As the night wore on and it became more and more apparent that the Big Car Bailout bill was going to meet its demise in the Senate, I became increasingly suspicious of the braggadocio of UAW Chief Gettelfinger who stubbornly has refused to make any concessions even when faced with the real possibility of the loss of many of the 3 million positions that his members currently fill. At this point, it would seem that drastic times call for drastic measures and that a pay cut is better than unemployment. At the same time I understand Mr. Gettelfinger is charged with protecting his membership, and is in fact under a legal obligation to do so. His is certainly not an enviable dilemma.

As the evening progressed, I began to wonder if there isn’t something else going on here. It would seem that despite the rejection of the Senate that the bailout issue is far from dead. Certainly, pressure could be applied on the outgoing Bush to tap the TARP. If Big Car can survive another 38 days, the new President could tap the TARP as well. Or the Fed, which has asserted in recent days that it might start making loans of its own to more than just its member banks could step in and provide an 11th hour kick-save for the auto industry.

This morning, Gettelfinger confirmed my suspicions to some degree during a morning radio interview in which he stated that there are still other ways to get the money Big Car wants. No wonder no concessions were made. The future of the auto industry, and a massive chunk of American manufacturing jobs are being auctioned to the highest bidder.