Some form of a bailout may or may not pass, and the results of either action are uncertain. What we do know is that partisan politics are a major cause of the delay, and it’s essential that people understand what has been going on.
While there are many principled conservative Republicans who are hesitant to allow a $700 billion bailout, the provisions that the Democrats have added to the bill are not making these Republicans any less reluctant. While the population waits in anxiety, the Democrats are showing that they are not interested in preventing this kind of fall out in the future; rather, the Democrats are interested in increasing government power over the economy while lining their own pockets at the taxpayers’ expense. On top of that they have attempted to sneak through energy legislation and an additional stimulus, both of which will hurt the economy to promote their agenda.
One of the major provisions of the bailout plan that is probably causing Republicans hesitation is section 105(d), which allocates profits from the bill to housing funds that Democrats have protected and profited from for years. This means Obama’s pals at ACORN (let’s not forget about people like Tony Rezko either), who Obama has obtained money for and who have used dubious voter registration tactics to aid his campaigns will get more money for low income housing, while Democrats like Obama, Dodd, Clinton, Kerry, and Frank will continue to get their kick-backs. (UPDATE: This site does a nice job of explaining how the money will be siphoned to ACORN through the Dodd amendment. H/T Hot Air)
Let me put this as clearly as I can: the Democrats want to pass a bill that not only preserves institutions like Fannie and Freddie, whose government sponsorship has been a direct cause to this entire mess and who have been contributing to prominent Democrats (and a few Republicans) for years, but they also want to further increase government control of the economy, essentially perpetuating the problem. The very politicians who have profited from the institutions and practices that have lead to this crisis are not only asking for the taxpayers to bail out their poor decisions, but also to have their hands on more of the pot.
The Democrats can pass the bill in the House; they have the votes, but Nancy Pelosi wants to share the responsibility with Republicans to provide political cover.
Meanwhile, the Democrats attempted to push through a bill that would extend the ban on oil shale, after recently conceding the expiration of the ban. They probably thought they could sneak this through while the focus was on the bailout. This further shows that the Democrats are not interested in lowering energy prices, and they’d rather avoid the debate by passing the bill behind peoples’ backs. The bill has apparently failed.
While Congress can’t agree on essential economic legislation, the Democrats decided to vote on an another stimulus bill of $56 billion, which the Republicans blocked. The $630 billion spending bill mentioned in the article (to be voted on in the next few days) also contains $25 billion for the labor unions, Democrat pals, in the automobile industry (UPDATE: the bill passed at $634 billion, and it contains language to end most of the coastal drilling ban). There is a $61 billion plan being voted on today as well (UPDATE: the $61 billion stimulus passed the House). (H/T Michelle Malkin)
The Democrats are also distorting the events of the bailout discussion in a political attempt to score points for Obama. I already wrote about (and displayed the audio of) Harry Reid’s blatant dishonesty, but today he and Senator Dodd have taken it one step further to say that a bailout deal was ready until McCain came to Washington and blew it up. This is not what happened. (UPDATE: Jake Tapper has more on the Obama campaign’s dishonest rumors)
Politicians are playing games with our money. There are hold-ups from both the right and left. As usual, who controls the money is at the center of the debate. The Democrats are more interested in scoring political points for Obama and increasing government’s power than they are putting the economy back on track or lowering energy prices. The American people need to decide if this is the right direction to take the country.
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