House Republicans Implode

Yesterday the House of Representatives voted against the credit market rescue plan. Essentially, what happened is election year politics. A large number of Republican Congressmen are worried about being re-elected, and because they were worried about their own asses, they voted against the economic best interest of the American credit markets, despite the overwhelming majority of economists believing the bailout plan is 100% necessary to save the American economy from near-total collapse.

Conservative columnist David Brooks said it best: "House Republicans led the way and will get most of the blame. It has been interesting to watch them on their single-minded mission to destroy the Republican Party."

That's really what is boils down to; despite Republican leadership supporting the bill, despite the Republican President's support of the bill, and despite John McCain's bizarre positioning last weekend where he faux-suspended his campaign in order to position himself in a way to make it look like he helped bring the parties together to support the bill, despite all of these things, the Republican House members decided to collectively spit in the face of their party's leadership, collectively spit in the face of John McCain, and vote No; attempting to save themselves as the Republican party collapses upon itself.

Regarding this, conservative writer David Brooks also had this to say this morning: "Now they (House Republicans) have once again confused talk radio with reality. If this economy slides, they will go down in history as the Smoot-Hawleys of the 21st century. With this vote, they’ve taken responsibility for this economy, and they will be held accountable. The short-term blows will fall on John McCain, the long-term stress on the existence of the G.O.P. as we know it.

I’ve spoken with several House Republicans over the past few days and most admirably believe in free-market principles. What’s sad is that they still think it’s 1984. They still think the biggest threat comes from socialism and Walter Mondale liberalism. They seem not to have noticed how global capital flows have transformed our political economy."

This quote perfectly sums up the situation, in my opinion. The severity of the financial meltdown hasn't even begun. If this bill doesn't pass, and the credit markets remain frozen, about a month from now when this trickles down to the real economy, life as we know it will come crashing down. Think of it this way, House Members who voted against this bill did so because of it's price tag, it will potentially cost taxpayers around $600 billion dollars. That is a lot of money. However, think about this, yesterday afternoon, after the House voted down the bill, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 777 points, the single largest single day point decline in America's history.

A 777 point loss represents the loss of $1.2 TRILLION dollars. In other words, because Congress refused to authorize the spending of $600 billion dollars, the markets reacted by literally throwing away twice that amount in lost stock value, in a matter of minutes. And remember, this is just the beginning. If this Bill does not pass, your credit card limits will be reduced, your ability to get a student loan will be reduced, your ability to buy a home will be reduced, your ability to get financing for your business will be reduced, etc.

What is especially tragic about this is the misplaced populism. Congressman who voted against this Bill did so because they claimed their constituents were against it. These are the same @!$%&$#& Republicans who refuse to end the Iraq War, despite 99% of foreign policy experts agreeing that it should be ended! This financial rescue Bill, on the other hand, is something that 99% of financial experts say WE NEED, yet this is the Bill where House Republicans decide to find religion on the subject of constituency populism! Are you kidding me?

Congratulations, House Republicans. You may have succeeded in managing to get your own asses re-elected, but you also not only put the nail in the coffin of John McCain's Presidential Campaign, but more importantly, you have put our Country on a direct collision course with total economic disaster the likes of which we have never seen.

It should also be noted that I fully recognize that plenty of Democrats voted against this Bill. I think it's safe to say that neither Pelosi or Boehner are very effective leaders. However, twice as many Republicans voted against it. Pelosi delivered a sufficient number of votes from her party to pass the bill, Boehner did not. To argue that Democrats should have been able to pass the Bill with a straight party vote is, in my opinion, a bizarre argument. Either the Bill is necessary to stave off disaster, or it is not. You are not allowed to abdicate all responsibility just because you are the minority party in Congress. Using this same logic, whatever party is in the minority in Congress never has any responsibility to vote for any bill, ever, because if it is a worthwhile Bill, the majority should be able to pass it with a straight party vote.