Yesterday, on news of senate Republicans blocking the Detroit bailout,  I wrote…

There are two fundamental things going on here.  First, the continuation of the ideology/strategy to disempower unions to the point where they are either powerless or gone (unions are not merely a hindrance to predatory business goals but also were a dependable source of funding and support for the Democratic Party).  Second, it is a continuation of the political strategy where effective or bound-to-be-popular polices/bills are thwarted and killed simply so that government will look (and be) ineffective particularly while the Dems are in control…all to the end of hoped-for future electoral gains and resumption of power or increase of power and to forward the notion (the Reagan slogan) that government is the problem rather than the solution.

And here’s the memo…

GOP: ‘Action Alert – Auto Bailout’

Posted: Friday, December 12, 2008 8:00 PM by Countdown
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Countdown has obtained a memo entitled “Action Alert – Auto Bailout,” and sent Wednesday at 9:12am, to Senate Republicans. The names of the sender(s) and recipient(s) have been redacted in the copy Countdown obtained. The Los Angeles Times reported that it was circulated among Senate Republicans. The brief memo outlines internal political strategy on the bailout, including the view that defeating the bailout represents a “first shot against organized labor.” Senate Republicans blocked passage of the bailout late Thursday night, over its insistence on an immediate union pay cut. See the entire memo after the jump.

From:

Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 9:12 AM

To:

Subject: Action Alert — Auto Bailout

 

Today at noon, Senators Ensign, Shelby, Coburn and DeMint will hold a press conference in the Senate Radio/TV Gallery.  They would appreciate our support through messaging and attending the press conference, if possible.  The message they want us to deliver is:

 

1.       This is the democrats first opportunity to payoff organized labor after the election.  This is a precursor to card check and other items.  Republicans should stand firm and take their first shot against organized labor, instead of taking their first blow from it.

 

2.       This rush to judgment is the same thing that happened with the TARP.  Members did not have an opportunity to read or digest the legislation and therefore could not understand the consequences of it.  We should not rush to pass this because Detroit says the sky is falling.

 

 

The sooner you can have press releases and documents like this in the hands of members and the press, the better.  Please contact me if you need additional information.  Again, the hardest thing for the democrats to do is get 60 votes.  If we can hold the Republicans, we can beat this.

 

http://thenewshole.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/12/12/1713569.aspx

And here’s an interesting perspective written in to Josh and team at TPM

Blue Highways

A Hill staffer emails about the long-term political implications of the neo-Hooverites blocking the auto bailout:

It is possible that there was some sort of covert nod-and-wink between Bush and the Senate GOP that the latter could have their cake and eat it, too. Senate Republicans could posture against unions (and try to set the UAW up as the villain) and vote against the bill, while Bush would subsequently use the TARP authority for a bridge loan.In the long run, the political fallout from this maneuver (whether Bush invokes TARP authority or not) means that the GOP has not only written off New England and the Mid-Atlantic, but the Midwest, and is hunkering down in its Dixie and Plains base. The GOP used to consider Indiana as a given, Ohio as a must, and Michigan as a like-to-have. Now all three are gone, along with Wisconsin and Minnesota.

And here’s Joe Stiglitz…

The debate about whether or not to bail out the Big Three carmakers has been mischaracterised. It has been described as a package to help the undeserving dinosaurs of Detroit. In fact, a plan to bail out the carmakers would benefit shareholders and bondholders as much as anybody else. These are not the people that need help right now. In fact they contributed to the problem.

Financial markets are supposed to allocate capital and monitor that it is used to good effect. They are supposed to be rewarded when they do that job well, but bear the consequences when they fail. The markets failed. Wall Street’s focus on quarterly returns encouraged the short-sighted behaviour that contributed to their own demise and that of America’s manufacturing, including the automotive industry. Today, they are asking to escape accountability. We should not allow it.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1a2e2042-c79f-11dd-b611-000077b07658,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F1a2e2042-c79f-11dd-b611-000077b07658.html%3Fnclick_check%3D1&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.talkingpointsmemo.com%2F&nclick_check=1

Franken gets important decision.  Coleman continues Forida-style ‘stop the recount’ strategy.

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/franken_gets_big_win_at_canvas.php