Democrats, White house Said To Be In Agreement On Bailout

And apparently it’s along the lines of Pelosi’s concession for using tax dollars previously earmarked for fuel efficiency research to fund loans for Detroit’s “big three.”

Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) — Democrats in Congress reached an agreement in principle with the Bush administration on providing funds to prevent a collapse of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, a congressional aide said.
Details of the legislation that will be voted on next week are still to be worked out, including the total amount of aid to be offered, the Democratic aide said. Still, the accord ends a dispute over the source of the funds that stalled congressional action for weeks.
The chief executives of GM and Chrysler testified at hearings this week that they need a combined $14 billion to keep operating through March 31. Under one possible scenario, Democrats would agree to use Energy Department funding and replace it with financial-bailout money when President-elect Barack Obama takes office and Democrats gain larger majorities in Congress in January.
Now it appears automakers “will get something,” said Clint Currie, a transportation analyst for Stanford Group Co. in Washington.
“This is at least one solution that could get the issue put to bed for the year,” Currie said. “Then the Obama administration can deal with it next year.”
The breakthrough came when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said $25 billion in Energy Department funds for the development of fuel-efficient vehicles could be used to keep the automakers operating if there is a “guarantee that those funds will be replenished in a matter of weeks so as not to delay that crucial initiative.”

I don’t see why Republicans are budging an inch on this. This Congress is almost over. Their control of the White House is about to lapse. Why not arch your backs and make a symbolic stand? After all, if nothing passes here Obama and the Demcorats will slam something through in the next session anyway. So why not make the stand? Do the right thing? They’ve got nothing to lose, and the respect of their conservative constituency (and the bailout-weary public at large) to gain.
My guess is that they’re just not smart enough.
Regardless, I fully expect the automakers the the union parasites that infest them to be back at the federal trough asking for another bailout in the spring of the year. Because these bailouts don’t solve anything. They just cost taxpayers money they can ill afford to spend, expand government control over private industry and preserve the status quo that brought us to this ugly juncture in the first place.