Digesting the failure of HR 3997
oh, my aching head.
Im going to cut straight to the chase and note a few things which should be highlighted about the failure of HR 3997.
- Democrats control Congress. If they wanted to do so, they could and still might pass this legislation through, complete with ACORN funding and all. The fact that Speaker Pelosi failed to do so is fairly significant. It shows her (and Obama for that matter) lack of leadership and the fear of losing the upcoming election within the caucus.
- Just before the vote, Speaker Nancy Pelosi explodes into an antibush tirade. Yeah, buddy, thats how you bring people to your side before an important vote. Oh, did I forget the unpatriotic remark ealier in the week?
- Democrats can blame Republicans all they want to, but forty percent of her own caucus voted against the bill. This should tell us all something about what the American public at large thinks about the bill (or at very least its perception).
- Minority Leader Boehner and Minority Whip Blunt were able to deliver thirty percent of Republicans to the party. For the type of bill it was and the concerns which average citizens have about it, thats a large number. When was the last time you saw Pelosi or Reid bring that sort of number to the Republican side at any time?
- Contrary to what some Conservative pundents were pushing on the bill, The Heritage Foundation released a paper today noting that the bailout package was “Vital and Acceptable.”
- Personal view – I think Representative Mike Pence was correct in principle, but his actions are border line irresponsible given the situation we are in. There is a time to fight and a time to get something done. This is the latter of the two.Maybe I am wrong, but I would agree with Jim Manzi over at NRO. This is not a time to be tinkering with the market.
The problem from everyone I read (many of whom are conservatives) is real and is only getting worse because of people’s fears.I also believe it shows the difference in House Republican leadership styles. I believe we should commend Roy Blunt and other House Negotiators for getting what they could. It wasnt perfect, but it is far better than what it started out to be. We might yet face that worst case scenario.
- After the vote today, Pelosi might very well draft a far more radical version of the bail out which includes everything that was fought so hard to win over the past couple of days, and pass it on a party line vote. So I ask, was that really a smart move?
- What Americans think? Based on a small sample today at lunch I heard moans of money going to ACORN (which was stripped in this version), to government control to “this doesnt fix the problem in the first place.”
Indeed, all of these issues need and should be addressed.
I would also agree that the bill more than likely does give the government too much power. That is a given because the bill is written by Democrats who loathe free markets and capitalism. It is these same people who are writing the bill, which caused the problem in the first place (and were warned by Republicans in 2004).
There are real problems with the bill and I dont think it, in its self would completely solve the problem at hand. What it would, though, is at very least stabilize the market.
Still, there are real problems in bank equity which needs to be addressed. We cannot ignore the problem else history will repeat its self.