The Reagan Revolution goes out the way it came in—breaking the American worker and attacking organized labor.

Let’s see people who leave Congress that are willing to give up or restructure their retirement packages.

Not likely.

There never was a chance that this would not be a union busting move since the 2.5 CEOs were sent back after their first visit to the Hill.
It has all been posturing.

The southern Republican had a win-win strategy: either bring the UAW to its knees or heap the blame for the failure on the union. Either way, the legal alien auto makers remain union free. Union proposal, according to the times, was to agree to concessions in the next contract negotiations in 2011. Republicans wanted it in 2009.

Will Bush let the industry collapse occur on its watch? Will the damages instituted by Commerce be worse? Can’t the Obama people change the conditions once they are in place? Can’t the Democratic Congress change the conditions on 1/6?

Union couldn’t sell out membership. I know we all agree with that. Leave it to MSNBC to take the Republican side. Guess we have to wait for Olberman and Maddow to hear the truth. I hope one of them interviews UAW folks.

The second great depression will expose the illusion of a classless
america… class is still the most disguised fact of american life, usually
by overuse of the term middle class. Truth is most are working class, white
collar and blue collar are played against each other to create an artificial middle class. Poverty is a cruel teacher.

I’m pretty sure the only chance the union had for fair terms was the passage of this bill. I hope to be wrong.

I thought the speculation we were hearing last night was that the TARP funds for the auto companies would be as condition-free as it has been for the banks. Is Bush threatening to whack UAW through Paulson?

This whole thing is surreal.. The people in DC live in a complete bubble…
Epu’d from downstairs.
My economic plan.
There is just over 300,000,000 people in the US.
Give each one 1,000,000.
Tell everyone they have to spend the money in their communities, make their homes energy efficient, buy the new washer, dryer, stove etc that they need, send their children to college, take vacations within the continental US etc..
Give $500.000 per person to each states budget. This is to be used for infrastructure repair/replacement, schools,colleges, social services, pollution clean-up, etc,etc.
Simple..
http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

I was watching the CBS early show…they had some Professor of Economics from the U of Md. all upbeat about the big 3 going into bankruptcy and forcing the UAW to make concessions. He was a total wanker.

CBS then had the Mayor of Lansing, MI on who put this squarely on the backs of the GOP congressional members. He wanted to know if the Senators were willing to take concessions on their pay. If they would be willing to be paid on a merit system and on how much they accomplished. He then went on to state that a bunch of politicians who have ran up more red ink is going to lecture and dictate how the Auto companies should be run.

They need to get this guy out front more often. He was strong and articulate.

Jane know you are busy but want to pass along this head’s up. You might want to try and call in or email.
Diane Rehm of NPR will have her usual Friday program with pundits and “journalists” talking on current events. Here is some contact info for calling in or dropping an email. The program is at 10:00 a.m. EST. Email and/or call to set the “journalists” straight. They will likely be parrotting the Beltway conventional wisdom that will blame the unions for the failure of the bridge loan. Don’t let these hacks get away with it.

Call in: 1-800-433-8850
email: drshow@wamu.org

oops, meant ‘give each adult $500,000′

Virg Benero, the mayor of Lansing, MI, has been outstanding. He needs to be heard far and wide.

I don’t know what is going to happen but the Republicans better learn a lesson if the Great Depression part Deux comes because of this.

I just can’t abide having to argue about the fundamentals of economics with them for the next fifty years.

UAW doing a good job slamming the Re-Hooverian Party.

Gettlefingers conference now
Repub’s wouldn’t let him go in and see what wages are for management and workers, etc.
http://www.wxyz.com/content/video/stream2.aspx

is this not one gigantic game of “chicken” ?

Paulson wants the other $350B and now has a hostage to trade, while southern GOP Senators get to posture as ‘fiscal’ conservatives (with public poll support wtf?)

Looks like the Treasury is going to provide temporary relief for the Auto industry. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081212/treasury_autos.html

Thanks Jane.

digg

Guy on CNBC said before Gettlefingers press conf started ‘remember he is talking to the people who pays his wages, the UAW members and retires’. I say no he is talking loud and clear to the American people.

Good Morning Jane.

Thank you for this post.

Aw heck. – for this Lake!

When will Keith finally admit you’re one of the BEST PERSONS IN THE WORLD?

It’s past time. Seriously. no snark.

Best to you and yours, hon.

One other point that needs to be brought up…The 14 Billion dollars needed to keep our Auto manufacturing industry intact is less than the $20 Billion dollars that Bush and the GOP controlled congress lost…in Iraq.

Remeber the 20 Billion missing dollars never to be accounted for because Bush and the GOP controlled all of the Government. Now these Red State Wankers want to lecture and side with the American people who are against the Government bail-out. Give me a break.

I also think that senators need to take pay cut AND demand no end of the year bonus for those guys that receive TARP money. Or they can deduct the amount of bonuses given from the TARP money.

Think the Democrats have a perfect opportunity to show the Repubs for what they really are, arrogant bastards

Coverage saying the “White House”, whatever that means, considering the bailout….Hard to imagine Jr. considering anything, but that’s what it said.

I hope Leo Gerard – United Steelworkers Union Pres. – makes more appearances on TeeVee, and not just on Keif & Rachel.

Last week, he appeared on Rachel’s show and described how the biggest reason for lower Auto sales was a lack of credit … in other words, the Auto crunch was because of the Wall Street mess.

I don’t know why supporters of the Auto Bailout have not been beating this drum repeatedly.

WH phones ringing off the hooks from Wall Street this AM.

According to CNBC newsreaders Bush can make the deal through the TARP money with the bill the dem’s and him made out.
Where’s Wagoner? If he wants this bill to pass why isn’t he having a press conf and asking for it to pass? Why is Gettlefinger and not Wagoner? Unless Wagoner wants these UAW concessions?

man-oh-man, it feels like it, doesn’t it?!

except for the fact that the idiots not yet run out of town on a rail have loosed unmanned freight-trains of lunacy on the same track, headed straight for a guaranteed crash.

someone make them stop before they break everything in their fit of madness.

Oh, wait. There’s Jane and the FDL Dawgs. They never give up. They’re always in there trying to set things up proper.

Black people in Detroit blue collar jobs get the shaft.

Flint too. Yes the blacks are getting screwed just as we wait for our first black president.

I suggest the best thing would be for all to avoid coaxing junior out from under the bed and into action. Not with his track record. He’s done quite enough already.

Interesting the email that Gittelfinger cited.

So, the Republican Senators politicized the auto bridge loan to destroy the union.

Instead, they’re destroying America. Why do the Republican Senators hate America and American workers?

Why doesn’t Obama speak out? Many blacks came out to vote for him. Does he care about them?

i’ve heard that “rats in the bottom of a barrel” story.

is it true they eventually go mad and attack their own?

how does this end?

Yes. He cares.

CH 7 news says none of us knew about this side deal with Corker.

Ch 7 says we didn’t know abt this email.

Yea! Great idea!

Wow, I can’t believe my ears — MSNBC — “Looks like GOP senators are trying to bring down the union.”

What took them so long?

EPU’d: I think it is time for a bit of payback for the states that have been sucking up more than their share of federal dollars and pumping money to Asian auto firms. Specifically, I think that now that we have a blue majority, it is time that the Confederacy stop feeding at the public trough. (And, budget bills are not subject to filibuster.)

2004: per-state ratios of federal spending per dollar of federal tax paid: http://www.taxfoundation.org/f…..060316.pdf

06: Alabama 1.71 (Richard Shelby, Jeff Sessions)
13: Louisana 1.45 (David Vitters)
17: South Carolina 1.38 (Jim Demint)
18: Tennessee 1.30 (Bob Corker)
38: Michigan 0.85

What took them so long?

they’ve been otherwise engaged

It took them all this time to figure out what “Country First” really meant.

They don’t care about Country First, they only care about their own political futures amongst their own idiot constiutiencies…../s

Obama must move left from his seminar trained centrist position… we are
in a war here at home, like Lincoln he has been declared war upon before
being sworn in, by the same people that did it then. He must reconsider the
happy talk approach to the south, it has never worked, Sherman and Grant
understood this long lost fact… Southern Living, Verandah, and Texas
Monthly are a front for the “new south”, just like the old south.

UAW’s Gettelfinger at a press conference this morning says he wonders if they were being “set up.”

can someone flesh this out for me ?

btw, just caught Noron literally grilling Corker over wanting to bust the union all along – per his response, he’s just the piano player, nothing to see here

We are indeed at war. It’s a class war and to paraphrase Warren Buffett his side is winning.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Treasury Department said Friday it’s prepared to act to avoid any possible collapse of nation’s three largest auto companies given that rescue efforts in Congress have failed.

“Because Congress failed to act, we will stand ready to prevent an imminent failure until Congress reconvenes and acts to address the long-term viability of the industry,” said Treasury spokeswoman Brookly McLaughlin.

General Motors Corp., Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Co. failed to secure $14 billion in emergency loans after efforts collapsed in the Senate late Thursday. The Senate rejected the bailout 52-35 on a procedural vote.

GM and Chrysler have said they’re in danger of running out of money within weeks.

The White House on Friday said it considering new ways to help Detroit. The companies have prodded the Bush administration to tap into a $700 billion financial bailout fund for emergency aid.

http://www.wxyz.com/news/story…..uErDw.cspx

They shut up the news Gettlefinger had again.

All advertising by the big 2.5 should be pulled today to give media a clue.

CNN colloquoy between Heidi and Poppy…cited head of Car Nation, world’s biggest car dealer, saying functionally the car industry is in a depression, sales down 25%, adjusted for population sizes.

Republicons’ politization mania now causing global depression?

You okay with that, Olympia? Voinovich? Who else?

discovered Mayor Bernero myself this past Monday. excellent spokesperson – who apparently cribs our Scarecrow – good on ‘im !

I’ll transcribe it but it’ll take some time. What he said is important and eye opening.

You okay with that, Olympia? Voinovich? Who else?

Help me out with this part of your comment. I am not following considering Voinovich worked quite hard to get this bailout done.

Thanks. I missed it too and have not found a post up yet with the footage.

Here’s a very incomplete explanation. UAW already had a deal with the White House. Then Corker busts in and starts negotiating. UAW didn’t know what authority Corker had to make deals.

50 was for sunshine @ 48.

thanks so much!

was busy mastering screen shots (and frankly was avoiding tv this am) would love to see it

thanks. per my other comments. am in complete denial and have been avoiding the box since last night’s live blog.

CNN wants to know if the Big 2.5 should be bailed out. Anyone want to vote. It 49 yes/51 no. http://www.cnn.com/

I’m thinking…maybe the auto workers, all workers should be making the salaries that the senators get and the reverse. Let the politicians make the $15 – $20 an hour and then we might get some people in DC who are there because they want to Serve the country.
I’m a little crazy this morning.

But it if does, they get to set the terms of the deal — and does anyone think it’s going to be pretty for labor?

It would have been far less pretty if the Senate bill had gone through, I suspect. One thing that may work in the UAW’s favor: Time is running out on the business world, and they literally may not have time to work with Paulson to craft something that would help them out while screw the UAW into the ground the way the final proposed Senate bill would have.

So much for post-partisanship. It’s time to hit these “Southern Gentry” where it hurts — see #36.

I want to know who to boycott. I can’t imagine there’s anything that comes from Alabama or Kentucky or wherever that I can’t live without. Who are the major obstacles to passage of the bill, who are their big supporters, what businesses do they suck their money out of. This could be an opportunity to hit these guys hard. Make Shelby’s voters feel some buyers remorse. With a majority of the population realizing how bad the failure of these companies will be for the country I’d bet a push for a boycott could get some traction. The economy going to shrink — let’s make sure it shrinks more in Alabama.

Interesting, now the the loan has failed, MSM is actually calling it a “loan”. Now that it has failed all sorts of info is coming out. I guess they wanted to watch the ROD Blagojevich story and distract everyone from the incipient disaster.
I’m watching this morning and thinking, too little, too late.
Also wondering if Bush DOES step in, will he mange to crush the unions AND give it all away to the CEOS and stockholders. This guy has not done one good thing for American citizens ( cept the rich); why start now?
The end of the Reagan revolution; the final crushing of unionized labor which Americans fought and died for.
On with the corporate dictatorship.
Ring side seats for all!
Starvation, up close and personal, America! It’ll be FUN (popcorn optional)!

They’d prolly “rise again” if something like that happened……

What they’ve been doing for the last few decades is rising again. It’s time to put them down again.

Sorry, Jane. You can stay with your union-busting line, even if the UAW was greedy in years past before they made concessions, but I’m jumping off the ship before it hits an iceberg. If I have to go to Nippon to get my hi-performance cars, so be it.

If GM, Chrysler and Ford survive, I fear that the Corvette, Camaro, Challenger, Viper and Mustang will wither and die on the vine, and it’ll be a sad day for the Hot Rod magazine crowd when the domestics are forced for one reason or another to build nothing but econoboxes.

And please, spare me the Tesla Roadster talk. I just don’t want to hear it for the bazillionth time…

vitter just on fox stating specifically and emphatically that it broke down for one reason only—because the unions would not give concessions. no mention of the concessions already given.

whether this is the truth or not, i dunno…but that is the line they are feeding out.

… but why did they wait until last year to make those concessions?

I’m just so mad at the moment, I don’t know where to aim my anger at- the Republicans in the Senate for voting this down, the Senators who created these conditions in the first place, Red Ink Rick…

He’s lying.

White people in New York white collar jobs will have happy Christmases. Black people in Detroit blue collar jobs get the shaft.

Although race and class certainly intersect in America, I think you err, Jane, in making this a black and white issue. This is a rich versus poor, blue collar versus white collar issue. There are as many if not more white union workers who will be hurt by the collapse of the car industry bailout. By framing this as a race issue, you mis-state the problem in a way that stands to divide the people who should be — and are — standing together. It is the same old divide and conquer strategy that has been used to keep the working class down for centuries in the US — just flipped on its head.

I might add that as a lawyer (white collar) with a father who worked on a union assembly line for 40 years (blue collar), I am sensitive to this issue because I have lived the intra-racial gulf between the classes. I see it and I feel it in my own family. I understand that you may be able to make a more stark rhetorical point by making this a black and white issue, but you misstate the problem by doing so.

Thanks for the link to vote, Sunshine. Now, at 12:58 CST Fri 12/12 the vote stands 50 – 50, with Yes @ 72159 and No @ 72,141 on whether Pres/Paulson should use TARP funds to bail out Big 3. (CNN POLL).

Link at 55.

Shelby, Ala, = Toyota

Corker, TN = Honda

Just figured out the TX senate vote. KB Hutchison = Nay;
John Cornyn= no vote

Gutless John afraid to vote either way because he nearly lost his seat.
Hutchison, nay, because I just found out that Toyota is building a component here in Temple, TX for detailing their cars. Cars to be shipped in via rail, then out via same. (non-union shop).

The foreigners fear that their workers may decide to Union-up for same benefits, pay that UAW has , so the hard drive to bust the unions.