Auto Bailout Dead, News at 11.

Senate Republicans have killed the auto bailout (for now?) because of a dispute over... surprise, union wages. As expected, those wacky markets didn't take the news well. And it's still not January 20 yet.

[UPDATE: White House plan B is to to use the $700B fund to do this without Congress.

UPDATE #2: All of this talk-- not just now, but in general-- of conservatives/Republicans supporting the 'free market' is BS. Like Bush and every other major GOP leader before him, they support the 'free market' a) in good times only, and b) as a justification for denying people health care and benefits and job protections, etc. As soon as real shit starts to go down-- ie. your ideology and policies have succeeded in tanking the global economy-- you start getting realistic awfully quick.

The only true 'free market' absolutists are the libertarians... and they have no real say in the GOP because of their socially liberal and tolerant views. The GOP is the party of Big Business to the larger extent (and of religious hucksters to the smaller extent), and they don't want the markets to be free, but rather tilted to their advantage.]