Live Blog from the Anchor Desk 12/11/08
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/10/30/art.liveblog.jpg]
Here's how you can be a part of tonight's program. Just scroll down and share your thoughts on tonight's stories.
But, keep in mind you have a better chance of getting your comment posted on the blog if you follow our rules.
Here are some of them:
1) Don't write in ALL CAPS (we don't like screaming)
2) Stay on topic
3) No curse words
Want to know what we're covering tonight? LINK TO EVENING BUZZ
Don't miss Erica Hill's webcast during the commercials. LINK TO WEBCAST
And take a look at our live web camera from the 360° studio. LINK TO THE BLOG CAMERA
|
|
Filed under: Live Blog |
About this Show:
Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
Questions or comments? Send an email
Want to know more? Go behind the scenes with AC361°
Subscribe to the podcast
On Twitter
Search the AC360 blog
I am a proud GMC truck owner for years.
Everyone is blaming the Republicans but where is the auto workers union. They seem to want all their benefits and salaries and that everyone but them needs to sacrifice.
To think that if someone is laid off they get most of their salary for years is absolutely unbelievable.
A chapter 11 with the government doing the financing is the best deal that I have heard coming out of all this.
Looks at least as if the Senat is going to get this one right. Let the Auto makers file Chapter 11. We CAN NOT bailout everyone. The Dems are just trying to do a big time payback for all the Union votes they had have gotten through the years.
The notion of freemarket in our society has already died. I am not sure I understand what it might mean to suggest that we somehow return to a market that doesn't hold any reflection of what the founders of the market expected.
Those who yell freemarket, freemarket, freemarket need to have the nerve to actually not let our market be bolstered by tariffs and global oppression. One of the interesting facts of this vote following on the heals of Planet in Peril, is precisely the relationship between our market as a force of global destruction. Freemarket would require those in power to believe in freedom of the market.
Erica the failure tonight was on the greed of the Learedship of the auto industry, the UAW, the Congress, and the American public. Each of us contributed in part to this failure.
a “collapse of leadership” – strong words from david gergen,
Erica,
I agree with David Gergen, it is collaspe of leadship.... it is already fail bailout right now.....
Hi Anderson- tonight my heart sank to my stomach seeing what our state senators chose to do. My husband sells cars for a living and has been very successful the last 9 years except for the last few months. Don't people think about how many families this affects. It's not the corporate CEO's it is families like mine that suffer. With Christmas coming things were already stressful, now we have to worry about the consequences this vote will have on the dealership that my husband and the many others that rely on it.
Great news for the environment! The bailout failed.
GM bears much of the responsibility for both our environmental and economic problems by GM's pushing wasteful automobiles on the public and by fighting fuel efficiency standards. This is causing both global warming and hundreds of billions of dollars being sent to countries that don't like us much to pay for oil.
Ironically that this happened in CNN's environment week. The planet is in a bit less peril now!
Good! I'm proud of the Republicans both in the House and in the Senate.
Listen, I don't want them to fail, but giving them money will not fix the problem. People are buying less cars. This means auto jobs will be lost. These companies need to downsize and this unfortunately means more jobs lost and even less people who can afford a car.
We have to go through this hard time. The government is like an over protective parent who thinks they can fix this. They can't. Throwing money at Ford and GM will not save the day.
The 1908 Ford Model-T could get 25 miles to the gallon and ran on bio-fuels. Henry Ford's vision was for people/farmers to grow their own fuel. Jump almost 100 years and the 2008 Ford Explorer only get 21 miles per gallon. If the big three want a bail out then they need to make cars that can get 70-100 mpg. They can do it. Oil has been their own undoing.
Wade, India can't even make an under 10K car like that (not something earth friendly over 40mpg at least).
The Republicans are just using this as an opportunity to break the UAW. How will the collapse of the auto industry affect the after market auto parts industry and all the ma and pa small auto parts stores that depend on those parts being supplied to them?
I agree with Stacy on this one, Blagojevich is incredibly corrupt and all he really got from the courts was a slap on the wrist. It makes me sad to witness all these corrupt politicians running your country into the ground and I think its only going to get worse from here on in.
Glad to see the bailout fail. The worst thing that can happen is for politically swayed Congress and the President's 'car czar' to substitute for a judicially run bankruptcy court that will be relatively shielded from the 'politics of jobs'. If Congress wants to throw money, let them throw it at new, entrepreneurial companies like Tesla that are the future of this country. Let the Detroit 3 enter into bankruptcy – be it 11 or 7 – and let the cards fall where they may.
All political figures agree that we should have a manufacturing backbone, in this case car companies. Whether you do it with traditional Chapter 11, or pre-packaged, or outside of bankruptcy, we all agree and would have given the public financing to accomplish any of the three structures.
Therefore, my only conclusion is that something else is going on. Political leaders, are grandstanding, only protecting there own re-election or their own state industry, like foreign car companies, in their own states.
Therefore, the conclusion is a great country with failed leadership.
I guess that is why we are where we are.
It is also sad that Congress spent so much time with the Big 3 to come up with a solution and then it's dead just like that cuz they can't come to an agreement between the House and the Senate! It's getting so political now. I'm with David Gergen, disappointed in our government. I'm losing my trust them now.
No Erica, they're acting out the will of their constituents. They're doing their job exactly. Stop spending money we don't have. If private investors see no future in these companies, it's pointless to forcefully make the public invest their hard-earned capital in these lackluster companies.
A bailout would be throwing good money after bad. I am happily surprised by the bailout negative vote tonight!
Unions insert artificial wages in the product stream. As long as this continues, funds are bled from R&D, quality, and design. The end product will cost more yet be worth less. Ahhh yes, the American Car Industry.
Let them go broke, get restructured and have the courts kill the union contracts.
Then a rebirth can occur. It will be painful, but it will bring a true and wonderful transition over time. Nothing is free and there is no magic pixie dust. The pixie dust has put us in this situation.
A very sad day in the the US when our leaders will bail out the white collar Wall Street and let 3 million blue collar workers go down. I recently retired from 31 years and I was paying a 42% tax rate on my wages. I never made over 70,000 in a year. Add it up. Who is going to loose? Americans need to support Americans.
Republicans in the Senate caused this bridge loan to fail, and American must take note of the consequences of what Republicans have done to this country. If the commenters actually believe that "we'll have mass unemployment but we'll come out of it..." is a good thing for America, then I guess we deserve what we get, as we citizens elected the Republicans that have doomed the American auto industry.
Good i'm glad this bailout failed. Why don't they use OUR tax dollars they already stole from us to bailout Wall St. for this bailout. Besides I can't get a loan for these cheap made cars any way.
It has become quite clear from most of the polls that the public does not support bailouts/loans, or whatever you want to call them. Not for wallstreet and certainly not for the auto industry. So why blame Republicans for being the only ones to have the guts to do what the public wants? Should we not want our elected officials to serve on our behalf?
Thank You David Gergen excellent point,....Always interested in hearing your thoughts on any and everything....I hope something is done to save the jobs of all of those people in Michigan...
People in the senate just don't know what is going now in ordinary people life!!!
It is dissappointing Jolene, I'm surprised they brought it to the floor tonight.
If this is a test vote on the bailout, does that mean there will be or could be another vote? WH to use funds from 700b, at least there's hope.
Surprising result given that unions have eaten so many pay cuts already. First of all. Secondly, big 3 execs have been, comparatively, exemplary about reducing their own salaries and perks. True concessions on the part of the automakers.
I think that Bush will do everything he can to get this bailout passed before he leaves office. He doesn't want to leave this on Obama's doorstep and get blamed for it.
Can we just help Ford if they end up needing it? They're the only one of the US automakers that has a sound business model.
I have mixed feelings about the auto bailout because I know all of those people can't afford to lose their jobs but at the same time where is the accountability. Are we going to bailout every company who makes poor decisions? When little people like myself make bad personal decisions such as falling behind on a mortgage, etc. we have to suffer the consequences. Yet big corporations get a pass and they are supossed to be smarter than the average consumer. Really makes you wonder. Hmmmm. As the old people say, "something in the milk ain't clean."
Who is going to follow-up with the Obama administration on his campaign promises? He is in a lovefest with the reporters and the nation as he throws his support behind the auto bailout but what about his campaign pledge to eliminate income taxes on the first $50,000 of pension income received by retirees. This was his pledge and what put him over the top in the election with McCain. He would never have received the amount of senior vote he did receive without that campaign pledge. Simple question, how about doing what you promised by bailing out the seniors.
Doug
know this mother grandmother and granfather can stop lying this child is finally free know they cant blame nancy grace but own up to how this child died. what's done in the dark always come to light.
the senate should take a pay cut, i agree.
No more bailouts you need to fail in USA if you can not make $
Give GM, Ford and Chrysler big POs for new hybrids.
Have them use these POs to get financing.
Big tax credits for americans who buy these american made cars!
A car czar cannot solve the problems of the big three if they are not willing to subject themselves to a reality check as to what automobiles people want.
Some of the headlines indicate that the bailout failed primarily due to union intransigence. If that is true, why do the unions believe they should be shielded from the general recession – i.e., no layoffs, no paycuts, no sacrifices that others are making in other industries. There is no doubt that the country's industrial base needs support, but no one should get a free ride in the process.
The Republicans are playing games and none of them will be elected again. I work selling cars for GM and this is crazy. I know that the automakers have made mistakes but we cannot let this happen.
The worker in this country is in peral Anderson. When the republicans break the uaw they will turn on tranplants and tell them they need to be able to compeat with Mexico and China
David Gergen, are you suggested NOT passing the auto package is irresponsible on the part of Congress? If so, I would have to disagree.
I will not nor will I support the auto companies if a bail out is allowed. I would buy American if the Auto Industry were to file bankruptcy.
I am tired of suporting failure and not getting nothing but false promises from "THE GOVERNMENT"
As a former autoworker i firmly believe that the stipulation should be made that IF the big three get any of american taxpayer dollars, NONE of it should be spent on overseas auto operations. It should be used to keep the few American auto indstry jobs left. dont let them take the money and build three new plants in China and close five in th US
Honestly are people in this country surprised? A country where the rich get richer by stealing and cheating the sytem! Now that it comes back to bite them they want help to save there 4 houses and private jets! Let them fail, let new leadership take over and turn this economy and country around!!
maybe its time we sit down and just accept the inevitable. you cannot save them all. if the country is going to go into a depression better now then. i never thought i would be seeing this in my lifetime. i am 29 years old and now itd time to prepare and hold on to our butts.
I agree with David Gergen. Congress is a mess and the Republicans will pay for this.
David Gergen looks really sad. He sounds really disgusted with the Congress.
a "collapse of leadership" – strong words from david gergen, one of the smartest, most insightful people on TV. do you agree, is the failure of this auto bailout in the senate the sign of a larger failure of our elected officials?
I completely agree with David Gergen. The Senate really dropped the ball this time.
Please publish the names of senators voting against helping the automakers. We need to know who is waging war against the middle class.
Seems too logical to me, but what about the oil companies bailing out the auto industry since it's via those vehicles that the oil companies made their greatest earnings ever over the past few years. Why not that???
Carole Hicks
i am wondering why the question of what the auto industry has done with all the past years profit earnings ? if you could please comment
People are just not buying the cars so how can they afford to buy anything they cant even keep there own doors open.
I want to know when people are going to help mainstreet . families are hurting and Bush is worried about the auto companes pls worry about Families in awhole help the Auto out of Tarp and help The familes and people of the USA.