| Jamie Dupree |
Congress Grapples With A Bailout
After a lengthy morning hearing where Senators in both parties expressed their concern and outright opposition to a planned Wall Street bailout, I walked the halls of the Capitol trying to see what lawmakers thought.
"It will be approved by Friday," calmly said one Senator.
While I'm not sure it will happen that quickly, my gut tells me that it is on a fast track, though the White House may have to agree to some concessions in order to win enough votes.
If you listened to just the rhetoric, you might have thought the deal (which still isn't a deal) was coming unraveled.
"It is financial socialism and it's un-American," roared Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) as he sent rhetorical fastballs under the chin of both the Treasury Secretary and Federal Reserve Chair.
But I've seen this before. The phones are ringing off the hook with the voices of angry constituents, and to many, the signs are there of trouble.
"I don't think I've gotten one call for the bailout," said Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) to a group of reporters. Chambliss made clear he was joking, but if we asked one of his aides answering the phones, he probably wouldn't be far from the truth.
"Do you think this is going down?" a newbie reporter urgently asked one of his more senior colleagues as they walked past a bust of former President Gerald Ford.
"No way," the veteran said with a quick shake of his head.
And I would have to agree with that, even as the emails rumble in to me from angry voters.
"I am LIVID," wrote Bea Scalise of Florida.
"Maybe we should just let the government sink and start from scratch. Or how about tea in the river again," she added.
Others were arguing for a massive investigation.
"It only makes sense that a federal grand jury should be impaneled to find out the causes of the problem before any solution is reached," suggested Joan Trentham.
Ms. Trentham was more on point than she probably realized, as the wires reported last night that the FBI had opened an investigation into the practices of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG and Lehman Brothers.
What others are saying
- I WANT THIS BAILOUT DEADI do NOT want to pay higher taxes for the rest of my life because congress decides to buy wall street's toxic waste.
I do NOT want congress to sacrifice my social security benefits to protect greedy wall street bankers.
I do NOT want to pay 5 dollars for gas with worthless dollars so bank shareholders can keep getting fat dividends.
Don't throw away my future!
This bailout is THEFT. Bernanke and Paulson should be JAILED for trying to pull off the biggest heist in US history.
I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REST UNTIL THIS BAILOUT IS DEAD. KILL IT! KILL IT NOW!
THE POSSIBILITY OF THIS BAILOUT MUST BE ABSOLUTELY AND COMPLETELY CRUSHED. ONLY AFTER THE BAILOUT IS DEAD AND BURIED UNDER SEVERAL TONS OF CONCRETE WILL I BE ABLE TO RELAX.
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