Jennifer Granholm: ‘In Romney’s World, The Cars Get The Elevator And The Workers Get The Shaft’

Last night was Obama’s night at the DNC, but Jennifer Granholm did her part to electrify delegates and home viewers with a vociferous speech highlighting many of the victories of the past four years while making a strong case for four more years for Obama in the White House.

If you didn’t know Jennifer Granholm before last night, you are almost certainly hearing about her today. The former Michigan governor took the stage before the big prime-time DNC blitz, but she didn’t let an early time slot and limited audience prevent her from shaking the walls with an impassioned plea to the American people to re-elect President Barack Obama.

Granholm’s home state of Michigan has been unusually hard hit by economic uncertainty, and, as home to the flailing auto industry, Jennifer Granholm had a lot to say about Michigan’s struggles and the role Barack Obama has played in throwing a lifeline to the auto industry, one Mitt Romney opposed in a New York Times editorial titled “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.”

Granholm opened swinging at Romney, introducing herself as from the state “where the trees are just the right height,” a crack at remarks Romney made in Michigan earlier in the campaign. Granholm’s fiery speech centered largely around the auto industry’s struggles, a central issue in her state, and she explained:

“The entire auto industry, and the lives of over one million hard-working Americans, teetered on the edge of collapse; and with it, the whole manufacturing sector. We looked everywhere for help. Almost nobody had the guts to help us – not the banks, not the private investors and not Bain capital. Then, in 2009, the cavalry arrived: our new president, Barack Obama!”

Granholm continued:

“He organized a rescue, made the tough calls and saved the American auto industry. Mitt Romney saw the same crisis and you know what he said: “Let Detroit go bankrupt.” Sure, Mitt Romney loves our lakes and trees. He loves our cars so much, they have their own elevator. But the people who design, build, and sell those cars?”

She concluded:

“Well, in Romney’s world, the cars get the elevator; the workers get the shaft. Mitt Romney says his business experience qualifies him to be president. Sure, he’s made lots of money. Good for him. But how did he make that fortune, and at whose expense?”

Below, a full video of Jennifer Granholm’s DNC speech. Did you find her words on Detroit’s experiences in the last four years to be persuasive?