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Meet the GOP's Auto Bailout Busters

A union-busting, foreign-car loving crew is holding up Detroit's rescue

By Paul Stinson, Newser User

Posted Dec 13, 2008 2:15 PM CST

(Newser) – With Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen and other foreign factories dotting the I-65 corridor stretching from Kentucky to Alabama, southern Republican senators relished this week's chance to take a swing at Detroit and the UAW simultaneously. The "bailout fell victim to a nasty confluence of home-state economic interests and anti-union sentiment," write Alex Koppelman and Mike Madden in Salon. Here are some of the big players:

Bob Corker, Tenn: He's got two Nissan plants, along with the company's US headquarters. Volkswagen is coming, with at least 2,000 jobs.
Mitch McConnell, Ky: A weaker UAW makes organizing labor at his state’s Toyota plant tougher. (Kentucky is one of the few states without a right-to-work law.)
Richard Shelby, Ala: He's got Mercedes, Hyundai, and Honda plants, making his opposition to Detroit easy.
Jim DeMint, SC: He's an outspoken union critic, and he's also got a BMW plant.
Saxby Chambliss, Johnny Isaakson, Ga: A Kia factory is opening soon.

For the rest, click on the Salon link below:

[Images (6)]

[Quotes (2)]

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell talks with supporters at a campaign stop. McConnell signaled the bailout's demise by announcing he wouldn't support the House version of the bill. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., emerges from a Capitol Hill meeting. Corker led the pack in receiving auto industry contributions in 2006. His state is home for 2 Nissan plants and its corporate HQ. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

In this April 13, 2006, file photo, a Nissan Xterra comes down the final inspection line at the Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, file)

In this Nov. 10, 2008, file photo, quality control team member Bengie Marks inspects a Toyota Venza on the assembly line at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky plant in Georgetown, Ky. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

The enterprise South economic development "megasite" at Chattanooga that Volkswagen picked in July, for a $1 billion auto assembly plant. Nationwide, Tennessee ranks fifth in auto jobs. (AP Photo/TVA)

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., center, accompanied by other Republican senators, speaks to reporters in Washington to discuss the auto bailout. Alabama is home to Hyundai, Honda and Mercedes plants. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)

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If I had five G.M. or Ford plants in my state, I would oppose this bailout. - Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., whose state does not have a single domestic auto plant

The Detroit bailout fell victim to a nasty confluence of home-state economic interests and anti-union sentiment among Republicans. - Salon

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Meet the GOP's Auto Bailout Busters