Auto Bill Fails In Senate, 52-35 — Say Good Night, Gracie

Tonight Harry Reid called for cloture on the auto bill, knowing he didn't have the votes.

Chris Dodd spoke for working people, and expressed his disbelief that the Senate could let this happen right now (YouTube). Talk about your War on Christmas.

Corker of Tennesee then went on to make an impassioned speech about how close they came to a deal, the only sticking point was that the UAW wouldn't commit to a date to accept salary parity with what workers in foreign auto companies make. Mind you, the Republicans didn't ask for commitments from dealers or creditors or bond holders or suppliers, just blue collar workers. So that was really where the only problem was going to arise.

Funny, none of these bastards demanded wage and benefit cuts for Wall Street workers in the $700 billion bank bailout.

Before the vote, Reid said "I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow" — with a smile.

When I suggested that Reid call their bluff and make the Republicans filibuster and watch as the stock market tanked in their wake, I never thought he'd do it. Gotta hand it to him -- for the time being any way, he's not letting the red state culture warriors railroad the unions.

Final vote: 52-35, with Tester and Lincoln defecting from the Dems.

Reid says the Senate is now in pro-forma session and they don't anticipate reconvening before next year.

We're now in a giant game of chicken. Will Bush and Paulson blink?

Update: Reid statement --

Continued>>>
http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/11/auto-bill-fails-in-senate-53-35-say-good-night-gracie/

Reid was perfectly amenable to letting the GOP screw the unions. The sticking point was the GOP wanting to force them to take pay cuts now, instead of when their contract runs out in 2011. It's a minor point, but it's perfectly in keeping with the Harry Reid we've seen over the last several years; an impotent negotiator.

And let's not overlook the fact that once again, the mere threat of a filibuster is good enough for Hapless Harry. No need to make them actually carry through and filibuster.