Bailout Fails......Saga Continues

When the votes came down, I have to say I was shocked. The bailout failed. It seems that "we the people" are calling our congressional reps and making it clear that because their seats are all up for grabs every 2 years, they better be voting it down-----and many did.

What I find fascinating was the voting breakdown in the state of Oregon. Oregon has 5 Congressional seats. No surprise that Congresswoman Hooley voted for the bailout. 1) She is a true party woman; 2) she is not running for re-election. Wu, DeFazio, and Blumeanour voted against the bailout. This shocked me. These reps are solid party hacks and usually vote party lines. So what gives here? None of these men have any real competition. I am still trying to puzzle this one out.

Greg Walden is a Republican and voted for the bailout. There could be many reasons for this, but I do admit to a bit of confusion on this vote as well. However, at a guess, he has been in this seat since 1992, and someone in the party pulled in a favor. Likely he has no real competition either for his seat, and so it was expedient (in other words, perhaps someone now owes him a favor) and of no consequence.

I did about lose my lunch when watching Madame Speaker pointing the evil finger at the Administration. (Lady, do you know how to zip it?----Obviously the answer is no!) What bothers me the most is that Congress is responsible for this current crisis, not the President. Congress should have been passing oversight rules. Congress should have been insuring there was oversight on the lending institutions. Congress should have been doing alot of things, instead the Dems have blamed the Pres, and the Republicans have let them and then stood back and tried to stay clear of the stink fumes so as not to infect them. Well Madame Speaker, you have been in charge of making laws and allocating oversight for two years now and have sat on your thumb. Do not go shifting the blame. Buck it up, admit it, and play nice. This could have been the making of you. Now you look like a party hack and your nice, cushy Speaker gig could be up if your buddies lose confidence in your ability. Negotiation 101: Don't bite the hand that feeds you before you get your food.