Republicans to Detroit: Drop dead

The GOP opposition goes further than regional agendas. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) also bashed the prospect of government aid to the auto companies even though Ohio—already with some of the highest rates of unemployment and housing foreclosure in the country—is home to several auto assembly and parts plants.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino seemed to pile on Thursday. The auto companies made business decisions "over the years that have led to this situation, but we have gone as far as we can with the authority Congress has given in order to help industries."

Senator Dodd said Thursday there are currently not enough Republican Senate votes for helping the auto industry.

The Bush Administration has never been very warm to the auto industry, despite the President choosing Andrew Card, the former chief lobbyist for the industry, as his first Chief of Staff. According to one automaker lobbyist who asked not to be identified because of the current negotiations: "I think Bush's economic team was hoping the automakers would get weak enough to bust the UAW … It's no secret that they have no love of organized labor."

The viability question
The automakers, especially GM and Chrysler, have a steep hill to climb in hearings next week. They will have to go to the Capitol armed with evidence that government loans would be a worthwhile bridge to a healthy auto industry, and not throwing good money after bad. GM is burning nearly $2 billion a month as its cash flow from auto sales is insufficient to cover its costs. Ford and Chrysler are in bad shape, too, though Ford has more cash reserves than GM.

Increasingly, the word "viability" is creeping into the discussions on Capitol Hill. "The companies will have to show they are viable with the loans … We don't want a situation where they are coming back six months later for more," says Senator Schumer. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has also repeatedly used the word "viable" in the last week in discussing her support for loans. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday: "Any solution has got to be leading to long-term viability" for auto companies.

Boosters of aid to the auto companies say that if the companies can demonstrate viability, they have a chance. "When the economy turns upward, these companies are positioned to make huge profits because of all the restructuring they have done," says David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. "I don't think this is well-understood in Washington," he added.

Detroit automakers have at least one more chance to get the message across next week.

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