Robertson Says Drugs Plague Auto Workers

Republican presidential hopeful Pat Robertson said Tuesday that a quarter of America’s auto workers use illegal drugs, leading to declining productivity. United Auto Workers President Owen Bieber called the remark “off the wall.”

Robertson said later he was not criticizing auto workers, who a month ago were compared unfavorably to Soviet mechanics by Vice President George Bush.

“I’m not disparaging auto workers,” he said. “I’m just saying that in industry in general, that it is estimated by certain sources that about one out of every four workers is using some kind of an illicit substance.”

Bieber said the comment “shows ignorance of the facts and poor political judgment in equal measure. A person aspiring to the presidency shouldn’t be tossing around off-the-wall remarks in the area he knows nothing about.”