The Republicans killed the bailout bill—and McCain's chances.
Comment: A man of great wisdom:
http://www.atlah.org/broadcast/manningreport.html
Comment: How are the Republicans at fault here? Last time I looked, it was the Democrats that had the majority. I really do not think it is the Republican's fault if the Democrats cannot get their people to vote the way they want them too. Look no further than Nancy "foot in mouth" Pelosi as a big reason for this failure. And the people who DID NOT want this bailout to happen. Congress actually listening to the people? Wow, wonders never cease.
Comment: The Democrats have a MAJORITY in the House. Why are Republicans being blamed for this failure? If the majority party can't keep their people in line, how is this Republican's fault? As for incompetence, look no further than Nancy "foot in mouth" Pelosi for a large reason this bill did not pass. At any rate, it was the PEOPLE that also had a large hand in this bill not passing. Congress actually listening to the people; wonders never cease.
Comment: Not really. They were just holding out for concessions to help big business and higher-income earners. In doubt? See this analysis: http://dissentingjustice.blogspot.com/2008/10/was-gops-opposition-to-bailout-clever.html
Comment: Did you read the initial proposal from the White House? The only real heros inthe Hosue are those who said NO. Yes the situation is terrible but do we really need a socialist government to bail us out? That is part of the problem. The original proposal would have extended the Secretary of the Treasury's powers enormously. The then icing on the cake was in Section 8. No over sight and no opportunity to challenge the passage in a court of law? Scare tactics to drive Congress to accpet just one more encroachment upon civil liberties and the free enterprise system. Stupid, greedy people may be clever but they are essentially stupid when they think they can out smart the basic economic principles. So here we are being asked to take on the burden of their folly and while we are at it lose a few more personal freedoms.
Comment: Has anyone really read the initial proposal as it was presetned by the White House. There were elements that were totally unacceptable in a free market. Does the American public really want to give that much power to the Secretary of the Treasury? The appointed individual would weild enormous new powers under the proposal. More over go back and read Section 8. If you can swallow that then you are Section 8.*
Comment: No Bailout for this industry, JAIL IN should be the word.To me it is a lot like the internet bubble, the NYSE is a highly virtual world where a limited group of people was playing with other peoples and companies money while selling a reality "that it will get better tomorrow and there is nothing you have to do for that".
Yeah sure but only in lalaland. Great marketing however, but who believed the washing powder ads ?
It is amazing to see that a company with 119B$ in real estate assets is sold for just 1,4 orso, there are people getting insanely rich over this, cause what has changed to these real estate assets other then someone has valued them virtually less valuable ? And the taxpayer should fund that ?
Comment: Are you crazy??!! These "recalcitrant (Republican House) members" are the only heros of this debacle. If businesses can't run thier operations without overextended credit, then they don't deserve to survive in the American capitalism culture. There are plenty of socialist states for them to go and make thier living with government help. If John McCain suffers it is because he jumped with support toward subsidizing crooked, shortsighted, irresponsible behaivor.
Comment: Still Americans have difficulty in "understanding" Barack Obama and think him to be an "enigma" while the whole world reveres him as a "phenomenon"? ...
Comment: Wait, Wait . . . you Republicans didn't want the Bailout, but are mad that Pelosi's speech caused it to fail? That's like saying "The food in this restaurant is bad . . . and such small portions!" Remember, optimism looks forward, pessimism looks backward, and anxiety has eyes all over its head. And that's how you're reacting . . . flailing out at everything in your panic over McCain's declining numbers. Nobody really wants a bailout, but if we throw Wall Street and the investment banks overboard, pretty soon we'll see that Main Street is shackled to them and will be dragged along with them to drown.
Comment: Well, you almost had me going there for a moment, Mr Bunchoff! Obviously, you are very liberal, and have have lots of money in Wall Street. Am I correcit?
Comment: Listen, there are historical examples of the kind of scenario we are facing: 1929 in the US and 1989 in Japan being the most memorable. It is clear that coming to a crisis like this always causes severe economic problems. The only way to mitigate them is to act, and act quickly to stabilize the system in the short term and regulate the system again in the longer term. In 1929, the Hoover administration's Treasury secretary's rallying cry was "liquidate them all" in a do-nothing-that's-the-conservative-way 3 years, resulting in a horrible catastrophe. So all you fools out there who oppose a bailout, I advise you to get curious about facts and not just spout your ideology. In other words, don't be like Sarah Palin.
Comment: Let Wall Street get a taste of their own medicine. No bailout!
These are the people who have no problem laying of thousands in favor if hiring people who will do the same job for half the price; shipping jobs overseas; breaking up companies; and, receiving more than $64 billion in bonuses last year alone while the rest of us can barley make it to our next paycheck. These people do not care about you until their own necks are on the line. I say let the big boys take a ride down the rapids. It will be a good learning experience. Maybe the will be a little more forgiving in the future.
Comment: loriw
John McCain has shown once and for all that he is not competent to be President. Sen McCain "put country first"? Are you kidding? The only reason Sen McCain "suspended" his campaign (it was never actually suspended - apparently the campaign workers in places like Iowa and other key states never got the memo so please spare everyone the story about the suspension) was because his poll numbers kept dropping. Sen McCain has not had a single coherent response to this mess for the last 2 weeks - what a surprise!!!
The only thing Sen McCain succeeded in doing is making a huge mess even bigger and messier. Leadership? What leadership? Even the majority of Reps from Arizona voted against the bailout bill - he couldn't even sway them! And please - spare me the sermon about Nancy Pelosi. The Republicans picked a fine time to get sensitive - poor them - their feelings were hurt. How convenient that they forgot about everyone else. So if you want to talk about incompetence - start with your moron candidate McCain.
Comment: heres an idea.since we have 700 billion to through around how about this plan for the american people.instead of bailing out the people who screwed us lets tell them sorry about you're corrupt ass and send some folks to jail.barney franks first in line.now since we got so much money lets give each tax paying citizen 100,000.00 dollars with the law that all you're existing debts up to 100.000.00 be paid with that money anything left is you're to spend which spurs the economy. you're cars will be paid,credit cards,maybe you're house. the lenders get thier money everyon will have less debt to go out and spend money. also the ones that have their houses in forclosure can use that money to pay the banks,not fannie mae but the lending banks that loaned the money,most can keep their house's and the bank gets it's money. tell washington give the money to us and we will fix it.after all it is our money
Comment: Why don't Barney Frank do a gay-porn telethon to raise the money he arranged to disappear?And on the networks which even now are loath to admit any Liberal had anything to do with mess? Obama could EM CEE and wave his magic tire guage and wear his special womens underwear turban!
The real losers in this campaign season are going to be some key participants... like Newsweek!
Come on Newsweek! Quit looking the other way!
Comment: A Proposal to Resolve the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Financial Fiasco
In order to solve what has been termed the financial crisis, it is necessary to identify the cause of Fannie Mae???s and Freddie Mac???s catastrophic failure.
The cause of their downfall is the partisan democrat pressure put on those companies to grant sub prime mortgages to persons who would be unable to repay those loans.
The democrat senators and representatives, who mandated that financial background checks be considered unnecessary and unwarranted, facilitated that irresponsible granting of mortgages to those unable to repay. The motive of the democrat members of Congress was strictly and blatantly partisan - to buy votes, and to maintain years of party support.
In 2005, John McCain co-authored a bill to investigate and regulate the faulty business practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but that was opposed and defeated by the democrats in Congress.
On many occasions, President George W. Bush introduced proposals to regulate the mortgage lending companies, but those calls for regulation were opposed, obstructed, and defeated by democrats who were obsessed with the continuance of faulty lending practices.
In order to reform the financial sector, it is necessary that the sleazy politicians and top administration of those 2 mortgage companies who perpetrated fraudulent activity be publicly identified, investigated, and severely punished for their undermining the national economy.
It is only reasonable to expose the corrupt financial practices and their facilitators, and to remove them from any further activity, before any effort can be made to resurrect the American economy.
Otherwise, any attempt to do so will be useless, because the problems and perpetrators would still be present to frustrate and obstruct any meaningful remedial action.
Comment: This is certainly the Frank 'N Schumer Monster an american news media can not actually report accuratly having become as corrupt as Frank and Schumer themselves!
Rather than bail outs I hope it's prison for the guilty. Rather than earmarks I want to see indictments!
It is the Frankenschumer Monster and there others who were being permited by the persistant resistence by the DNC to senseable precautions for years!
And perhaps the biggest victim of the frankenschumer monster will be the nations news media.
Comment: Continued - A Proposal to Resolve the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Financial Fiasco
The first step toward economic recovery would be to isolate all sub prime mortgages from the assets of Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac, and to group the remaining viable ones into several stock options to be offered for sale to the public, and also as a bailout measure.
That would result in an immediate infusion of cash into the banking sector, thereby ensuring that credit could be granted to qualifying loan applicants.
Individuals or organizations who choose to buy those stock options should benefit additionally from any profits later realized by their investments.
Also, any profits resulting from the bailout option should be refunded to the INCOME TAX PAYERS only, since they would be the ones who would have financed the bailout.
Likewise, but separately, the various questionable sub prime mortgages should be bundled together into other stock options which would be structured to contain a mixture of both somewhat and less redeemable loans.
Those sub prime mortgage packages should be offered first to democrats, especially wealthy ones, who might be attracted to them by their being valued at a price of 80 cents on the dollar, based on the face value of the mortgages.
.
That would afford them the option to support what democrats viewed to be a noble cause (home ownership for the unemployed), and besides, it might enable the stock option buyers to profit by 20 percent if all of the sub prime mortgages would be somehow repaid by the homeowners.
Thus democrats, especially the likes of George Soros, Barack Obama, Ted Kennedy, Chris Dodd, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Charlie Schumer (who supported the granting of sub prime mortgages irrespective of demonstrated ability to repay) would be able to ???put their money where their mouths are???!
Lastly, there should be a guarantee that no further sub prime mortgages be granted.
Home ownership is a GOAL for many financially responsible Americans - it is not a government sponsored RIGHT for all persons living legally and illegally in the US!
Comment: Repubs "killed it"? Even though 95 (NINETY-FIVE) say again 95 Dems voted against it and they only needed 12 of those 95 to pass it- yet it's all the Repubs fault. Where's the Audacious Unifier? Under his bed as usual? Where's Pelosi's leadership? Betrayed by their own party. They didn't need any help. But wow, Snoozeweek! Why, you fooled everyone by glossing over that game changer like a random factoid. But, nobody knows. Shhh... The coast is clear! They done it ya see? Put it around town. Shhh...who's to know? Them Repubs is rascally. Our own folks are... well... never you mind! We has met the enemy and they.. is us. But so what? America will believe what they read in Snoozeweek! Rebubs killed the bailout because we said so!
Comment: When I heard Mcain was suspending his campaign, my first instinct was that it spelled trouble for Obama and that Mcain was going to score huge points on the leadership front. Then, not two hours later when I got home from work, what's the first thing I see but 2 back-to-back Mcain ads on TV, bashing Obama for his lack of leadership. (I live in the battleground state of Nevada, where these ads run rampant). Then I understood his move for what it truly was--a hollow ploy which will eventually sink his campaign Along with his Palin pick (hollow ploy, eventually sinking his campaign), I no longer seem so worried.
Comment: Did you here Obama selected a left winger, hard Liberal like himself for a running mate and it happened to be BIDEN? His ticket appeals only to left/liberals who don't have the votes alone to elect anyone!
Don't happy...be worry!
OBAMA and BIDEN say Americans suck first every day, every way!
americans do not suck! America is a great country!!!!
Comment: Of course it doomed McCain, he made it clear he would suspend his campaign until the economic crisis was over, and that should take a few years at least, he just has to be held to his word.
the question is now that he has suspended his campaign will the Republicans come up with a subsitute or will Palin just move from VP to the Presidential spot, with the first "dude" as VP?
Comment: McCain and the Republicans have no credibility with the American people. This guy cant even get a single Republican representative from Arizona to vote for his measure. What kind of leader is this guy?
Comment: 40% of the Dems voted Nay for the bill. The Dems have been in control of the house and senete for the last 2 years. Pelosi just cries all the time, and it was the Clinton Admin, that allowed this to happen.
Comment: Obama is getting a bump out of this because people are not being reminded of the whole history where the economy is concerned, and who did what when. Call it bias by omission. The media simply says that the economy is Obamas strong issue, but never discusses the facts in detail. Further, who had a majority when is rarely relevant. If the simplistic Party In Power model were true, then the Democrats would not have needed the House Republicans when they tried to pass the bailout bill, as Democrats have the majority in both houses and there is no threat of a veto. In theory, they do not need the Republicans to vote at all. In fact, something like twelve (12) Democrats from Barney Franks own banking committee voted against the bill. Obviously, it is not so simple and the media does the voter a disservice by doing little more than reinforcing the error. A similar argument would be to point out that the economy appeared to be doing fine until the Democrats took over Congress and the power of the purse, then it tanked. As an aside, the media also misleads regarding the Clinton economy when they fail to mention that it also ended in a recession, requiring the first round of Bush stimulus checks immediately after he took office..
Comment:
Do Obama and the Democrats deserve a lift in the polls as a result of the financial and mortgage problems? The answer from history is a clear NO. Here's the lead of a New York Times story on September 30, 1999: Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending [link below]. That's 1999 folks. Clinton Administration, I believe.
Here's the lead of a New York Times story on Sept. 11, 2003: The Bush administration today recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago. [see link below]
McCain said in co-sponsoring the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190: If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system and the economy as a whole.
What was Barney Frank and fellow Democrats saying at the time of these attempted reforms? According to reports, Representative Barney Frank(D-MA) claimed of the thrifts "These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis, the more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing." Representative Mel Watt (D-NC) added of the reforms "I don't see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing." [ See Community Reinvestment Act, link below w/ history]
The link below contains a purported list of the top 25 in Congress who got contributions from the folks at Fannie and Freddie. Obama is listed third, after Dodd and Kerry, even though Obama is just a junior Senator. Obama is followed next by Clinton. Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi are on the list as well.
http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&artnum=1&issue=20080918
Comment:
For an interesting article purporting to detail Barney Franks long history with Fannie Mae, See http://www.businessandmedia.org/printer/2008/20080924145932.aspx
Also google: Democratic House Financial Services Committee Chair promoted GSEs while former 'spouse' was Fannie Mae executive.
The last link below describes how some in Congress tried to use the original version of the bailout bill to divert money eventually recovered to groups like ACORN. See:
http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&artnum=1&issue=20080918
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Reinvestment_Act
http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=M2QwNDhkZTg2OGYzZjkzM2E2NDEwM2U5OGVkNTc0YzU=
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E3D6123BF932A2575AC0A9659C8B63
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260
http://www.businessandmedia.org/printer/2008/20080924145932.aspx
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122247015469280723.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Comment: This is a crisis of confidence. Not in the markets...did you see what the Dow did today? Nobody believes Bush. Gee, wonder why Nobody believes Congress. Gee, wonder why. And most of all, nobody believes the press. As Stuart Taylor said earlier this week, when there is fundamental lack of confidence in the purveyors of information, a society is in deep doo doo.
Comment: Your description of the House Republicans intentions and actions is so far from reality you'd think it came straight from the Obama campaign headquarters... or maybe it did? The media's cover-up of Democrats' culpability in this mess -- specifically their resistance to Republican efforts in 2004 to reform Freddie Mac & Mae -- cannot be hidden forever! Thank you, House Republicans for your wisdom and resolve to smell a rat.
Comment: RedWolfmen, time to face the facts.
Comment: Face what facts wendydyk? That unbalanced reporting is as rampant as congressional spending? I get it. Perhaps you should wake up and think instead of blindly reading one point of view.
Comment: What happened to unbaised balanced reporting? Let's all admit that this is the battle of the Dumb and Dumber. The Democrats tried to play party politics on the final hour after knowing that they had enough votes. The Rublicans showed her that they could play chicken as well. Like lemmings they crashed and over the cliff they threw themselves and our economy. This is all pathetic but what adds insult to this injury is that the media fails to provide balanced reporting of the news and instead adds their idiotic political spin. Frankly it is GROSS...Daniel Gross.
Comment: Well said.
Comment: Solution: For those of us that do pay our mortgages and manage our money, I would like to see these companies OFFER me a 10% discount to pay off my mortgage in full. Thus, an influx of cash to these companies to partially help against the loss.
Comment: Solution: For those of us that do pay our mortgages and manage our money, I would like to see these companies OFFER me a 10% discount to pay off my mortgage in full. Thus, an influx of cash to these companies to partially help against the loss.
Comment: My question is with this bail out plan who is going to PAY!!! It seems as if the financial institutions are going to be rescued and the damn CEO's will get to keep their golden parachutes. All those ill gotten wealth must be returned, all those profits earned from illegal and questionable deals must be returned. Lastly the 700 billion or 1 trillion package must not go to pay for fees to any of these institutions to fix what they had broken and stolen. There can be no deferred golden parachutes and obscene pay packages. The ridiculous pay packages that results in CEO's making over 100 million dollars when their counterparts in places like China don't even make 1/1000ths of that. Obscene pay packages and bonuses is what brought down wall street and if they are not going to fix that then let it crash and burn. I would rather suffer the pain that contribute to the freaking theiving and fleecing that's going on. People have gotten too freaking greedy and selfish and this is the market telling them enough is enough, let them fry in hell as far as I am concerned. NO FREAKING BAILOUT!!!!
Comment: Blame the Republicans again. Yeah, right. This is all about the worst Congress in the history of the country trying to fix a problem it created to begin with. You can try to spin it all you want, but alternate reality BArnie Frank, Chris Dodd and Nancy Pelosi think we're too stupid to see what their trying to pull. Dragging the Republicans down the toilet with them with their pathetic bailout bill. Just like when my ex-wife created a financial disaster for our family behind my back and blamed me for it because I didn't stop her from doing it.
Comment: Well the truth hurts. The Republicans were ruling the house the last six years of this mess.
Comment: We're seeing the death throes of the Republican Party.
They complain about Pelosi... have they themselves never uttered partisan remarks on the house floor? They had an obligation to deliver their votes... they placed partisanship and their "feelings" well ahead of the interests of the nation. And America knows it.
Comment: It sure was funny to watch McBush take credit for passing the bill through his heroic campaign move.
(Instert train-wreck audio here.)
Comment: They did not have an obligation to "deliver" this vote. They had an obligation to represent their constituents who were screaming a resounding NO. Thankfully, someone is for once listening and looking out for the American taxpayer. By the way...with the market up over 400 points today and no bailout in sight, maybe the world isn't going to come to an end. I have a feeling that the price for saving us all just went on sale.
Comment: The problem is not whether the dems or repubs both killed the bill. The problem is that McCain wanted to champion a bill that was not in line with HIS beliefs, just to show that he is NOT as interested in winning this election as Obama. We know he is VERY interested, this is his 3rd time at bat. Maybe he will try again when he is 76 years old but more than likely he will come to grips by then with the fact that he is too old to continue seeking presidency.. McCain wanted to 'save the country' during an election but did not help the situation at all, Noone in Washington wanted him there but he impressed a blogger on newsweek. Does maverick mean noone likes him? How do you run a platform under 'you may not like me but you will love Palin'? That is what McCain calls putting the country first. Gives you a clue on how much will be done if he does get to the Oval Office.
Comment: Baloney...the dem's are a bunch of cowards looking for cover. Pelosi is the the worst Speaker ever. The Bill needed to fail.
Comment: If it wasn't a bi-partisain vote in the house, the Senate will block it. As long as there are Republicans near any power in Washington, nothing will pass without a break for the wealthiest that takes from the middle-class. All of the deregulation hasn't made main street prosper.
All of the Republican stuff from the trickle-down lie has crashed. One bubble at a time.
Comment: You haven't a clue I'm afraid. Just imagine if Obama wins, and they can enroll us all in re-education camps. Sounds like fun.
Comment: Re education camps. Wow. You mean like the Bush Crime families Gulags? Secret trials, wiretapping, warrantless searches, and other Rumsfield/Gonzales/Cheney/Rice abuses of the constitution?
I do not have a clue? You exhibit a shockingly asenine worldview, my fascist apologist.
I hope to be your personal commisar. I will watch you dig for Uranium by hand. (Like at Perm.)
I have read Solzhenitsyn. I fought the Soviet system, imbecile.
It is the GOP who has brought these things here. You own the lawlessness. Obama wouldn't do any of this. McCancer, who took a dive on torture sure has. McCrazy who has a Georgian agent whispering him foreign policy advice wants war with Russia, wants to stay in Iraq 100 years, and is ignoring Pakistan as the Taliban eats Karachi.
(You wouldn't be Todd Palin would you?)
Comment: After reading your remarks, I am glad that I am a serious 2nd Amendment apostle.
Comment: McCancer, McCrazy - gee, you are such an nice person. Well, I guess you don't have cancer, yet. Are you crazy - yes.
Comment: No wonder we are in the shape we're in...such oblivion, bitterness and falsehood. You are a shame.
Comment: Let's see, 40% of Democrats voted against this bill and they are a profile in courage? Spare me. The public doesn't want it and all the ravings and rantings of liberal columnists can't scare them into it.
Comment: This article is a blatant example of bias in the mainstream media favoring Democrats. Mr. Gross has obviously chosen to set aside his journalistic responsibilities in favor of political propaganda.
Comment: I just want to know if that is all the GOP has left.
It's the media's fault McCain splattered his campaign beginning with lying to Letterman?
It's the Media's fault that Caribou Barbie keeps getting hit by her own words?
Paranoia worked well for a long time.
Comment: We are definitely living in some uncertain times. As bleak as things look, I like to think that there are small rays of hope that filter through the gloom. Check out this recent article about what I see as a potential silver lining to this housing crises storm cloud:
http://www.prairiemod.com/features/2008/09/think-lessons-f.html
Comment: So, the call for bi-partisan support by Bush and Paulson was just hot air?? Pelosi did not kill this bill, the House republicans did by failing to provide the bi-partisan support required for passage. Both Obama and McCain called for bi-partisan support as well. Why is it up to the Democrats to unilaterally pass this legislation?
Comment: Because they are the MAJORITY PARTY.
Comment: And a MAJORITY of Democrats supported it.
Comment: wow...what leadership. Sorry, just proof that the dems are cowards. Their vote wasn't on principle, it was from cowardice. Period.
Comment: Why do you not blame Pelosi for not getting all her people to pass the bill? Oh wait. I forgot. They are Democrats. They get a pass from Obamaweek
Comment: Nancy Pelosi killed the bailout bill, she has enough Democrats in the House to pass that bill without a single Republican. It is an informed electorate that makes America great, so please stop trying to spread this disinformation.
Comment: It is rediculous how you try to blame the Dems for the failure of the bill, when 60% of them voted for it, while 67% of the repugnats voted against it.
Comment: Nancy Pelosi killed the bill that could have passed without a single Republican.. Why are you trying to mislead the American people? An informed electorate is the foundation for a great America. Please don't misinform us with your partisan OPINION.
Comment: Over spending causes debt. Spend more than you takein. Not Tax cuts. Bush came in, 911 happened and the spending went crazy and both sides were taking. Funny how NW finds no guilt in the Dems. Wow since theyare in control of congress. And didn't Frank and Dodd and the Dems Kill the Freddie/Fannie legislation back in '05 Why do you want the gov to bail them out? Oh yeah you a socialist.
Comment: jarr
Now, direct that comment toward pearsoncrz who blames the democrats for the 2005 s190 bill failure which he has copied and pasted on several blogs.
Blaming the democratic party nonsense when things go wrong has to stop. Take the blame for something, like chosing McCain for starters.
Comment: I'm not sure this was a republican failure, much as I'd like it to be. Seems to me there was a fair amount of bipartisan non-support all the way around. And that may be a good thing..
The fact that it didn't pass says something about a Congress that, however imperfect, doesn't feel the need to ramod through more legislation in haste just because Bush says we should.
Bush - the man who gave us weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, mission accomplished, and the notion that Brownie was doing a heck of a job. Batting 1.000 at falsehoods, telling us we need emergency legislation. There is a distubing pattern here.
This is how we got the legislation after 9/11 that allows us to torture at will, not to mention rendition and some other nasty applications of illegal search and seizure. It's also how we ended up going to Iraq, and how we ended up with a wasteful and redundant Department of Homeland Security just in time to strip the government of it's ability to respond to Katrina.
Personally - I'm glad the republicans AND the democrats didn't muster enough votes to pass a hastily cobbled piece of legislation that nobody really had time to think through.
We've had more than enough of that, thanks.
Comment: Mr. Gross, you have it all wrong and have exposed you true socialist side. In a capitalist system business fail. This bail out is pure socialism. Which is probably why you are for it. If the bail out was so great why didn't all the Dems vote for it. Then they could really blame the Repubs. But that was not the case The Dems also saw that this was bad. You say "tax cuts that led to the addition of trillions of dollars in public debt" Tax cuts don't add debd
Comment: Tax cuts don't add debt? I bet if you took a cut in pay and did not adjust your expenses, your debt would certainly increase
Comment: The republicans, with McCain leading the way, BLAME democrats saying that they spending too much. Most of the republican bloggers (ie loriw) wanted to STOP the bailout from going through. McCain brags about going to Washington and saving us with this bailout under HIS leadership. The bailout slips through and the democrats are to blame now? Did the republicans want the bailout or not? S190, which McCain coauthored, failure is blamed on the democrats also. Pretty soon the republicans are going to have to take the responsiblity for SOMETHING. Were the democrats also blamed leaving Afghanastan where we ALMOST had man responsible for 9/11 to invade Iraq?
They want the bailout so you can get good publicity for leadership, while at the same time blame democrats for burdening the taxpayer with $700 billion dollars. Has McCain at least suspended his campaign?
Comment: Wow, what great scholarly journalism. Brush up on how Congress works and research who is in control of both chambers before blaming the *minority* party before writing such a biased piece of junk. Newsweek keeps sinking to new lows.
Comment: I am aware that most Repulicans didn't vote for this, and that does not speak well for McCain. But why not mention that the Democratic Black Caucus also voted no, which speaks ill of Obama. I feel that this disaster says we DON"T have a viable candidate for President in either party.
Comment: McCain saved his chance, not killed it - and thank goodness for the responsibility Congress felt they owed to their constituents to actually listen for a change. Immediate action is necessary - but a bailout is neither the only nor the right option for America.
Government got us into this problem, I do not trust government to get us out. McCain gets my vote on this one.
Comment: The claim that the credit markets have "frozen up" is a scam. The big banks have simply stopped lending to create this artificial "crisis" to prod their buddies in the White House to get them this bailout. They're quite effectively gaming the system.
Comment: If the dems passed this bill without the republicans support, it would have been seen as negative as well. The dems brought 60% of their caucus to the vote. Some uniter McCain is - he even took credit for it's passing right before flopped. There is no spin here - it is what it is. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's that damn liberal media. The republicans are just pissing and moaning about how we got here and then throw a fit like 2 year olds. Really, NO ONE likes the situation we're in, but there is no time to sit and whine about it. We can't change the past. People say they don't want the bail out, but do they really want what will happen without it?
Comment: Gee, mojabar! I didn't know you were at the meeting! You must be a very important person. May I have your autograph?
Comment: Thank you TheVigil for your insight, I am also glad our country's leadership wants to take the time to work this out and make a good bill that is is truely what is best for all the people rather than a few
Comment: It is not mentioned that 133 Republicians voted against the bill as well as 95 Democats. It would be better if the Democratic party spent their time and energy unifying the party rather than pointing across the aisle. The bill would have passed if the Democrats could get together on it. There must be some parts of the bill that raises concerns from both parties, otherwise it would have passed.
voanews.com/english/2008-09-29-voa43.cfm?rss=topstories gives more detail on the numbers
Comment: Isn't VOA still Voice of America, or the state propaganda organ? Someone quoting Pravda?
Comment: It was not mentioned that 95 Democrats voted against the bill as well as 133 Republicans. This issue is not as bi-partician as it is made out to be. The Democrats need to unify thier own party rather than pointing across the aisle. They could have passed the bill if they were. There must be some issues with this bill that concerns representatives from both parties.
Comment: At least McCain got the Republiicans to the table while Obama just gave "more speeches" as usual. When Nancy Pelosi opened her mouth I knew there was no way the "bail out" would pass. Can the Speaker of the House be impeached?
Comment: When he got to the table, he seemed to forget what he was doing there. He sat speachless blinking and saying nothing. Then he prematurely took credit for the success of the bill, before learning that it didn't pass. I think your candidate is showing his age, he's more than a little confused; and he doesn't seem to know his own mind. One minute the fundamentals of the economy are sound, and within a few hours it's a crisis. McCain doesn't know which end is up, unless somebody tells him.
Comment: At least McCain got the Republiicans to the table while Obama just gave "more speeches" as usual. When Nancy Pelosi opened her mouth I knew there was no way the "bail out" would pass. Can the Speaker of the House be impeached?
Comment: So you are saying that the Republicans don't have a mind of their own and vote based on what Nancy says?
Comment: I agree with those who said democracy has worked here, and I don't begrudge the Republicans their vote in the slightest.
I'm giving the House Republicans credit for standing up and representing their constituencies, and not panicking and passing this bill on the say-so of a lot of financial institution folks with seriously obstructed views of what's going on. I'm a bit surprised at the willingness of the Dems to go along with a Bush-appointed Treasury Secretary bailout.
The stock market's probably going to tank. It needs to tank. It's been overvalued. And I'm beginning to be among those who think it's necessary for these banks to fail, to some extent - otherwise we're just hemorrhaging funds into these institutions who aren't likely to change their policies. The culture of selfishness and plunder in Wall Street is WAY too deep-seated to have been uprooted by just these failures, massive in scope as they are.
I honestly apologize to those whose stock portfolios are threatened by this situation, but honestly, if you have enough in the bank right now to *have* a stock portfolio, you're doing better than many. Go to cash, or to gold, and research which banks have avoided buying all this bad paper. It's a terrible situation, but terrible situations happen. What we need to do is get back on track. I don't think the right answer is essentially forcing the entire country to pick up the tab for a bunch of ravenous bankers who knowingly made bad loans in order to get rich and their foolish clients who agreed to loans that people with twice their capital couldn't have sustained. These men and women are going down; they need to. We don't need to hamstring taxpayers with a $5,000 tax burden apiece for this problem. It would cripple a lot of people who really and legitimately have just been working hard and doing right.
Comment: Well said. Politicians are elected to be the voice of the people. Usually, they are too busy talking to hear what we are saying. In this case, I think they heard it loud and clear.
Comment: TheVigil, once again, makes way too much sense.
Comment: What Washington (and the electorate that drives them) has done by turning down this legislation is to form a circular firing squad and put the evil bankers in the middle. I'm sure that if we fire away long enough we will punish all of the bad guys. It's the multitude of stray bullets which will punish many more innocent people which kind of bothers me. Boy oh boy will we show those bad guys though. Remember that wonderful feeling when you are standing in a soup line. Idiots!.
Comment: It's the extremist on both sides. The liberals and conservatives. It's just that there were more republicans voting against it ,that makes them the evil side. The democrats are just the lesser of the evils right now. Clinton did some deregulating too. The bottom line..........bring the middleclass back into this. We may need something as bifg as the New Deal" Lets go green and put some high payingh jobs back into our country. That can be agreed by both repubicans and dems.
Comment: I find it curious and somewhat expected form the establishment media to spin this as the fault of the Republicans. The Democrats could pass this legislation with their Democratic representatives. There are enought Democrat reps to pass this bill. They do not need the Republicans to pass legislation. Yet, the Republicans are blamed for this this. Another example of political spin.
Comment: Lets call it like it is the RePUBICations have gotten just what they wanted and now deserve. If one I mean 1 republican up for election is elected than the country deserves the obvious DEPRESSION that it is in. Adeaf , blind and DUMB person could see where this country was going 8 years ago . By the way all you so called experts on finincial matters please dont come looking to me for a job. You couldn't balance a check book. For the few that picked up on the deaf blind ans DUMB innuendo its not an innuendo it a fact DUMB + RePUBICans and their illustious leader Bush. I for one am glad he can't play in my sandbox anymore.
Comment: This is true. The Speaker of the House holds plenary powers that would allow her to ram through this bill. A Gingrich would have [did actually try in the 1998 shutdown,which would cost him his job],done it in a trice. Heres the problem.
1. Pelosi is being dishonest. She never leaned on key Democrats who would have comprised ''The 12''easily.
''I didnt feel pressured at all'' said Georgias Hank Johnson,and several top Obama Democrats who are serving his campaign including Emmanuel of Illinois and Jesse Jackson Jr. who is Obama Co-Chair,were not leaned on either. She gave them all a pass.
2. She does not want to end up like Gingrich,thus,she loudly carps at the Republicans,while her party is the one in power,and totally ignores ''The 95''.[all Democrats who voted against the bailout of which she needs,as we see,only 12 for passage].
3. The general consensus even among liberal news outlets from CNN to MSNBC is that her tirade yesterday was ''foolish'',''stupid'',''counterproductive''.[Anderson Coopers 360 and Chris Matthews HARDBALL and Dave Gregorys Race To The White House].
4. Barney Frank is FINALLY getting his,with an excellent piece in this mornings Boston Globe chastising ''the gall''of this man who fought so hard against F & F reform and regulation and now cries foul against the GOP.
5. The Democrats need to quit screwing around with this bailout bill. I accurately predicted on Friday that with the revelation of SECTION 5,crafted by Dodd and picked up on by Frank[the so-called ACORN Bill],that the GOP would send this thing crashing down. GOP Rep. Price of Georgia and Culberson of Texas have already stated clearly that a bill could be crafted with more Pelosi compromise.
6. How many Jewish members in the House? Not enough by a long shot,to allow the rest of the gentiles to pack up and go on vacation while not remaining behind to work on this compromise. A point stressed by CNNs David Gergen last night.
7.Lastly,Democrats look to the GOP to give them cover,rather than muscling their majority to get ''The 12''. Pelosi is a disgrace,and no matter what else occurs,even with Democrat retention of the House in 08,she needs to go.
Comment: You are whining that those awful Democrats won't take the political hit to remedy a problem that blossomed under the last eight years of (mostly) Republican government. I'm not even a Democrat, and I think blind partisanship like this is an embarassment.
Comment: Thats not ''whining''.Those are your Democrats pals doing that. Rather,it is to point out what a moronic Speaker of the House,gutless as well,[as we saw with her refusal to strongarm her own holdouts that Tip O'Neill a Democrat,would have already done],America is burdened with. You people made this scene. It is a pity,really,that when Pelosi was born a fool she was also saddled with a fools face.[do not get me started on the cartoonish Frank].
Comment: Your sandbox. Let me provide you with some grown-up thinking. It is very easy to say it was 8 years of the Bush administration when you do not know the facts. This is a Democratic cause. It was Rep. Barney Frank who said there was nothing wrong with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It was the Democrats who resisted Repulican mortgage industry regulation. I can provide you with some Democratic representatives who sung the praises of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Franklin Raines. How did Franklin Raines get entitled to get millions when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was such in bad shape.
Comment: This was an initiative that the current republican administration sent to the house and you are saying that the democrats are supposed to pass it without any help from the republican in the house? I don???t think that is the way it works if the current administration wants this passed in the house then the republican leadership should get the votes to pass it. I hope the democrats draft a bill that they want without input from the current administration or the republican members and then the democrats can all vote to fix the republican???s mess. That will be great reading as we go into the elections.
Comment: "passing it would have begun the first dictatorship in U.S. history.The very idea of one man holding so much power is anathema. No judicial oversight? " This is exactly what we don't need right now! we can't be so dramatic. We need to stop being so emotional with this stuff. I'm also including myself in this. Many independant economists are supporting the bailout. You seem intelligent enough to understand how this works. The generic is (No small buisiness loans no economic growth. ) It's a ripple effect. I don't support rewarding CEO etc, but we need to face reality. If I had my way I would adopt the Scandanavian model. That's not reality in our country though! Sad to say. Healthcare should be affordable, and not run by corporate beaucracies.
Comment: I've never been more proud to vote Democrat.
Comment: This bailout was being rammed down America's throat, despite the fact that it did nothing for the real problem: subprime lending, and the fact that passing it would have begun the first dictatorship in U.S. history.The very idea of one man holding so much power is anathema. No judicial oversight? Paulson overseeing his own program? No ownership stake in bailed companies for taxpayers? No way.
Comment: With the market rebounding slightly this morning, it makes me wonder if the general public is finding some weird comfort in the fact that Congress is still Congress. Even with all the petty bickering, at least that is the evil we know. Global economics is too confusing - just give us good old-fashioned partisan politics to lull us into feeling a return of normalcy. Violins on the Titanic, anyone?
Comment: The repubican philosophy is over!!!!!!! The free market unchecked doesn't help the common person. Do you realize it was the extremist of both Dems and Reps that blew this deal. The blame does mostly go to the republicans though! To blame to behavior on one person (Nancy Pelosi) makes you a wimp for catering to short term constituents influence, when the failing of our market will be blamed on your greedy, corrupt concept of patriotism. Is wanting universal healthcare and a decent wage being a liberal? Well I'm one proud liberal.
Comment: Are you crazy? It is not everyone's birthright to own (be given) a house, free health care, or a "decent wage" - you need to earn your way! Work hard, not whine that you don't have the same as the next person.
This mess was started by the Dems with their Community Reinvestment Act to make sure every person (legal or illegal) could get a house even if they didn't have the means to pay for it. Bush warned Congress, both sides, over and over that Fannie and Freddie were in trouble and to do something about it. This was ignored and concerned people were told to mind their own business.
It's a mess but the O and the Dems just want our financial markets to fall apart so they can point fingers. It's disgusting. While McCain might not have accomplished the passing of the bill, at least he was doing the work the people of Arizona are paying him to do.
Comment: Is it not ironic that the Republican Congress and President passed bankruptcy legislation in 2005 that prevents individuals from having the debt discharged without a means test when the banks who paid for the legislation were selling sub-prime loans that were certain loosers to morons? Coincidence? And Joe Biden was not innocent either. He was under MBNA's spell. The same MBNA who employed his son for 250K/yr.
Comment: This is hogwash. The democrats could have passed it themselves WITHOUT the republicans. You are just a biased - a bunch of marxists. I guarantee you one this. keep depending on the government and you will destroy your family.
Comment: And had they done that I guess McCain could have claimed that he got them to vote that way. Funny how the Repbulicans want to take credit for the good things and put blame on everyone else for the bad things. If John McCain loses the election, I guess it would be the Democrats fault too? Or would it be the "elite, gotcha media"? Who is the blame going to go to then?
Comment: Looks like the Republicans lack a leader. I guess Barbara never read "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" to President Bush. If she did, he was clearly too stupid to understand the message. Our president ought to resign or tie a noose for himself; these seem like honorable choices for him.
Comment: Gee, Jabar - will he get 70 virgins in allah's heaven?
Comment: Yeah, the Democrats have no responsibility on this? Another biased article by Newsweek.
Comment: And by the way, The Democrats are the MAJORITY party. If this was such a great bill, they should have passed it instead of passing the buck as usual.
Comment: The MAJORITY of "yeas" was Democrat. A problem this big must be "bipartisan".
Comment: Says who? The Democrats who had their hands in the proverbial cookie jar with Fannie and Freddie? Pelosi not only gave an outrageous speech, she also gave permission to 16 democrats in tight races to vote no. She also allowed the committee members to vote no. She needs to be thrown out on her as* as does Harry Reid.
Comment: If grown men and women can not take some name calling (by the way the Republicans have done quite a bit of that themselves) then they need to go home and cry to momma. This problem wasn't created by strictly Republicans or Democrats. It has been evolving over many years. It needs to be solved by both sides, which was happening until McCain came back to town.
