Below The Beltway

Even after the House passed the auto bailout bill last night, it was pretty clear that the outcome in the Senate was far from certain, now it’s beginning to look like the bailout might be in real trouble:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell broke with the White House Thursday over a proposed $14 billion loan package for ailing automakers, all but assuring its defeat this week and forcing the administration to consider other emergency steps to avert bankruptcies among Detroit’s Big Three this winter.

The Kentucky Republican, with a large auto presence in his state, had been seen as a potential ally for the industry, and he provided crucial support for the Treasury Department’s financial markets rescue fund this fall. But he has since endured a punishing re-election fight. And faced with strong resistance in his caucus, he said that the bill “isn’t nearly tough enough” and that he could not ask taxpayers to “subsidize failure.”

McConnell’s floor speech follows Wednesday night’s House vote approving the bill 237-170, with 32 Republicans supporting the administration. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) had hoped the better-than-expected margin could help tip the scale in the Senate, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn’t hide her unhappiness with the lack of Republican support—a harbinger of the Senate situation.

(…)

[A] Republican luncheon captured the mood Wednesday, as the president’s top aides were greeted by skeptical — sometimes animated — exchanges. Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, often took the lead, shedding his typical reserve. Senators from Kentucky and Tennessee jumped in as well. “It was ugly,” laughed one administration official, after a few hours to heal.

“We had a spirited discussion. … There’s a lot of misgivings,” said Shelby.

Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), a close White House ally over the years, said the lunch reflected a “tremendous number of reservations, to be kind.”

“I don’t think the Bush administration and Senate Republicans are on the same page in this case,” Gregg told Politico. “The White House wants to get out of town without a bankruptcy, and we’re going to be left with whatever they leave us.”

So, essentially, the Bush Administration has given up any pretense of principle and is simply operating on a strategy of appearing to do “something” while leaving the consequences for the rest of us worry about.

But, it would seem, there’s still hope of stopping this.

The importance of McConnell’s coming out against the bill cannot be underestimated, and it likely gives other Republican Senators the free reign they need to vote “no” and stop this monstrosity.

So, I will echo Leslie Carbone:

Please call your U.S. Senators and urge them to vote against the bail-out. If you live in Virginia, your Senators are:

John Warner
202-224-2023

and

Jim Webb
202-224-4024

If you do not live in Virginia and do not know how to reach your Senators, please click here.

This one is winnable, folks.