The Republican candidate for the 23rd Congressional District seat currently held by Democrat Bill Owens is using the bankrupt solar panel company that got a federal loan guarantee in his first campaign blast against the Obama administration and the incumbent congressman.

Watertown businessman and attorney Matt Doheny says the administration “rushed its decision on the company’s financing for political reasons.”

The company, Solyndra, was on the hook for a $500 million loan when it declared bankruptcy.

Doheny said Owens “defends this usurping of the free market and the outrageous waste of taxpayer money by suggesting there’s risk involved in any investment. For proof, he points to the private sector.”

The entirety of Doheny’s statement follows:

Statement by Matt Doheny on Solyndra

Government must end its obsession with picking winners and losers.

This is no more evident than in the case of Solyndra, a California-based solar panel manufacturer that employed 1,100 U.S workers before recently declaring bankruptcy.

The Obama administration, in its misguided attempt to artificially jumpstart a more “green” economy, doled out more than a half billion of our dollars in stimulus funds to Solyndra before they went under.

Taxpayers should be horrified about what we’ve learned about our government leaders in the aftermath of this collapse.

The White House rushed its decision on the company’s financing for political reasons. It was warned repeatedly by those both inside and outside government that the loan guarantee was destined to fail.

Solyndra wasn’t profitable to start. The Energy Department had lax oversight of the loan. And when Solyndra ran into cash problems and violated the terms of its loan, our government didn’t cut them off. Instead, they restructured the deal to make sure private investors – not the taxpayers – were paid back first if the company went under.

Instead of acknowledging this colossal mistake, President Obama is doubling down. He said “officials always knew a clean energy loan program would not back winners 100 percent of time.”

As shocking as this statement was, I was more troubled by the comments of my opponent.

Congressman Owens defends this usurping of the free market and the outrageous waste of taxpayer money by suggesting there’s risk involved in any investment. For proof, he points to the private sector.

“Even venture capitalists suffer losses on investments because deals aren’t successful,” my opponent told the Watertown Daily Times. “That is, in fact, inherent in the process.”

My opponent ignores an important distinction.

Private individuals are free (and encouraged) to make investments with their own money for the chance at big rewards. But taxpayers should not expect similarly risky bets to be placed on their behalf by members of Congress.

Also: Business people, entrepreneurs and investors make decisions based upon factors that will lead to profit and, in turn, create jobs. Owens should know that the free market is the best judge on what a profitable investment is – not the bureaucrats and members of Congress who make these calls on behalf of their friends. Government intervention, like with Solyndra, distorts and hurts the market. And it costs taxpayers dearly.

Solyndra may be the tip of the iceberg.

This failed loan guarantee is part of a $38.6 billion package in Obama’s stimulus program. To date, 28 loans – totaling more than $16 billion – have been given out to so-called clean energy projects. Sadly, this includes more than $6 billion handed out recently - after Solyndra’s failure was fully known.

President Obama promised to save or create 65,000 jobs through the loan guarantee programs. So far, it’s created about 5 percent of that projection. Even if the target is reached, taxpayers are paying $640,000 for every job created or saved.

This loan guarantee program has been an unmitigated disaster. The Obama administration has tried to insert itself into the market and pick a winner. Instead, it created a failure.

In response, Obama and Owens have decided to double down on a failed system that has squandered more than a half-billion dollars of taxpayer money. It’s clear their policies will continue to hurt our recovery. It’s time for them to go.