Harry Reid and the Chamber of Asshats
Well, the race between those that would save the US economy and those that would loot the US economy seems to be coming down to the wire. Last night, the House passed a bailout/bridge loan bill for the Big 3 auto companies. While it's not a great bill, it should at least keep them afloat until the grownups can take over on January 20th. That is, of course if it passes the Senate. The Republican contingent in the the Senate is a grab-bag of troglodytes, flat-earthers, Grand Wizards, and fascists, and for a variety of predictably bad reasons, they're willing to sacrifice the economy on the altar of ideology.
I can't say that I am utterly thrilled at the prospect of bailing out the auto companies - most of their problems are of their own making, but there are important tactical and strategic reasons for doing it, and so we must. Tactically, if the automakers go, so do hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of jobs. This would happen in the next few months, in the depths of a deep recession, quite possibly tipping the economy into a depression. Once in a depression, the efficiency gains of the automakers after bankruptcy and involuntary reorganization would be irrelevant, because without jobs, nobody would be able to buy their products. Strategically, it is necessary for several reasons: It is important that the country have a manufacturing base. Transitioning away from imported oil will require new transportation technology, and the domestic development and implementation of that technology would be a double boost for the economy- more jobs here and less money sent to unfriendly states to finance our oil addiction.
Since I would prefer not to live in a Stone Age economy, which is where we're headed if the economy truly tanks, I've done my teeny-tiny-wee-little-nano-small part by writing (I think) a succinct and respectful letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid regarding our current predicament. (It's respectful because I didn't use the word "asshat" even though I dearly wanted to.) The text follows below.
Dear Senate Majority Leader Reid,
I am writing to you today regarding the upcoming vote(s) on the bailout for the Big 3 US automakers. I know that you are on the record as favoring government-backed loans with conditions to keep the automakers afloat until they can restructure their finances, operations, and product lines in order to become profitable again. I, too understand that the American economy is teetering on the edge of an abyss, and that drastic measures such as this are necessary to prevent it.
There appears to be a group of Senators from the other party, who for a variety of short-sighted, ill-informed, misguided, or even malicious reasons, oppose any aid to the US auto industry, and are preparing to attempt to block its passage. As I understand the rules of the Senate, it is within your power to make this process more or less difficult for them. In the past, many "filibusters" have in fact been settled by a single cloture vote, and if the sixty votes were not available, then the measure in question was blocked. As a working American who wants not only to keep his job, but wants to live in a country with a functioning economy with opportunity for all to make a decent living, I ask you to make it clear to the American people who is blocking the legislation, and the potential effect of their actions on the economy. I believe the best way to accomplish this is to force them to make an old-school filibuster; make them stand there and talk from now until January 20th if necessary, while you hold press conferences and turn the American people against them. If the people of Alabama, South Carolina, and Louisiana (among others) realize that their representatives are willing to destroy the country (and their livelihoods) in order to score ideological points, enough of them will turn against their Senators to make a difference.
This bridge loan program may be what it takes to enable the economy to hold on until President-Elect Obama takes office. It is almost a certainty though, that if the loan program and then the car companies fail, then the economy will too. And that must be avoided at all costs.
I hope that you will seriously consider what I've said here.
Thank you for your time.
Well, the race between those that would save the US economy and those that would loot the US economy seems to be coming down to the wire. Last night, the House passed a bailout/bridge loan bill for the Big 3 auto companies. While it's not a great bill, it should at least keep them afloat until the grownups can take over on January 20th. That is, of course if it passes the Senate. The Republican contingent in the the Senate is a grab-bag of troglodytes, flat-earthers, Grand Wizards, and fascists, and for a variety of predictably bad reasons, they're willing to sacrifice the economy on the altar of ideology.
I can't say that I am utterly thrilled at the prospect of bailing out the auto companies - most of their problems are of their own making, but there are important tactical and strategic reasons for doing it, and so we must. Tactically, if the automakers go, so do hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of jobs. This would happen in the next few months, in the depths of a deep recession, quite possibly tipping the economy into a depression. Once in a depression, the efficiency gains of the automakers after bankruptcy and involuntary reorganization would be irrelevant, because without jobs, nobody would be able to buy their products. Strategically, it is necessary for several reasons: It is important that the country have a manufacturing base. Transitioning away from imported oil will require new transportation technology, and the domestic development and implementation of that technology would be a double boost for the economy- more jobs here and less money sent to unfriendly states to finance our oil addiction.
Since I would prefer not to live in a Stone Age economy, which is where we're headed if the economy truly tanks, I've done my teeny-tiny-wee-little-nano-small part by writing (I think) a succinct and respectful letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid regarding our current predicament. (It's respectful because I didn't use the word "asshat" even though I dearly wanted to.) The text follows below.
Dear Senate Majority Leader Reid,
I am writing to you today regarding the upcoming vote(s) on the bailout for the Big 3 US automakers. I know that you are on the record as favoring government-backed loans with conditions to keep the automakers afloat until they can restructure their finances, operations, and product lines in order to become profitable again. I, too understand that the American economy is teetering on the edge of an abyss, and that drastic measures such as this are necessary to prevent it.
There appears to be a group of Senators from the other party, who for a variety of short-sighted, ill-informed, misguided, or even malicious reasons, oppose any aid to the US auto industry, and are preparing to attempt to block its passage. As I understand the rules of the Senate, it is within your power to make this process more or less difficult for them. In the past, many "filibusters" have in fact been settled by a single cloture vote, and if the sixty votes were not available, then the measure in question was blocked. As a working American who wants not only to keep his job, but wants to live in a country with a functioning economy with opportunity for all to make a decent living, I ask you to make it clear to the American people who is blocking the legislation, and the potential effect of their actions on the economy. I believe the best way to accomplish this is to force them to make an old-school filibuster; make them stand there and talk from now until January 20th if necessary, while you hold press conferences and turn the American people against them. If the people of Alabama, South Carolina, and Louisiana (among others) realize that their representatives are willing to destroy the country (and their livelihoods) in order to score ideological points, enough of them will turn against their Senators to make a difference.
This bridge loan program may be what it takes to enable the economy to hold on until President-Elect Obama takes office. It is almost a certainty though, that if the loan program and then the car companies fail, then the economy will too. And that must be avoided at all costs.
I hope that you will seriously consider what I've said here.
Thank you for your time.
Labels: auto bailout, filibuster, harry reid
posted by Stochastic Eclectica at
9:42 AM
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