Congress spoke, and said, "No bailout." Of course, most congress critters actually said, "Yes bailout," but the pesky rules of the Senate allowed a handful of Conservatives (there aren't enough to make a football team anymore) to stop what a Republican President and a Democrat Congress wanted. So, the Senate was ignored and we got a UAW bailout anyway. Well, a month or two of bailout. Wait until the real bailout bills sail through the brave new world of Obama/Reid/Pelosi Washington, DC. Hoover and FDR turned a stock market correction into a decade-long depression through higher taxes, wanton spending, and protectionist trade policy. Sound familiar?
Congress' marginalization was brutally underscored when, after Congress did not authorize $14 billion for General Motors and Chrysler, the executive branch said, in effect: Congress' opinions are mildly interesting, so we will listen very nicely -- then go out and do precisely what we want.
Friday the president gave the two automakers access to money Congress explicitly did not authorize. More money -- up to $17.4 billion -- than had been debated, thereby calling to mind Winston Churchill on naval appropriations: "The Admiralty had demanded six ships: the economists offered four: and we finally compromised on eight." - George Will, The Final Blow Against Congress, December 21, 2008
