I don’t want there to be any doubt, as you read this, that I strongly believe in the United States. I like our method of government, our structure of justice, the way democracy works and the freedoms assured by the Constitution. But I also like that any of us can question, ask why, and seek out answers if we perceive a wrong or an injustice.

In the past two weeks I have been drawn, by some almost unexplainable reason, into the way that Toyota, one of the premier automobile makers in the world, has taken such a glaring whipping that has resulted in 8.5 million cars being recalled and caused what will be billions of dollars in damages for the company.

Just over a year ago, this just before the U.S. government became the largest stockholder of General Motors and also “bought” a 10-percent stake in Chrysler, we were assured Toyota made the most reliable cars in the world and, if you’ll recall, the bail-out sponsors then pleaded for American manufacturers to rise to such a level of expertise.

It was pointed out at the time that a foreign car could be built for roughly $2,000 cheaper than a similarly-equipped American-made vehicle because of the huge automotive unions. Honda, Toyota and Nissan, for example, do not have unions, thus a problem for American manufacturers in the highly-competitive market.

It so happens the United Auto Workers union is the government’s major partner in the General Motors ownership. When the American people bailed out GM, we kept many auto workers afloat, you remember that? So when Toyota’s problems with sliding floor mats and sudden acceleration were brought to light, there was launched “a witch hunt” that is now being questioned in a shameful but equally necessary way.

I will be the first to insist that when a reported 34 people have allegedly died due to malfunctions we need to put that horror under an intense light. We did it with Ford some years back, when the Explorers were rolling over, and once Ralph Nader almost single-handedly abolished the Chevrolet Corvair, but the hysteria, the bitter ire we’ve heaped on Toyota, is sadly out of proportion and I, for one, am calling “foul.”

Several days ago an editorial in the Washington Examiner pointed out that the United Auto Workers union is among the most powerful special-interest groups pouring millions into the campaign coffers of the very Congress members who now serve as Toyota’s prosecutor, judge and jury.

We are told that 19 of the 36 Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee were given sizable checks by the UAW for their election campaigns. We also learn that 12 of 25 Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee got checks, too. In my opinion, such a conflict of interest puts Toyota at quite a disadvantage.

During last week’s hearings, a tearful Rhonda Smith of Sevierville gave a compelling testimony, but we have since learned the car in question was promptly sold, that nothing could be found wrong, and it has since been driven 27,000 miles without an incident. That wasn’t told at the Congressional hearing.

Worse, an “expert,” Dr. David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University, offered testimony from research he said he had done but afterward, when he was asked to duplicate it for unbelieving Toyota researchers, it could not be replicated. Further, it was not revealed at the hearing that Dr. Gilbert’s research was … er, “funded” by lawyers with suits pending against Toyota. In my opinion, that’s not right.

Today comes word from the highly-respected Consumer Reports that, “as early as this week,” they will return eight Toyota models to their vaunted “recommended” list because – Congress not withstanding – Toyota products have factually been proven to be among the most reliable automobiles in the world.

On Tuesday the spring auto issue of Consumer Reports will be released and – what is this? – Toyota is again No. 3 on the list. (Honda and Subaru are tied for first.) Ford is ranked 11th while GM and Chrysler are again at the bottom of the annual rankings.

Last year Toyota displaced General Motors as the world’s largest automobile manufacturer. Today there are Toyota manufacturing plants in eight states that employ 35,000 workers. This week at least three of the plants will be idle – due to the recalls. But, get this, Toyota will still pay each worker, having them attend safety classes rather than man the assembly lines.

Finally, I offer this from Brian Johnson, who serves as the Federal Affairs Manager for an outfit called Americans for Tax Reform. He writes, “When GM fired over 35,000 employees between 2006 and 2008, Toyota laid off zero. GM loses almost $2,500 in profitability per vehicle where Toyota makes almost $1,500 per vehicle.

“This is largely due to GM’s forced union contracts. GM’s union, the United Auto Workers (UAW), mandates that GM pay, on average, each non-skilled line worker about $33 per hour. This inflated wage includes workers who are “idle,” meaning they don’t have a specific job that day, but can still come to work, sit in a special facility and collect a pay check,” Johnson explained.

“These artificially inflated costs, bound by forced union contracts, are sinking other U.S. auto industries. Toyota has managed to rise above that, not by being anti-union, but by believing in and enforcing a corporate-wide model based on efficiency and improvement.”

So, do you see my worry? Do you think there may be a little “piling on?” Less than a year ago the Ford Motor Company – which got no bail-out money – recalled over 4 million cars due to a fire hazard that had affected about 500 of its vehicles. Did you gasp at the Ford hearings? Did they even have any? Did you see the Ford CEO sullied the way we just roasted company president Akio Toyoda? You did not.

If we are going to live in a democracy it must be righteous, fair, and what I believe to be “beyond reproach.” Thank God we can ask “why” when we begin to suspect that Toyota has suddenly not been treated that way.

royexum@aol.com