SENATOR COBURN: COLLAPSE OF DETROIT RESCUE WAS THE U.A.W.'S FAULT

[Get the latest "Truth With Speedzzter" here]

Matt Drudge has linked to a report quoting Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) as saying:

“As far as the failure of last night, it solely lies on UAW,” . . . “All we asked was, ‘Just give us a date at which you will have competitive wage rates. We will put it in and that’s what you will have to meet.’ They would not move. They would not renegotiate their contract with GM as far as wage rates.”

The comments of Senator Coburn confirm the obvious. However, because Senator Coburn represents a state which no longer has meaningful ties to the Detroit 3 and which is not unduly influenced by the need for protection and local subsidy of foreign invader assembly plants, his views provide a more unbiased perspective on the Detroit 3 rescue package and what was actually possible if all of the stakeholders had been willing to do their parts.

Ron Gettelfinger's mob refused to meaningfully consider wage and benefit normalization on a realistic time table. Instead they sought to protect the feather beds of a few old-guard unionists until 2011.

This hidebound obstructionism is wholly divorced from the economic realities of the global light vehicle marketplace and doomed bipartisan legislative efforts to help Detroit cope with the World liquidity crisis.