Yesterday morning I wrote viz. the auto bailout that the GOP's "animus toward unions was so overpoweringly important that it killed the whole deal."
You think I overstated things? Check out this "action alert" that went out to GOP senators Wednesday morning and was obtained by MSNBC's Countdown. It's not clear who sent it but obviously the person speaks for the GOP's leaders in the Senate on this issue:
From: [redacted]
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 9:12 AM
To: [redacted]
Subject: Action Alert -- Auto BailoutToday at noon, Senators Ensign, Shelby, Coburn and DeMint will hold a press conference in the Senate Radio/TV Gallery. They would appreciate our support through messaging and attending the press conference, if possible. The message they want us to deliver is:
1. This is the democrats first opportunity to payoff organized labor after the election. This is a precursor to card check and other items. Republicans should stand firm and take their first shot against organized labor, instead of taking their first blow from it.
2. This rush to judgment is the same thing that happened with the TARP. Members did not have an opportunity to read or digest the legislation and therefore could not understand the consequences of it. We should not rush to pass this because Detroit says the sky is falling.
The sooner you can have press releases and documents like this in the hands of members and the press, the better. Please contact me if you need additional information. Again, the hardest thing for the democrats to do is get 60 votes. If we can hold the Republicans, we can beat this.
So there you go. It's rare we get that frank a glimpse of strategy.
