An article in the May 31 Tribune noted the closing of North Dakota dealerships in Wishek, Ashley, Lisbon and Napoleon. As the dealers pointed out, the cost to General Motors is virtually nothing, so why bother closing small-town dealerships?

Earlier this month, the same thing happened to Chrysler dealers. Many of these dealers ran profitable businesses just like the GM dealers in North Dakota. World Net Daily reviewed all 789 of the Chrysler dealerships the company wants to close. World Net Daily found that "owners contributed at least $450,000 to Republican presidential candidates and the GOP, while only $7,970 was donated to Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign and $2,200 was given to Sen. John Edwards' campaign. Obama received a combined total of only $450 in donations."

I see Sen. Dorgan has requested a Senate committee hearing in early June to examine the issue. The committee hearing should include companies that end contracts with dealers who dared give contributions to the Republican Party and its candidates. The mainstream media seem less than curious to report or ask these questions of this administration.

Has our political class grown so petty that it would use the power of government to punish the political opposition? We hope this isn't true. If it is, the country's in more trouble than we thought.

The real losers in these dealership closures are the people in small-town U.S.A. and, unfortunately, the U.S. taxpayer.