Supporting the auto industry bailout

After much consideration, I am in favor of the auto industry bailout. I don't make this decision lightly. I considered many factors, and have decided that it would be best if the U.S. government bailed out the Big Three auto makers. The thing most people forget is that the U.S. auto industry is more than Ford, GM, and Chrysler. Those are the big auto makers that are headquartered in Michigan. But that's not where all the cars are made. Tennessee, for instance, has GM plants. And Volkswagen is building a plant there. Nissan builds vehicles there, too. And Alabama. Mercedes builds vehicles there. Yes, there are Mercedes built in Alabama. Betcha didn't know that. And Honda vehicles, too. And Toyota. Georgia is getting a new Kia plant. They're hiring, by the way. What all this means is, while things are rough up north, the auto industry in the south is doing well. Or a helluva lot better than Detroit. I live in the south. Born here. Live here. Love it here. And that's why we need to bail out the auto industry. Up north. You see, all those blue states -- the ones with Democrat governors and Democrat Representatives and Democrat Senators and Democrat Legislatures --- have let the Democrats in power screw up their economies while down here in the red states --- the ones with Republican governors and Republican Representatives and Republican Senators and Republican Legislatures -- have had better economies. What I'm worried about is that all those folks that keep electing Democrats that screwed up those northern economies will move down here where the jobs are, register to vote, then elect Democrats to power that'll screw up things down here as bad as it is up north. So, I say bail out the auto industry. We've got enough problems down here in the south without a bunch do damn Democrats moving down here and screwing things up even worse. Bail them out. Or build a fence. Right about the Mason-Dixon line ought to do.

SNL's missing post ... found

NBC took some flack earlier today for removing a post that trashed Democrats (and others) for the bailout and associated runup. They've reposted it, removing some text that could cause legal issues. Here's the edited version: SNL is not exactly fair and balanced, but it is nice to see them throw the right wing a bone.

Yakko's Bailout

And now, Yakko Warner explains the bailout...



The U.S. economy's tanked. It's beyond me
Why nobody knows who's to blame.
When Washington's involved, the markets will devolve;
The reason is always the same.



In '94, sub-prime mortgages were five
Percent of all housing loans, but,
The number then went up to 20 percent
Due to a perceived housing glut.



In '99 Clinton, with impeachment defended,
Told Fannie Mae, "You must give loans
To those that don't qualify, 'cause I must mollify
All those that kept me afloat."



Franklin Raines took over Fannie Mae's books over
Judgment that was good and true.
The books he did cook, and 'twas millions he took
Before away to retirement he flew.



Freddie Mac, also, backed loans that were awful
But banks went along for the ride
With creative accounting while debts were amounting
To billions they tried hard to hide.



Freddie and Fannie gave thousands in money
To those overseeing this mess.
To Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Obama. Yes, very
Suspicious, to put it the best.



And now, Lordy Mama, advising Obama
Is none other than Franklin Raines.
With speeches a-plenty, but meaning that's empty,
Barack's "change" sounds more like "the same."



In 2008, the strain couldn't wait
And Freddie and Fannie both fell.
The government leapt in, took over and stepped in
A hand basket heading to hell.



"The upcoming debate, well, you know it can wait,"
Said John McCain. "Let's all go back
To D.C. and huddle, and fix all this muddle."
But the train was too far off the tracks.



The debate, it went on, and though nobody won,
The Congress could not pass a bill.
Pelosi's speech tanked it, although Barney Frank went
"Don't blame us on Capitol Hill."



The Republicans cast blame, the Democrats did same,
And nobody knows what event
Will help with this crisis, though Obama's advisors
Say "Show up and then vote 'present.'"



The market dropped hundreds, the pols, they do blunders
Of bills that will just make it worse.
The good news is one day, it will all be okay,
And history will write the last verse.

Obama says he's just like George Bush

Did you catch what Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said today?

The Washington Post said:

Accusing President Bush of "my way or the highway intransigence," Sen. Barack Obama outlined four principles that he said a financial bailout package must address, asserting it was "wholly unreasonable" for taxpayers to accept the White House's call for legislation with no strings attached.

MSNBC reported:

"Yesterday, the President said that Congress should pass this proposal to ease the crisis on Wall Street without significant changes or improvements," the Illinois senator told reporters, arguing that everyone has a stake in solving the crisis to protect the jobs and the life savings of millions. "Given that fact, the President's stubborn inflexibility is both unacceptable and disturbingly familiar. This is not the time for my-way-or-the-highway intransigence from anybody involved."

The New York Times said:

"The president's stubborn inflexibility is both unacceptable and disturbingly familiar," Mr. Obama said, referring to Mr. Bush's comments in recent days that Congress approve the administration's bailout plan as presented. "This is not the time for my way or the highway."

So, those different news sources ... plus others ... all reported that Sen. Obama called President Bush stubborn and inflexible for demanding his way.

But did you read the entire reports?

Obama laid out "four principles" for a bailout package.

What if those four principles aren't met?

Washington Post:

But when pressed about how he would vote if the final package did not include any of the four provisions he offered, Obama said, "If the plan that emerges does not address the principles that I discussed, I will strongly recommend to Secretary Paulson that he go back to the drawing board and find an approach that does address them. This goes back to my original point. ... This is not one of those circumstances where the president can come out and simply say, you do it my way or nothing's going to happen."

MSNBC:

The senator said negotiations over the next few days would be difficult but did not answer directly whether he would vote against the bill if it did not contain the measures he had laid out, at first saying only that it was important to deal with this emergency situation in the right way to avoid future problems. Later, he added, "If the plan that emerges does not address the principles that I've discussed then I will strongly recommend to Sec. Paulson that he go back the drawing board and find an approach that does address them."

New York Times:

If those four objectives are not met, Mr. Obama told reporters at a news conference here, he would recommend that federal and congressional negotiators "go back to the drawing board" to restructure the bailout plan.

Did you catch that?

Bush is "stubborn" and "inflexible" if his goals aren't met.

But Obama will send the plan "back to the drawing board" if his goals aren't met.

Obama just said he's like George Bush.

And he already said we don't need another four years of George Bush.

We darn sure don't need four years of Barack Obama.