Why is this situation reminding me of the Non, Neen, and Nay votes re the EU Constituion?
John Batchelor has the lowdown on The $700 Billion Bailout Rebellion yesterday on Capitol Hill, which continues today:
The Majority Needs What?
News arrives that the Democrats are blaming something called "the House Republicans" for the failure of the Democratic majority in both the House and the Senate from closing a deal with the White House this afternoon (right) for the $700 Billion bailout of Wall Street. This is all hilarious and delightful. How does this sound? The Republican minority in the House is the villain because it will not obey the White House and the Treasury and Nancy Pelosi.
Try that again. The minority in the House won't pass a bill? How does the minority pass anything? Mrs. Pelosisi has 230 plus votes. She can pass anything she wants, and she does routinely, from opposing the war with reckless underfunding to proposing a sham energy drilling bill. Anything the Democratic majority wants, it gets.
So how is it that the Democrats can't pass the bailout? Why does Majority Leader Steny Hoyer say that he needs an unspecified number of Republican votes when in fact he needs none?
The Democrats need cover, that's why Mrs. Pelosi and Harry Reid are fuming. And the Democrats realized today, late this afternoon, that the Republicans in the House were not going to sign on. My best source says that it happened this way.
Everyone was at the table , and then John McCain mentions that the House Republicans have a proposal that he finds attractive. At this point, Barney Frank, ranking on House finances, became abusive, demanding to see this proposal; where is it?
The meeting broke up soon after, with Dick Shelby telling the media mob outside, "No deal."
Meanwhile, the Democrats did not see the deal ambush -- did not see that the Republicans were taking the high ground of refusing to spend $700 billion of the people's money on the plutocrats.
Instead, first Barack Obama went on television to blame the House Republicans for not cooperating with the Bush/Paulson plan, and then Harry Reid went on television to blame the House Republicans for not agreeing to pilfer the people. By this time, McCain was grinning.
The last two weeks, Obama has enjoyed his double game of blaming the Administration for the crisis and then claiming he was going to protect Main Street from Wall Street. Within one hour at the White House, Barack Obama and the whole Democratic Party on the Hill were demanding that the GOP help push money at the bankers.
Last evening, Mrs. Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Harry Reid, Dick Durbin and Mitch McConnell all met to try to rescue the deal. Note that John Boehner, leader of the House Republicans, did not attend.
The World Turned Upside Down
Mrs. Pelosi now claims she aims to ram through the bill. She is shouting that the GOP must relent and join in. Not a chance. "No deal," is the way to guard the people's cash.
The Democrats are working with George Bush and Hank Paulson. The Republicans in the House (the Senate crowd is pointless and feckless) are working with the people. It is the world turned upside down -- with the Grand Old Party marching arm-in-arm with Main Street, and the class warrior Democrats gamboling with the Wall Street Interest.
Obama fell into the deal ambush, and now he must take the campaign stage claiming that a grotesque, imperial, unprecedented and endlessly ramshackle Goldman, Sachs fantasy of a deal is good for the country. And John McCain can stand on the same campaign stage and mumble sincerely that thrift, cautious, reform, transparency, modesty, honesty are the new day for the McCain administration.
Now What?
Mrs. Pelosi and Harry Reid have by this time realized they have sandbagged themselves into fighting with the president they denounce. Fighting for the arrogant, tone-deaf, bully Hank Paulson and the super rich they want to super tax. Fighting for the Wall Street that gives the Democrats twice as much as the Republicans.
Will they pull back? Or will they risk it, pass the bill, and hope that Obama can defeat McCain in the debate and on November 4 so they can ready their teams to withstand the assault of reformers coming in 2010?
More soon, and all eyes on John Boehner, Minority Leader of the cavalry to the rescue.
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