Car thieves unwittingly caused national embarrassment for the Rev. Jesse Jackson when they stole his luxury SUV and stripped it while he met in Detroit to discuss a rally for green jobs. A few days later, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing’s expensive sports utility vehicle was also stolen and put on bricks.
Jackson was in town to meet with UAW President Bob King to discuss an upcoming rally for “Jobs, Justice and Peace” when the Cadillac Escalade was swiped in a parking lot not far from the Doubletree Hotel in the Motor City’s downtown area.
Jackson’s SUV was later found by police minus its rims and wheels and had a broken window on the passenger-side window, says the Detroit Free Press.
A few days later, a GMC Yukon Denali owned by Detroit Mayor Dave Bing was snatched up. It was found by police a short time later resting on bricks. It was also missing its rims.
Police have not said the two incidents are related.
Some people took the opportunity to take roundhouse swings at the longtime civil rights leader.
Detroit columnist Henry Payne characterized the grand theft auto “a fitting metaphor for what Jesse and his pals have done to the auto industry for the last 35 years.”
“Time long ago passed Detroit by because Jesse favored government mpg mandates and UAW wages stripped the Big Three’s ability to compete against non-union transplants. These jobs were real — unlike the artificial, government-subsidized green jobs he shakes down the feds for today,” Payne said.
No such scorching denunciations have been assigned to Bing as of yet. –terry shropshire
