Ford
Senate Republicans show America they still have a pair and kill auto bailout
Update (12/11/08 - 11:12pm): Senate fails to invoke cloture with a vote of 52 Yeas to 35 Nays, 8 short of the required 60 votes.
This means that both bodies will have to take this issue up again in January, as the rest of the Senate’s sessions will be pro forma, where nothing really happens.
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It looks like the efforts of Senator Bob Corker (TN) and the leadership of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have paid off and the Senate Republicans have grown a pair, standing up to the Democrats and the White House.
It appears that the Senate wont have the 60 votes needed for cloture, which means that the auto bailout is dead for now.
Some quick quotes from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:
“I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow, it’s going to be a terrible sight”
“It’s going to be a very bad Christmas for a lot of people”
The vote on cloture is expected to happen in the next few minutes; I’ll have details upon it’s conclution.
House of Representatives Passes Auto Bailout
This seems to be the thought process of many of the elected officials in DC today…
Step 1: Pass Auto Bailout in the House. Check.
The United States House of Representatives just passed the latest round of government handouts (237-170), this time with the taxpayers money directed towards the troubled automakers.
Step 2: Pass Auto Bailout in the Senate. coming soon.
Step 3: Adjourn Congress, go back to districts and receive praise. Then come back to Washington to find out this “bridge loan” didn’t do as much as they had hoped and start this whole process again.
Step 4: Write a book.
While today’s proceedings were fairly dry, I’m convinced that things in the Senate will definitely be more colorful tomorrow (Thursday). This is probably the last time the GOP will be able to flex some muscle on the Senate floor for awhile, so it could definitely be a good show.
