Big 3 bailout votes split by party lines, campaign contributors

It doesn’t come as much surprise that the Colorado congressional delegation’s votes on the $14 billion financial bailout of the U.S. auto industry split along party lines. The House Dems supported the bill while their Republican counterparts, CD 5’s Doug Lamborn and CD 4’s Marilyn Musgrave, rejected the plan. Retiring Rep. Tom Tancredo did not vote.

Where it gets interesting is the apparent correlation between partisan vote splitting and which special interest group supports said lawmaker.

The government transparency group, Maplight.org, posted a nifty list of the Big 3 bailout votes with details on each lawmakers’ industry contributors.

Those who got the bulk of their campaign cash from auto-related unions voted for H.R. 7321 – the Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act. Those who either didn’t support the bill (or in Tancredo’s case didn’t cast a vote) were the beneficiaries of support from car dealers. Yet, both interest groups are depending on the cash infusion into GM, Ford and Chrysler for their very livelihoods — a rare occasion when labor and business actually agree especially in as contentious an environment as auto manufacturing.

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