Sen. Shelby on the Big Three bailout

Here's Sen. Richard Shelby at his best:

"These companies are going to have to downsize. They're going to have to be innovative. They're going to have to change their whole model, and the government, at the end of the day ... should not choose which companies are going to survive or not survive. We should let the market work," Shelby said on "Meet the Press."

The Big Three is, in a sense, "a dinosaur," Shelby said, noting that without fundamental changes in the way the companies do business, including a change in management, a bailout would simply postpone their inevitable failure.

"This is a dead end. It's a road to nowhere, and it's a big burden on the American taxpayer," he said.

Shelby added that in a lot of people's judgment, the companies would be better off to reorganize under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

"Get rid of the management, get rid of the boards, the people who brought them where they are today," he said. [B'ham News]

And get the hell out of Detroit. The weather and the business climate are much better down here.

More clear thinking on all of this from Megan McArdle and Will Wilkinson, via Jim Manzi.

Brian at Flash Point notes Shelby's record as a maven of the federal government pork barrel, and says:

I’m glad Shelby has seen the light and has come to the conclusion that the federal government should avoid spending hard earned tax dollars on state, local, and private concerns. I look forward to him applying his new found logic to pork barrel spending. I also look forward to riding on a flying pig.