact is the Bush administration approved the loan. Now the Republican Party has morphed to promote only fossil fuels and nuclear energy and to disparage any alternate sources of energy.
