Joshua Holland at AlterNet has an intriguiging post linking John Dingell’s (D-Michigan) recent loss of his Congressional Energy and Commerce Committee chairmanship to the stock market plunge of the US’s (once) Big Three automakers that week. Dingell was extremely close to the auto industry, and without their patron in power, the prospects for a federal bailout or other form of assistance have dimmed. To add insult to injury, the person who replaced Dingell is Henry Waxman (D-California), one of the most vocal environmentalists in the House and someone who will certainly be pushing for higher fuel efficiency standards in 2009.

We discuss the idea that political ties matter and that they can be quantified using stock price movements in Chapter 2 of Economic Gangsters, and Josh mentions our analysis in his piece. Thanks Josh!

– Ray and Ted