Wednesday’s Auto Bailout Update
[Guest post by DRJ]
Republicans say the automaker bailout is an agreement in peril but the White House says it’s a done deal even though they haven’t seen the fine print:
“At the White House, too, Deputy Chief of Staff Joel Kaplan told reporters at a late-morning briefing that the administration had yet to read the fine print of its “conceptual agreement” with congressional Democrats.
“We have not seen final text of legislation that we have agreed to,” he said
However, he indicated clear support, saying Bush would personally lobby Republicans and was dispatching Chief of Staff Josh Bolten to Capitol Hill to make the case.
House Republicans swiftly voiced their opposition and called for a plan that would instead provide government insurance to subsidize new private investment in the Big Three automakers, demand major labor givebacks and debt restructuring at the companies, and encourage them to declare bankruptcy.”
Agree first and details later? That’s par for the course when you’re spending someone else’s money.
— DRJ
W-e-d-n-e-s-d-a-y.
L.N. Smithee (9c1fce) — 12/10/2008 @ 2:46 pmIt’s really sad to see what W has become in his waning days.
L.N. Smithee (9c1fce) — 12/10/2008 @ 2:49 pmIt’s been a long day, L.N. Thank goodness I have you to proofread for me, and thanks.
DRJ (b4db3a) — 12/10/2008 @ 2:55 pmThis is the sort of thing that makes it so hard to be a fan of Bush. Jay Nordlinger has a piece in NRO about a meeting with Bush but Bush is his own worst enemy now.
Mike K (531ff4) — 12/10/2008 @ 3:32 pmHere is a better explanation than I can do of why this is a terrible idea.
Mike K (531ff4) — 12/10/2008 @ 4:08 pmRe: #4, Mr K, it shows what happened when Bush refused to fight back. The constant abuse eventually beat him down. Now, he’s unable to mount an effective response to the “Progressive” agenda.
Ropelight (5b609a) — 12/10/2008 @ 5:38 pmRopelight: Bush had no problem fighting back when it came to keeping troops in Iraq, it’s only on domestic issues that he hasn’t fought back, so I attribute it less to his being beaten down and more to either (1) an underlying sympathy for the progressive agenda (evidenced by his pushing through the Medicare expansion, NCLB, the open checkbook in the aftermath of Katrina, not vetoing spending bills), (2) being in over his head, unable to understand what is going on and thus unable to formulate a response, or (3) he just doesn’t care.
Either way, it’s just one more reason to count down the number of days until he gets his sorry a** out of the White House. If we’re going to have bailouts such as this, I’d rather it be done by a Democrats; it hurts somewhat less when it’s not your own side pushing this garbage through.
Who in their right mind thinks Detroit will take the steps necessary to become profitable before they blow through the bailout money? Who doesn’t think that Detroit, knowing that the government blinked, will sit relatively pat, waiting for the next… and the next…. and the next handout?
steve sturm (3811cf) — 12/10/2008 @ 6:10 pmOne can count this 15 B as a direct payment to the UAW! It will go there and that is that!
GM sales in 2007: 9,370,000 vehicles
Toyota sales in 2007: 9,366,418 vehicles
GM profit/loss in 2007: -$38,730,000,000 (-$4,055 per car)
Toyota profit in 2007: +$17,146,000,000 (+$1,874 per car)
That should pretty much sum it up for you.
TC (0b9ca4) — 12/10/2008 @ 7:08 pmBush should have made Baracky do this. As is, Baracky will just appoint a new “czar” who will just throw more money at the problem.
JD (5f0e11) — 12/10/2008 @ 7:08 pmBush just keeps signing bills. Why?
Patricia (ee5c9d) — 12/10/2008 @ 7:34 pmHe gave up, Patricia.
JD (5f0e11) — 12/10/2008 @ 7:41 pmWhat is it that he wants to say to them that he does not say to us? If the case is persuasive, then it should sell.
exdeadhead (6a2917) — 12/10/2008 @ 8:08 pmEvery day that goes by fills me with more and more rage. At this point, I wouldn’t mind seeing everyone in Congress just dropped off on the island from Lost and forgotten about forever.
Justin (747191) — 12/11/2008 @ 4:50 am“Mr K, it shows what happened when Bush refused to fight back. The constant abuse eventually beat him down. Now, he’s unable to mount an effective response to the “Progressive” agenda.
Ok, Ropelight and Steve Sturm, I now get to ask what YOU, PERSONALLY, will do to help your GOP senator out when he gets the crapstorm in response to your much-desired filibuster of the auto bailout bill? Will you back him up and stick with him?
Or will you what DRJ famously suggests: “Anyway, Brad S., I’m covered. I have one family member who adamantly opposes the bailout, one in favor, and one on the fence. Someone at my house will be happy no matter what happens.”
Everyone knows what you will do next, folks. So stop asking GOP elected officials to do the political dirty work you won’t do.
Brad S (9f6740) — 12/11/2008 @ 9:01 amComment by Brad S — 12/11/2008 @ 9:01 am
I don’t think we get to vote on this, something about meeting the requirements for membership in the Senate, or some such triviality.
We do get to express our opinion though, and I’m quite confident that many here have passed those opinions on to their elected representatives.
Another Drew (3a8a2c) — 12/11/2008 @ 9:06 am“He gave up, Patricia.”
Considering how deftly folks like you threw him under the bus this election cycle, why is he in any way obligated to “stand firm?”
“If we’re going to have bailouts such as this, I’d rather it be done by a Democrats; it hurts somewhat less when it’s not your own side pushing this garbage through.”
Sure hope I’m never in a position to bail out your workplace. Great job of showing a lack of empathy that Righties and Losertarians are famous for not showing.
Brad S (9f6740) — 12/11/2008 @ 9:06 am