Is anyone in the GOP leadership weighing the costs of action versus the costs of inaction or are we running on pure dogma here?

No one, apparently; pure dogma.

Next question? (That one was kinda clumsily constructed, wasn't it?)

All of them. Do away with all government completely. Let everyone fight it out in the jungle.

The Republican Party's hatred of organized labor, and therefore, ALL working people is so great that they simply don't care what happens. The only way these amoral thugs can keep score is by the pile of money in front of them. They won't be satisfied until slavery is reinstated. Even third world working conditions and wages are too much of a drag on the holy grail of (some) "Shareholder's value".

Is this Allahpundit a reasonable human being? Can we start making a list of rational, thoughtful Righties, people we might be able to work with?

Maybe the auto industry is just 2% of the economy, or a budget cut is just 5% of the budget or requires 15% from a given agency. It's like these guys never stop to think somewhere behind the 2% or 5% o r15% is somebody for whom this means their job is gone, or their house is gone, or the retirement plan is gone. For such a somebody, this isn't a 2% cut or a 10% cut, it's a 100% cut. as we let industries collapse and make across the board cuts, there are a lot of such somebodies. Maybe it can't be avoided, but can Republicans at least stop blaming the victims, even if they have zero sympathy when it isn't their own personal loss? Hate unions all you want, but think about explaining to the unemployed (maybe long-term) auto worker the macroeconomics that make it make sense to let an industry just collapse.

And spare me the crap about "Should we have saved the buggy-whip industry?" The buggy-whip industry was never so core to the economy, and it withered away instead o collapsing. And there's still somebody making buggy-whips. There could be no cars built by an American company in short order. Only a fool thinks that not the same thing.

...must be difficult, especially when you're not from that region, and the party leaders seem more interested in protecting that region, while letting the rest of the country go to hell.

Country first obviously means something different than advertised...

Isn't the main point here that though imperfect, we can make a calculation for and against the bailout; one that at least tries to reason out the best choice in dollars and human cost?

I sort of think that both sides GOP and Dems are both acting from dogmatic positions that are comfortable and easy for their mindsets to believe are true.

So has anyone attempted to actually do the calculation? How about the GAO or the OMB? I'm guessing not since it hasn't been reported by the media in some form.

I'm going out on a limb here and say the reason it hasn't been done is that you need an accountant or engineering mindset, and politicians and their staffs are not these types. Of course, Detroit should have been the first to do this as part of their argument, but again, CEOs aren't rational, detailed people either.

super rich and angry white men.

the rich don't give a fuck about millions losing jobs & the angry white men are mad any anyone with a good job or good benefits.

the right seems to argue this nonsense for years now that a good job is inherently unfair and should be reduced to match the worst jobs out there. if you have good healthcare benefits they think you are a thief and are ruining the economy...at the same time insisting the america's health care is the "best in the world".

what about "Buy American?" you see the right doesn't actually believe their "philosophy", its just the excuse they use for being mean-spirited and heartless.

if i feared my god, i'd be pissed off too.

One figure in particular stands out.

By not popping $25B up front, the cascade effect of the Auto failure will decimate 10% of the economy, (related industries) and result in a tax loss to the federal gov't of over $150B.

Pretty easy math actually.

Also, the cost of the bridge loan (not 'bailout') comes to ~$5K per auto worker.

The Honorable Senators from Japan are sitting on sweetheart deals made to Honda and Toyota that cost taxpayers up to $200K per worker in their inbred states.

This is about nothing except breaking the unions.

Alex K., can you find such a calculation somewhere? You know big-shot economists. Maybe you can ask one for an estimate.

And... Everybody, please remember that we are talking about government loans or loan guarantees to these auto companies. Our government always has made business loans. Small business loans are a hallowed institution, and a source of income for the US government.

Loans. Not ideology or class warfare or a new Civil War or religion. These are loans.

"If not, then this really is much a crisis of political leadership as it is a financial one."

Someone's catching on.

is fundamentalism, as Allahpundit perceives. Market fundamentalism, religious fundamentalism, fundamentalist lefties, righties, libertarians, feminists, civil libertarians, and all the others who believe their brand of one-size fits all ideology is not only the answer to everything, but must be imposed on all who doubt.

I say this, knowing I could be dangerously close to cherishing a pure ideology or two just a little too much. When even science, with its emphasis on objective measurement, discovers that things can get a little fuzzy and paradoxical, the maxim of "all things in moderation" seems to apply to ideological theories as well. Shortly after 9/11, I saw a bumper sticker that said "Fundamentalism + Weapons = Terrorism." This is true whether the weapon is AK47 or political office. You can wield your weapon to enforce ideological purity to cause fear, injury and death. Or you can recognize that even your own cherished theories might not fit every single circumstance.

It's so powerful when a representative of one wing or another is willing to do this. It makes it a little easier for the rest of us to step down from our secure soapboxes, not to abandon our principles, but to look more closely at the evidence before us and do the hard work of using what talents we have to resolve problems.