Pete Stark, Other Candidates Confuse Solyndra With Country, Car Manufacturer, Keystone XL Pipeline

Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), the 20-term incumbent facing a surprisingly competitive race in California's 15th congressional district, drew headlines recently when he confused failed solar energy company Solyndra with the electric car company known as Tesla.

Upon being asked about the California-based solar firm in a recent interview with The San Francisco Chronicle Stark replied, "I wish I had enough expense allowance to get one of those new S's that Solyndra's going to make down there -- the electric car. They run $60,000 to $90,000."

He's not the only prominent candidate for office to make such a mistake.

Back in February, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney confused the defunct solar energy company with the Keystone XL oil pipeline, telling supporters in Atlanta, “My course for America is to become energy secure and to open up that Solyndra –- that, that pipeline, excuse me, the Keystone pipeline,” The Washington Post reported at the time.

Romney then went on to criticize the Obama administration's "crony capitalism," though months of investigations into Solyndra and other Department of Energy loans have failed to produce a smoking gun.

In December, hours after a GOP presidential debate in Des Moines, Rick Perry mistook the now-bankrupt solar panel maker for a small country, as he sought to tar the Obama administration's handling of government spending. "No greater example of it than this administration sending millions of dollars into the solar industry, and we lost that money," Perry said at the time. "I want to say it was over $500 million that went to the country Solynda."

For Perry, the Solyndra-as-country comment was just one in a string of highly memorable campaign gaffes that helped put a lid on his ambitions for the presidency. Now some are worried that Stark, the 80-year-old irascible liberal who's served four decades in Congress, may suffer a similar fate in his quest to keep his seat.

The comment marks the latest development in a series of confounding assertions and unsubstantiated charges he has made in recent weeks.

Watch the video of Stark's Solyndra slip-up above.

Earlier on HuffPost:

From our partners

• Widespread Greenland Melting A Sign Of Things To Come - Climate Central
• Limiting Methane Leaks Critical To Gas, Climate Benefits - Climate Central
• 11 Images And Facts About A Misunderstood Creature - Mother Nature Network

Comments

[5timesband]

12:14 PM on 05/14/2012

sure, anything to obscure the blame on the Obama administration for funding these failed projects.

[Genders]

11:29 PM on 05/13/2012

Solyandra installed 100MW worth over 500M$.

Meanwhile nukes get 500M$ per reactor per year in breaks and still 50% of them default on their loans.

do the math.

[5timesband]

12:15 PM on 05/14/2012

solyndra installed NOTHING.

[Genders]

09:34 PM on 05/14/2012

Wrong, they installed 100MW. try again.....

[lfishfinder]

02:47 PM on 05/09/2012

After the Chinese dumped their cheap solar panels and destoyed Solyndra, many hard working everyday American contractors were left without payment and there lives were being destroyed. With the bailout many desperate working class were paid what they were due.

[Genders]

11:32 PM on 05/13/2012

US panel companies also undercut Solyandra. Why?

Because Chu, published a totally bs energy cost document through the DOE.

The DOE, Nuke department, figures used 2001 solar panels numbers versus future fantasy nukes and clean coal numbers. Gee, I wonder who bought that?

They are listing 2016 panel prices at 4$ per KWH.

They are under a dollar right now.

Figure it out.

http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_panels.htm

Then see what subsidies you can get, there are lots of them: http://www.dsireusa.org/

[poomplet]

01:15 PM on 05/09/2012

I guess this semantics 'scandal' trumps the tiny little footnote about how the abandoned Solyndra factory is now a toxic waste depository, full of heavy metals. Silly me, I thought this news would qualify for the 'Green' section.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/04/28/solyndra-not-dealing-with-toxic-waste-at-milpitas-facility/

[Genders]

11:33 PM on 05/13/2012

Compared to nukes 6 million deaths from cancer? I don't think so.

[A level Head]

06:41 AM on 05/09/2012

Different company ... Same uncompetitive foundation .... Stark's error was simply semantics

[Diabloggical]

05:02 AM on 05/09/2012

The Republicans are so well-informed about green issues.

[aolcom]

09:39 AM on 05/09/2012

BUSH TURNS DOWN THE LOAN AND YEARS LATER OBAMA APPROVES IT AND THEN IT FAILS. I THINK THE PRESIDENT SHOULD STAY OUT OF THE DOG TRACK. HE DOESNT HAVE A GOOD TRACK RECORD.

[Andy Hecker]

09:52 AM on 05/09/2012

No - actually President Bush tried to fast-track the Solyndra loan before leaving office.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/09/13/317594/timeline-bush-administration-solyndra-loan-guarantee/

Thanks for playing anyway.

[Andy Hecker]

10:01 AM on 05/09/2012

Actually, former President Bush tried to fast-track the loan guarantee before leaving office. This makes sense when we remember that it was the Bush administration that CREATED that loan guarantee program in 2005.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/09/13/317594/timeline-bush-administration-solyndra-loan-guarantee/

[Robert Fanney]

09:59 PM on 05/08/2012

The real Solyndra scandal was how Chinese dumping of solar panels killed the company and how republicans politically profitted from demonizing a company the Chinese victimized. How they also attempted to demonize the entire solar industry even as they were demonizing Solyndra. And how oil and gas money went to support these entirely political, self-serving, and anti-American efforts.

[opprobrious]

01:57 AM on 05/09/2012

The only reason the Chinese ever had the chance was because Reagan won the election in 1980 and scrapped the idea of domestic development.

[A level Head]

06:46 AM on 05/09/2012

I have no issue with China supplying our panels -- I am especially happy to take their production if it is below their actual cost of manufacture ( I do not believe it is).

Why not ??? Selling below cost is not a bonafide market strategy that can last. We would be better served using our capital for R/D on the next generation instead of pouring it into a rat hole that is doomed to lose money by design.

Fed intervention to force feed products is doomed to fail. That is not China's fault.

My good Sky Man .... Is the current administration responsible for ANYTHING ???

[she343]

06:01 PM on 05/20/2012

Fed intervention has worked pretty well for at least a hundred years.
Or we could just let private co. dictate ---say like buying up trollies in cities and then destroying them to increase demand for autos?

[yahooserious]

09:31 PM on 05/08/2012

It seems politicians just throw words into their speeches any way they can. They just hope the listeners will latch onto a buzz word and not pay any attention to what they're saying.

[Genders]

11:34 PM on 05/13/2012

duh.

[Unclebuggies]

09:04 PM on 05/08/2012

Isn't Solyndra a major source of mail-order brides?

[Diabloggical]

05:04 AM on 05/09/2012

LOL!!

[Genders]

11:36 PM on 05/13/2012

Actually Solyandra is producing 100MW of electricity. worth far more than the cost of their failed loans. Meanwhile 50% of nukes fail, even with the 500M$ per reactor per year breaks.

figure it out.

[5timesband]

12:16 PM on 05/14/2012

actually, Solyndra is producing NOTHING

[Alexander Forbes]

08:45 PM on 05/08/2012

"Subaru Solyndra" has a nice catchy ring to it too.

[ex-eye-in-the-sky]

08:39 PM on 05/08/2012

These guys all seem to be lacking something these days. Knowledge. Both sides have that problem. They're so interested in getting elected. But they don't take time to learn anything about...what it is, they're talking about. They hire a staff to help them out. But either the staff has the same problem as the candidates. Or the candidates just can't maintain the info long enough to get from their briefing room...all the way out to the podium. And these are the guys who expect us to elect them to be our Leaders? They're jokers. They should head right to the back of the line at the Unemployed Office. And give somebody else a chance that might know what they're doing. If such a person exists anymore. This upcoming election looks as though we're in short supply of shining stars.

[Chipher]

07:14 AM on 05/09/2012

This upcoming election looks as though it's a Quay Brothers anime.

[ex-eye-in-the-sky]

02:42 PM on 05/09/2012

F&F'd for this remark, my friend. How could I not? I read this remark, and for whatever reason the "Brothers Quay" just did not register in my head. So of course I had to look 'em up. Thank you very much for a great afternoon. Between their stuff and all the links they led me to...my mind is pretty much blown for the rest of the day. Thank you for taking my brain to a place far away from all this political Horse-Manure...at least for a little while. By the way...I have a buddy who went to the same Art School in Philly those guys did.

[rmaynard]

05:56 PM on 05/08/2012

I'm glad I'm perfect in every way and never misspeak.

[Roosevelt Democrat]

06:27 PM on 05/08/2012

Not me, it seriously reduces the chances of good comedy!

[miketothad]

05:40 PM on 05/08/2012

Please help stop "conservative" illiteracy.

Vote Democrat.

[Roosevelt Democrat]

06:28 PM on 05/08/2012

does that help "liberal" illiteracy?

[AnthropologistAmongApes]

09:40 PM on 05/08/2012

There is no symmetry because the anti-intellectual movement is a right wing phenomena.

[Arthur Walsh]

10:19 PM on 05/08/2012

We are liberal liberals we want to stop any illiteracy!

[A level Head]

06:51 AM on 05/09/2012

I am conservative ... I help cure illiteracy by volunteering time a literacy center. I find when people learn to comprehend, they become more successful, aquire equity, have something to protect, and become more conservative (fiscally).

We all want to fix the ills of society ... Fiscal Conservatives by acting ... Liberals by Institutionalizing.

Based on 40 plus years of Great Society Programs it appears that the only thing Institutionalizing accomplishes is the building of an Institution that requires the problems to continue.

[miketothad]

07:16 AM on 05/09/2012

You lost me at "Fiscal Conservatives".

[she343]

06:06 PM on 05/20/2012

prehaps you should add comprehension and math skills to your list of accomplishments?

[steve11407]

05:16 PM on 05/08/2012

"The Real Solyndra Scandal"???

[frontsnapkick]

04:35 PM on 05/08/2012

I can understand why Stark mixed the two companies up. This article makes it sound like it was out of ignorance. Tesla and Solyndra are right next door to each other, and the closing of the GM plant was an all out crisis for the area. Tesla is the electric car company that took over the plant. Stark is a die hard union supporter, and Tesla, unlike GM, does not use United Auto Workers employees. It's probably the more salient "electricity related company awful thing that happened in silicone valley" issue for him.

[Thlayle]

07:32 PM on 05/08/2012

Hardly plausible and ignorance is no excuse.