DETROIT (WIFR) -- The original auto loan to Chrysler and GM are a hot topic in Michigan's upcoming Republican Presidential Primary.

In fact Michigan born Mitt Romney wrote an op ed piece in the Detroit News Tuesday, calling the bailout quote crony capitalism on a grand scale. Adding that managed bankruptcy should have been the course of action.

Mitt Romney, Republican Presidential Candidate, "My view from the very beginning was that the auto company should go through managed bankruptcy and get help coming out of bankruptcy. I would not have given the companies to the UAW. They should have been owned by their bond holders their share holders. The American public. "

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, (D) Illinois, "Mitt Romney's position is just wrong, I'm not even sure if Chrysler could have survived without the loan from the federal government the fact the president Obama would not stand by and watch two of the biggest companies, with the most employment in the area, disappear in bankruptcy I think speaks to his commitment to keeping and creating jobs in America"

Romney is currently trailing in his birth state in most polls to Rick Santorum, who also has criticized the auto industry bailout. The Michigan Primary is February 28th.