And it’s up to us to let them know we oppose this boondoggle.

Click here and send your Senators a fax and say NO BAILOUT!

Tell me again what program the government has ever taken over that has been glowingly successful??!!

Badger40 on December 10, 2008 at 1:46 PM

Well, there was, um – er, and then there was, um….Give me a minute. Yeah, I don’t know.

They’re really good at telling us what to do though, and creating one-size-fits-all unfunded mandates. That’s gotta be worth something right?

Oooh, ooh, I got it! The U.S. military started out as state militias and now we have a central military. Wait, that doesn’t really work either does it? I forgot about that whole Continental Army thing. Huh. I’ll get back to you.

Here Comes the Left [Iain Murray]

We have been working on the assumption that the President-elect would give the left positions relating to the environment, labor, health and so on. That seems to be the case as it now appears that former EPA administrator and Al Gore acolyte Carol Browner will be the energy/climate czar and that Los Angeles Deputy Mayor and LGBT activist Nancy Sutley will head the President’s Council on Environmental Quality. It’s going to be a long four years…

Then they should have voted differently in November, at least for congressional races, if not for president.

Vashta.Nerada on December 10, 2008 at 1:49 PM

not that it matters at this point, but
IF McCain had shown leadership, supported the plan of some of the House Republicans, and
IF all House & Senate Republicans had voted against the bailouts from the git-go, offering a clear alternative proposal

THEN, while Obama might still have won, we’d be in a strong position to start winning back both houses beginning in 2010

It didnt work.

To appease the Enviro Wackos who are the biggest cause of forest burning every year. ( remember trees love co2) They propose to make us drive Mini UGOS. 2 Cyl at that. But they will still need their private jets to fly around and keep us honest to not produce more Carbon then they prescribe.

Who owns Chrysler LLC? Well, they’re 80% owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP, the private equity fund that bought Chrysler away from Daimler AG.

Cerberus is one of the largest, best-funded, best-managed, and candidly, most-feared private equity firms out there. They’re run by former Treasury Secretary Jack Snow, and there’s a who’s-who of well-connected former political honchos on staff too. This is a firm that can get nearly anyone on the telephone when they need to.

They also have quite a few billion dollars in undeployed capital available. Why don’t they put some into Chrysler?

Because Chrysler is not a company that any investor with a brain would put money into. THAT’S why.

And that’s why some of the wealthiest, smartest and most powerful investors in the world want they want the taxpayers, we who presumably are brainless, to put our money into Chrysler, behind theirs.

Now look at Tesla. This company was founded by Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of PayPal, and a technology and venture-capital hero.

Tesla is doing and has done terrific things. They’re committed to building fully-electric cars that people really want to drive. Well, at least people at a certain income level. Their roadster model has a six-figure price tag, and is said to perform at exotic-supercar levels, at least for the 40 or so miles that it will run on one charge.

I totally applaud what Tesla is up to. And I also applaud the fact that they have attracted large investments from some of the sharpest and best-connected venture capitalists out there.

The problem is that they’re nearly out of money now. In ordinary times, they wouldn’t have had much trouble attracting new capital from existing and new investors. But these aren’t normal times, and Silicon Valley is avoiding any new deals to the extent that they can.

But Tesla is a great idea, and might someday be a great company. It would be a shame for them to shut down now.

So naturally, their investors, who are some of the smartest and wealthiest people in the world, want YOU to come in and provide Tesla’s next round of funding.

That’s my interpretation of Section 9(a)(2) of the current draft bailout legislation.

Interesting bit of insight on who will benefit from this bailout bill. Not just the big three, but another car company in California. Who represents Silicon Valley..?

a capella on December 10, 2008 at 2:06 PM

I had one of those. I pedalled as fast as I could, but it would only go in reverse.

Simple: repeal the CAFE legislation.

Americans believe that the big 3 cannot make good small cars (they can, but the belief is marketing “reality”). Killing CAFE lets them make what their customers want: big cars and small trucks – at a profit.

It would cost the taxpayer nothing – and bring the big3 back into the black virtually overnight.

Don’t get me wrong, I love diesel automobiles. I even own one, a 2005 Jetta TDI and with my driving profile I get comfort, handling and a lot of features along with my 40 mpg mileage.

jerryofva on December 10, 2008 at 3:11 PM

The irony is the price, it costs much less to process diesel then gasoline, and you basically have one product for all the states.
but, alas, you are correct, they are not “cool”…

Mc Cain will vote for the bill. Hes a true turncoat.

Benedict Mc Cain!!!!!!

Rick007 on December 10, 2008 at 2:28 PM

Which is why Dems don’t need 60. They need 59 + McCain. Actually more like 58 + McCain + Specter/Colins

Americans will not by diesel automobiles in large numbers. There are four reasons:

Consumer memories are long and people will remember the failed GM diesels of the early 1980s

High price of diesel fuel. Consumers are obsessed with price gallon not cost per mile driven.

People think diesels smell and are noisy. Perhaps they will see the Jetta TDI and change their mind.

Finally, and probably most importantly, Americans are addicted to technofixes and coolness. Diesels, no matter how high tech are “old” technology. Hybrids are cool and the that’s what the people demand. It doesn’t matter whether the only hybrids that make sense are the tiny econobox types which handle poorly and don’t offer a lot features because they drain the battery and reduce its efficency. Plugins and EVs will remain small because of the power requirements. Diesels should be more popular but they never will be in America.

Don’t get me wrong, I love diesel automobiles. I even own one, a 2005 Jetta TDI and with my driving profile I get comfort, handling and a lot of features along with my 40 mpg mileage.

There may be a lot of good arguments for why the gov’t shouldn’t be involved in the US auto industry, but a class warfare argument isn’t one of them.

Unionise Wal Mart. We need to bring it down also.

Whats the difference????

Chi Town politics or Unions???????? None.

http://www.carlustblog.com/images/2008/04/16/gremlin3.jpg

JackS on December 10, 2008 at 2:23 PM

Aaah, “fond” memories of an 11-hour drive up to college in Vermont with my dad and mom crammed into the back of a Gremlin…

Really, it’s sad. My dad always buys American cars (only foreign one he ever bought was a Toyota copying one that I had bought the previous year) and most of them have been fine… except the two small ones: Gremlin and Pinto.

I agree with BadgerHawk. Let the Big 3 make the vehicles that are actually in demand, at least for now. But even without the CAFE standards, they are still screwed unless the labor situation gets fixed.

When the Auto Co’s built small cars nobody bought them.

So now the Liberal Democratic plan is to keep Gas prices up and then people will have to buy them.
They win they win!

We need Citron Cv2’s now. LOL Anybody remember tham from the 50’s???

Boycot US auto’s till they file for bankruptcy and reorgnise.
F— the UAW. Uonions have closed more buisness in the U.S. than any other factor. And they do shoddy work.

Employees in small towns. Who do you think pays for their health benefits and pensions? If you think the Germans or Asians are building plants to create jobs or wealth in this country. I have a bridge to show you.

All the Asians have is labor and if you believe the Torrens/Ricardo standard theory of trade we should let our carmakers fail. Just don’t believe that Korea or China wants to pay US workers even $10 an hour. They will do it until the tax free land runs out or the pensions run up. A Chinese worker makes $50 a month and all of Asia has tens of thousands begging for work.

Our manufacturers are dead men walking. And I love Cadillacs…

My father, God rest his soul,a WW11 vet(Italy and Germany), was somewhat taken aback when Mercedes-Benz built 30 miles West of Birmingham and then Honda built 30 miles East of Birmingham. He felt surrounded.

Jindal/Palin 2012 or Palin/Jindal.

Forget the not American buisness “O” Dumbo is stopping that Constitutional Requirement now.

Benedict Mc Cain!!!!!!

They are careerists, first and foremost.

Would you buy a car designed by Congress?

a capella on December 10, 2008 at 2:06 PM

I wouldn’t buy a Congress designed by Congress.