The Bailout Express

Why does the Congressional Democratic leadership appear so hell-bent on getting a Wall Street bailout bill passed? Word from Capitol Hill today is that the framework of a deal is close to being agreed upon, but that some contentious aspects still need to be hammered out. However, opposition to any bailout of Wall Street with taxpayer funds apparently runs deep, on both sides of the political spectrum. Indeed, Republicans appear to be scared shitless to vote yes on such a massive transfer of government funds. I don't think it is hard to see why. They already face the daunting task of getting re-elected in the midst of a massive economic meltdown, and add to that the eight years of disaster under Dubya, and you can see that this would likely be the last nail in the coffin for many a Republican congressman. They would prefer not to have to go back to their districts to face an angry constituency, and explain how this Republican administration just cooked up the "mother of all waffles," to the tune of $700 billion dollars,

“We do not support government bailouts of private institutions. Government interference in the markets exacerbates problems in the marketplace and causes the free market to take longer to correct itself.”

-- 2008 Republican Platform

That pretty much sums up the state of the Republican Party, don't you think? Thanks to Craig Markwardt for forwarding that gem. Still, we are left with the question of why the Democratic leadership seems to want to take ownership of this noxious bill. A number of leading economists have recently questioned the need, indeed the usefulness, of the scheme outlined by Paulson. The ultimate albatross around the neck of our economy is debt, so it is not at all clear that borrowing nearly a trillion dollars to throw at the perpetrators of the debacle will be of any lasting value. More likely, it may simply speed up the flight from the dollar in the long run, more like gasoline on a fire rather than water.

Nevertheless, in the face of all of this opposition, the Democratic leadership still appears to be more concerned with the wishes of the administration and the so-called wizards of Wall Street than the average American. For one thing, Democrats should simply consider the source of this massive request. When was the last time Bush and Co. were right about anything? But for some reason, even with historic levels of dissatisfaction with Bush and the Republican party, there would appear to be nothing the Democrats in Congress would deny the Mediocrity in Chief.

While the times clearly call for strong leadership, all we continue to get from Pelosi and Reid is caution and unwarranted bipartisanship. Indeed, it has become the hallmark of this pair that the appearance of so called bipartisanship seems to be their raison d'etre. No matter what horrendous legislation they are passing, as long as they can appear "bipartisan", they seem to think that the American people will sit back and applaud. This is a calculation Democrats have been making now for a long time, and what success has it brought them? Very little. They still appear weak and unprincipled, and too willing to act in the interests of big money rather than their supposed base of support among working Americans. Before passing perhaps the biggest public bailout of corporate interests, the Democratic leadership needs to go before the people and clearly explain how and why this bailout will work, how it will be done, how it will be overseen, and how it will be paid for. If these issues are not clearly addressed in a rush to pass something, then the Democrats will also, rightly, face the ire of many outraged voters in November.