INDIANAPOLIS – Chairman Zody and Indiana labor leaders spoke at a press conference yesterday to call out Rep. Braun’s frequent lies about his business being “made in America” and failing to disclose the fact that his own auto parts brand makes its parts in China.
The event followed the Associated Press’s bombshell story on Friday about Promaxx Automotive, a brand of Rep. Braun’s Meyer Distributing that sells its own line of Chinese-made after-market auto parts. The AP’s report is the first time Rep. Braun’s company has been shown to directly make and sell its own line of parts, and they appear to largely come from China at the expense of American workers.
From WTTV: [WATCH]
From the Statehouse File: Democrats respond to report that Braun’s company sells foreign products
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Democrats are responding to a report from The Associated Press that revealed one of the issues Rep. Mike Braun prides his campaign on may not align with the facts.
The report, published Aug. 10, found that Braun’s automotive parts brand, Promaxx Automotive, sells products that were manufactured abroad — something that has not been disclosed during his campaign.
…But United Auto Workers Region 2-B Director Rich Rankin said there is no comparison between Braun’s decision to sell foreign goods and Donnelly’s involvement in his brother’s business because Donnelly was “not in a place to make that determination.”
“The way I see it is Mike is a CEO,” Rankin said. “CEOs make those decisions where he can decide where the parts for his company are built.”
Andrew Downs is a political science professor at Indiana University-Purdue University of Fort Wayne, and he said this is more than just a matter of where products are coming from.
“The issue here is that Mike Braun has set himself up as made in the USA,” Downs said. “When it’s possible to bring that into question, it’s one part bringing into question his business practices. Another is actually bringing into question him as an individual.”
He said it spirals into an issue of character — “‘I might agree with you on several issues, but you told me everything is made in the USA when in actuality, it’s not, so now I don’t trust you.’”
Braun’s campaign spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.
From Indy Politics: Indiana Democrats Attack Mike Braun’s Work Record
Indiana Democrats accused Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Braun of telling “blatant lies and hypocrisy” at a press conference in the wake of the Associated Press’s Friday report regarding his company’s use of Chinese labor.
The AP reported that Promaxx Automotive, a brand of Braun’s Meyer Distributing that sells after-market auto parts, manufactures the bulk of its auto parts in China, including running boards, bumpers, brush guards, truck racks, and winches.
Because of that Democrats say Braun was not honest with voters about his company.
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