With news this past week of Solyndra’s bankruptcy, firing of 1,100 employees and federal agents now raiding the homes of the executives, I thought it would be instructive for all to go back to where this began. Two years ago on September 4th of 2009, Vice President Biden was live via satellite to praise a little known solar company that was going to help America and the Obama administration win the future.

Part of our plan — part of our plan is to make sure that as we create these jobs, we creat jobs of the future, like the ones you’re creating, jobs you can raise a family on, green jobs, jobs that will serve as a foundation for a stronger American economy, which is why it’s sp important we — we — we invest in Solyndra and invest in what Solyndra is doing, not just to get us through today, but to power our way to a much brighter tomorrow.

…

And I’m really happy, along with the secretary, to announce today that we’ve closed a $535 million loan guarantee for Solyndra, more than a half a billion dollars. This is the first in what the secretary’s going to be announcing the Department of Energy will be making available for more than $30 billion in loan guarantees the recovery act is providing and will provide to American companies that are leading the way to a new clean energy future.

Back in the salad days of the Obama administration, when hobbits were still only fantasy and the Democrats controlled all the rings of powers, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act glided through Congress and was signed by a gleeful President. All were confident that they now had the power and the plan to turn the economy around and fix the environment in the process.

Green Jobs were here to stay. Our very salvation depended on it.

The loan to Solyndra will allow you to build a new manufacturing facility and with it almost immediately generate 3,000 new well-paying construction jobs. And once your facility opens, there will be about 1,000 permanent new jobs here at Solyndra and in the surrounding business community, and hundreds more to install your growing output of solar panels throughout the country.

It’s important. [ed note: THIS IS A BIG EFFING DEAL]

It’s important because these jobs are going to be permanent jobs. These are the jobs of the future. These are the green jobs. These are jobs that won’t be exported. These are the jobs that are going to define the 21st century and the jobs — going to allow America to compete and to lead like we did in the 20th century.

Permanent Green Jobs. Put it in the bank people, this will work!

And out there in Solyndra, you guys have figured it out; you’ve figured out to harness the sun’s power for a better, more efficient, more prosperous future for all of America.

And in the process, you’re creating more jobs.

Unfortunately, all those jobs are now gone. And the only people who prospered are now being investigated by the same people who propped them up in the first place. This is an especially disturbing turn of events considering it has been reported that the Dept. of Energy was sitting in on board meetings when Solyndra was going through their loan restructuring.

I guess when Obama said that no one messes with Joe, he didn’t have Solyndra in mind.

Aaron B. Gardner