Ensign to Bush: ‘Show some courage’

By Lisa Mascaro

Friday, Dec. 12, 2008 | 11:11 a.m.

WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. John Ensign said President George W. Bush should “show some courage” and refrain from dipping into the $700 billion bank bailout money to rescue the Big Three automakers.

Hours after the White House said it was considering using the troubled asset relief funds to bailout Detroit, Ensign said the Bush administration would be wiser to withhold the money and force the autoworkers union back to the negotiating table.

As you all know by know, the $14 billion auto bailout deal for GM, Ford and Chrysler died in the Senate late last night after Republicans insisted the UAW swiftly cut worker pay. The union refused.

Ensign’s tough language is a sign of how far congressional Republicans have gone in their efforts to distance themselves from the unpopular president and craft a new voice for the party in the waning days of the Bush presidency.

“It’s outrageous,” Ensign said from Washington about Bush’s plan to draw on the funds. Ensign had helped lead Republican opposition to the bailout.

“It isn’t too late for the Bush administration to stand up and show some courage, and I would call on them to do that,” Ensign said.