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HPI WEEKLY NEXT MONDAY: Due to travel and Congressional schedules, the next weekly edition of Howey Politics Indiana will be published mid-day Monday, Nov. 24.
BIG 3 DENIED IN CONGRESS: A year-end drive to win new aid for the ailing auto industry is all but dead in Congress, pulled down by old resentments toward Detroit’s Big Three and continued fighting between Democrats and the outgoing Bush administration (Rogers, Politico). 
Midwestern senators vowed to make a last push Thursday to craft a compromise $25 billion loan package to be administered by the Commerce Department and financed in a manner acceptable to the White House. But even after Wednesday’s punishing economic news, the leadership vacuum in Washington is such that many prefer to leave any bailout in the hands of the two men who have handled so many already: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. “Certainly Ben Bernanke has shown he can come up with a loan when he’s needed,” said Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.). Michigan Sen. Carl Levin angrily warned fellow Democrats Wednesday that it would be “unthinkable” for Congress to let a “dispute over the source of the funds” become an excuse to kill the package. But Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told Politico that the White House demands were “illogical” in proposing to drain money from a special account established by Congress to help the industry retool for the production of vehicles that are more energy efficient. Reid left open the possibility of yet allowing a vote on an alternative aid package Thursday as part of a bill extending jobless benefits for the long term unemployed. But he surprised many by not pushing ahead with his own bill, introduced Monday, authorizing loans from Treasury funds.
BUSH WILL EXTEND JOBLESS BENEFITS: With weekly jobless claims benefits at a 16-year high, the White House said Thursday that President George W. Bush would quickly sign legislation pending in Congress to provide further unemployment benefits (Associated Press). The Senate this week is expected to take up a bill, already passed by the House, that would extend unemployment insurance checks for up to 13 additional weeks for jobless people whose benefits have run out. The Senate vote could occur as early as Thursday evening and would require support from 60 senators to pass. White House press secretary Dana Perino, discussing the worsening economic environment with reporters, said that Bush is “always concerned” when people lose their jobs and is eager to help. More than 1.2 million jobs have been lost so far this year.
CAR DEALERS STRUGGLE: Local car dealers are pulling for the $25 billion lifeline that Detroit’s three major automakers have been seeking from Congress this week (Post-Tribune). “I think they need to approve it,” said Tommy Coffaro, a sales manager at Circle Buick Pontiac GMC in Schererville. “My car sales are sluggish,” Coffaro added Wednesday. “We’re still selling cars every day, but not as many as we used to. There’s a lot of steel workers and industry around us that buy cars from us. If one or all three of the Big Three go bankrupt, it’s less jobs and that’s less money in the area.” General Motors Corp., the Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC say a governmental rescue of the automotive industry would avoid a further drain on the nation’s economy.
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