Editorial: Senate should give auto industry shot at recovery

The House understood that, as evidenced by its approval vote Wednesday night. But the Senate is a tougher sell. Republican senators primarily from states that host foreign auto manufacturers have shown little sympathy for Detroit's plight, and have assumed they know more about building cars than Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. That attitude is expressed by Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee in an opinion piece in today's Detroit News. Corker wants even more conditions and a greater federal role built into the bailout legislation. He says Detroit should rely on the federal government's 'big stick' to force further concessions and cost-cutting. Nobody needs Congress running car companies. Like most of Washington, Corker is ill-informed of the forces roiling the domestic auto industry. But the reality is that changing the minds of Detroit's critics is an impossible task. So we appeal to Senate Republicans to act not in support of the domestic automakers, but in the interest of the national economy and national security -- we still need an Arsenal of Democracy. The automakers are moving with purpose to fix what ails them. If successful, they will change the fate of the workers and businesses that depend on them throughout the economy and across the nation -- including in Corker's Tennessee. But if the Senate lets them die, they will take with them 4.5 million jobs and all hope for a quick economic recovery. We urge the Senate, please give Detroit a chance to make things right.