"Politics is who gets what, when, and how."
~ Harold Lasswell
Conservatives cherish tradition and are bent upon preserving "inherited, established, and customary" norms, as well as "cultural continuity," in their political ethos.
Liberals survey "who is getting what, when, and how" and, in myriad ways, see room for improvement, greater fairness, and "progress."
In the American political tradition (as elsewhere), the conservative ethos, both historically and philosophically, devolves back down to "rich white men" calling the shots and raking in a surfeit of benefits from the "gross product" of our collective toils.
The liberal ethos advocates for ever greater enfranchisement -- that "this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed" (~ MLK)-- and for ever greater equity and justice, socially and economically.
Among the "cheap labor conservatives" who blocked the Big 3 Bailout, the white, southern senators, in particular, are simply "representin'" for the preservation of their cherished traditions -- traditions, dare I say it, that once espoused and upheld not the mere wage-slavery they defend today, but slavery-slavery -- the hegemony of rich white men.
Pretty simple.
See: Defeat the Right in Three Minutes, by Conceptual Guerilla (author of the moniker: "cheap labor conservatives")
"All that serves Labor serves the Nation; all that harms Labor is treason. If a man tells you he serves America and hates labor, he is a liar. There is no America without Labor."
~ Abraham Lincoln