Also...In Lansing, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said the senators who opposed the automaker rescue were biased.
"The favoritism that was shown to those foreign companies at the expense of American industries was, frankly, shocking," she said.
Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm has issued the following statement on the U.S. Senate's failure to approve a bridge loan for the U.S. auto companies:As I wrote yesterday:
"Republican senators have just delivered a fierce slap at three million workers across America. Their no vote is an astounding blow: They have chosen to ignore the livelihood of three million Americans, three million families, and in the process have have chosen to drive the American manufacturing industry - and perhaps the American economy - into the ground. They are choosing foreign competitors over American industry and American workers. A nation without a strong manufacturing sector is a nation without a viable defense sector. This is a shameful day, a day we will not forget. I implore President Bush not to let the American economy slide from recession into depression as he leaves office. Direct the Treasury Secretary or the Chairman of the Federal Reserve to use their authority to save the American auto industry, three million American jobs, and our nation's economy. The moment could not be more urgent. Mr. President, American workers are depending on you. Save these jobs."
Of course, Sens. Corker and Shelby have their own states and those foreign assembly plants to protect... factories owned by companies that receive a lot of support and subsidies from foreign governments, too.Sure there is a lot of local and regional maneuvering for advantage. Everyone understands that. And even if it is a "cutting off one's nose to spite one's face" sort of thing, the memories of Sens. Shelby and Corker will be long.
U.S. automakers will survive somehow. And there will be payback someday... of a political sort. Those senators just don't know Gov. Granholm, but they will. Mark my words.
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