| | Shelby denies personal agenda, warns of filibuster
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) denied allegations that he opposed a bailout for the Big Three auto makers in Detroit because he has an agenda to help foreign auto makers operating in his home state.
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Shelby said he is not trying to profit by refusing to help the Big Three, but believes Congress "can't help people who can't help themselves."
"I don't have an agenda, but I'll tell you this. In the South -- South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas -- we have about 124,000 people employed in the automobile industry," Shelby said. "They are competing. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler can compete, but not under the model that they have."
Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) appeared on the show as a staunch supporter of aid to U.S. automakers, and Wallace cited Levin as the source of the claims against Shelby.
Asked about those allegations, Levin evaded directly answering, saying there "would be some companies that would benefit if Detroit goes down."
"There will be winners and losers, but the big losers, however, will be the American people," Levin said.
Later in the program, Shelby also threatened a filibuster of any attempt to bail out automakers.
He voted against the $700 billion bailout package for Wall Street, calling it the "a bridge loan to nowhere," and said GM, Chrysler and Ford will only come back to Congress asking for more money if they are given a bailout now.
This video is from Fox's Fox News Sunday, broadcast Dec. 7, 2008.
Download video via RawReplay.com
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