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A deal is evidently close for a $15 billion bridge loan to GM and Chrysler. The White House and Congressional Democrats are in agreement, but Senate Republicans have yet to sign off.
And a bunch of old white men who have never run businesses have decided to start now:
While Democrats remained upbeat about the prospects of a breakthrough, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., warned the Senate could be in session this weekend to clear roadblocks from opponents. Although the House could hold a vote in a matter of hours after a deal, procedural delays in the Senate could take several days to overcome, if backers of the rescue can win 60 votes necessary, including up to 20 Republicans.
Senate Republicans had not signed off on a deal as of yet, sources said tonight.
The core remaining disputes appeared to involve the powers of a federal overseer — including whether it could order cuts — and whether the automakers should drop lawsuits over greenhouse gas emissions.
“There do not appear to me to be differences in principle of sufficient nature to blow this thing up,” said Rep. Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who’s leading the negotiations for House Democrats. “There are some differences, understandably, among people committed to the principle, of how you get it done.”
But Senate Republicans, who were brought into the negotiations Tuesday, had sharper criticism for the draft released Monday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the industry’s predicament came from “decades of complicity between management and labor,” and that the draft failed to force necessary cuts.
McConnell’s criticisms mirrored those of Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who has said the automakers and the UAW need to commit to steep cuts in return for aid, namely immediately cutting UAW wages to those at foreign automakers’ plants and accepting half of the health-care trust fund payments in stock.
So the automakers’ fate is being held up by a bunch of illiterate red state hicks who can’t read a balance sheet, know nothing about cash flow or the credit crunch, haven’t heard that auto sales are down across the board and are only interested in waging war on the unions — who are now morphing into all-purpose bogeymen.
Can somebody remind me, did we have an election in November?
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Same S%*t different day!
No kidding.
When it’s all over I’ll write my post about how poorly the UAW handled he whole thing, but right now it’s like carrying coals to Newcastle.
I understand why aristocrats — at least the stupid and the avaricious ones — vote for Republicans.
But it boggles the mind that an ordinary citizen would ever vote for a Republican.
Didn’t someone here warn us that this ‘car czar’ would be a Bush apointee with absolute power and no way to be fired? Does that still hold?
It is going to be a long fucking 8 years. These asshats are going to obstruct everything Obama tries to do and they are going to move ever further into the far fringe right.
Digg it
Election in November? Heh. Elected a RINO, and only DINOs in congress.
Insane Republicans, check
Impotent Democrats, check
Greedy bankers, check
Incompetent CEOs, check
In the bag media, check
Inarticulate labor, check
Seems we have all the usual suspects. Any surprise we’re in the mess we are?
What makes you think Obama will be reelected?
if he’s not, it will be even longer
I’ve read a lot of comments at various sites by people who seem to take it for granted that Obama will win a second term. Personally, I think he has a long climb up a slippery slope. Republicans are a lot better at obstructing than they are at governing.
Far, far longer. However, if they follow up on their current threats to nominate Palin, Obama is pretty much a shoe in.
Won’t argue with you about that. Right now more interested in getting the progressive program advanced. Am convinced that’s the D path to long run sustainabilbity. But how can we do that?
I would make those assholes Corker and Shelby stand up there and read from the fucking phonebook then. Get the catheters boys, you ain’t leavin’.
Keep pushing Obama. He keeps saying many of the right things (Yeah I know the appointments are problematic) and I think he can be moved left.
Anyone who thinks O has second term locked up is in denial. Either dismal circumstances he inherits or R obstructionism is likely to do him in.
shoo-in?
a worthy goal, but I don’t have an answer for you on that.
DrD @ 15
Evidence that O can be pushed left?
I don’t know about being pushed left, but a couple of things O has done lately that I liked were the Shinseki VA appointment and coming out in support of the Republic Window workers…
I think it is going to continue to be a mixed bag; whether there is movement to the left may be hard to discern unless he actually starts changing his previously stated policy positions. Right now he still has a lot of wiggle room, I think.
Jane said something awhile back to the effect that Obama doesn’t respect people who don’t leverage their power to achieve an objective. I’m afraid at the moment he views us as powerless nattering nabobs.
n @ 20
Shinseki is seemingly the brilliant move so far. I await more than lip serice on Republic Windows and UAW.
Just somewhat encouraging remarks. At this point, we do not have any direct evidence of which way he is going to go. Have to wait until he actually takes office for that.
ratfood @ 21
Evidence suggests that Obama does not respect us because we are not a power base! I’m shocked.
I’m so not encouraged by encouraging remarks.
Back to plowing thru Nixonland. BBL.
If there is a primary challenge on the next go-round, progressives might get some lip-service from Obama, barring that we’re stuck in the self-service lane.
In the last century the Capital/Industrial Economy was forced at times to ally itself with the people/productive class mostly through the efforts of organized labor, and for the most part this is the history I’ve lived through.
The power sharing between the Capitalists and the working class was a great thing for our country, what we call the “Greatest Generation” presided over the most fruitful years of the Capitalist systems history, the compromises between Capital and Labor in the 20th Century are an achievement to be proud of, “What’s good for GM, is good for America” and “Time is Money” turned out to be true more or less. This paradigm is now almost totally deconstructed.
We’ve lived through almost sixty years of anti-labor propaganda now, our academic institutions have been turned into vocational-technical schools and critical thinking will now make a person unpopular if not un-employable.
Time is no longer money, information is money and the powers that be are making damn sure that the average person has no access to reliable information.
It’s a wonder that anyone can know anything at all, let alone understand that BushCo has lied to us, robbed us blind, and intends to break the backs of the unions as he leaves office.
Obama has yet to take office and it’s clear that he’s already been asigned the blame for what we’re about to experience.
And it’s mostly Dems who are getting set to blame him – the Rs have hardly begun while we are firing at him with both barrels.
Ignatieff to be next liberal party leader of Canada up above
Yeah, they’ve got us trained pretty well don’t they?
Some of us still resist the impulse.
The Democratic Party is primarily a right of center party. Republicans are of course a far right party that are comparable to xenophobic neo-fascists parties of Western and Eastern Europe. Until the U.S. takes a dramatic turn leftward things will stay pretty much same with tweaking at the edges.
The Democrats wouldn’t want to put their esteemed colleagues through that. It’s all kabuki theater.
“years of complicity between management and labor…”
I’m just speechless. WTF color is the sky and is there gravity in these peoples’ universe?!!!
Where was all this concern when the wall street/banking industry bubble was exploding all over?
And Linda R @ #3, I’m as mystefied as you are! Google just had a headline on the homepage about how most of the fastest dying cities are in the midwest, which tends more “reddish” than much of the country, iirc. Wonder how many of those hurting so very badly economically will finally make the connection. Actually, I don’t wonder. Even the MSM can’t be bothered to point out that the ‘thugs have been dictating economic policy for the last 8 years, and much of the last 30. Sigh.
And now Canada seems like a lot less of a political Utopia…
FunnyDiva
but meantime, we on the Left all need to STFU and stop demanding that the President Elect actually listen to us. Nevermind the millions of hours and dollars we collectively contributed to getting him elected in the first place.
FunnyD
I hardly think a majority of “us” “we” are blaming him for the mess we’re in. We’re looking at who he’s nominating and what his spokespeople are saying and blaming him for the approach he seems to be taking to solving the huge problems he’s inheriting. Which is far, far more “more of the same” than change I can feel hopeful about. Incremental change is all very well when there’s time, and when the increments are large enough to be meaningful. Some increments are so small as to be indistinguishable from standing still.
FunnyD
1. To minimize the impact of these illiterate hicks on all other intelligent lifeforms on the planet. 2. To attempt–attempt, mind you–attempt to reduce the general impression of “The Left Behind” series as anything resembling literature by those remainder of hicks who are not illiterate.
Either of these two possibilities are of such a scope as to require something extraordinary, such as the first super-cool black dude, President ever, in order to even stand a chance of success.
Sorry guys, but with the way things are going… well, the Nissan 370Z hits dealerships next month. Yes, it’s made in Japan, but I. Don’t. Care. At least the Japanese government isn’t attempting to order the fun out of driving.
Can someone elaborate on this? Does McConnell mean collective bargaining, or something more sinister?
PS Here’s McConnell’s statement in full.
Dugg, thanks for the link.
Thanks Jane.
What, you don’t like the Corvette “Z” series? Dollar for dollar maybe the best car in the world.
Obama is going to have one helluva time getting elected again after the DINO’S get done selling the unions down the river.
I love it, but I can’t afford it.
I’m sure whoever Bush picks as the oversight Czar will do a heck of a job.