Boehner Frets About What He Calls Republican "Knuckle-Draggers" Opposing The Bailout

The Bush Regime's Shock Doctrine strategy worked so well for them-- if not for us-- in the run up to the attack on Iraq. They figured they would use it again to get what they wanted on the way out: $700,000,000,000. Moderate Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman exposed their perfidy on the floor of the House yesterday. They threatened to use martial law if they didn't get what they want. Watch:



The House debate is in full swing now and the dramatic vote will probably come this evening after Emanuel, Hoyer, Boehner and Blunt-- between them recipients of millions of dollars in legalized bribes from the firms that caused the mess and the firms that will most benefit from the Paulson bailout/giveaway-- have worked their magic. Before we get into the magic, let's look at the real life context this debate is proceeding under (or around): today's monthly job report:

The government is out with more bad economic news this morning: The job market began to deteriorate even before the financial crisis reached a more serious stage two weeks ago.

Employers cut 159,000 jobs in September, more than twice as many as in August or July, the Labor Department reported. It was the biggest monthly decline since 2003, when the economy was still losing jobs in the wake of the 2001 recession.

Forecasters had been expecting a loss of about 100,000 jobs in September.

The new number was especially worrisome because the government conducted its survey during the week of Sept. 8, before the credit crisis took a new turn for the worse on Sept. 17.

“The U.S. consumer is in major trouble, with wage and salary income growth evaporating, credit extremely tight or unavailable, home prices continuing to decline, and food and energy costs consuming a large share of household budgets,” said Joshua Shapiro, an economist at MFR, a research firm in New York. “Whatever the government might or might not do to try to bail out the financial system, a consumer-led recession is upon us, and it promises to be a serious one.”

Obama's reaction, in light of the way he teamed up with McCain to pass the odious bailout bill Monday, rings a little hollow. “Today," he said "Americans woke up to the sad news that 159,000 jobs were lost last month alone, making September the ninth straight month of job loss. With three-quarters of a million jobs lost this year, and millions of families struggling to pay the bills and stay in their homes, this country can’t afford Senator McCain’s plan to give America four more years of the same policies that have devastated our middle-class and our economy for the last eight. Instead of Senator McCain’s plan to give tax breaks to CEOs and companies that ship jobs overseas, I will rebuild the middle-class and create millions of new jobs by investing in infrastructure and renewable energy that will reduce our dependence on oil from the Middle East. I also call on Congress to pass an immediate rescue plan for our middle-class that will provide tax relief, save one million jobs, and save our local communities from harmful budget cuts and painful tax increases."

As for the magic we promised above, if Brad Sherman's warning about Shock and Awe being employed against members of Congress wasn't enough, this morning's Congressional Quarterly gives a little look inside the sausage factory. Boehner has picked out the Republicans he plans to press into switching votes for his cause: Charlie Dent (R-PA), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Tom Cole (R-OK), Doc Hastings (R-WA), Steve Buyer (R-IN), Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), John Mica (R-FL), Judy Biggert (R-IL), Phil English (R-PA), Jim Gerlach (R-PA), Todd Platts (R-PA), Tom Latham (R-IA), Steve Pearce (R-NM), Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Phil Gingrey (R-GA), Jack Kingston (R-GA), Mike Turner (R-OH), and Rob Wittman (R-VA).

As we explained earlier, Dent's corruption and spineless nature makes him the most likely Republican to grasp the Senate's fig leaf, throw in the towel and go along with Boehner's demands. “I like the increase in the cap on deposit insurance,” he said. Yes, we all do. By all means, pass that. And then get to work and come up with a good rescue bill the addresses the people who live in the Lehigh Valley and across America. His buffoonish Pennsylvania colleague Phil English offered an even moire idiotic answer when asked by Congressional Quarterly about today's vote. "I’m not going to show my hand... But I do believe it’s essential we move something this week." And it's Friday!

Eric Cantor of Virginia, the chief deputy whip, said Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the GOP presidential nominee, was continuing to make calls urging Republicans to support the bill.

“He’s been behind the scenes talking to members all week, telling them the urgency of the situation,” Cantor said.

So far Boehner says he has 5 Republican converts in the bag (Zack Wamp, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, John Shadegg, Jim Ramstad and John Sullivan) and Emanuel succeeded with two Democrats Emanuel Cleaver and Shelly Berkley. Jim Clyburn, the Majority Whip, claims that "some members of the Congressional Black Caucus like the new version of the bill better than the first iteration because the Senate added an extension of property-tax breaks for non-itemizing tax filers."

Boehner continued to face tough going even with friends, such as Bob Latta, R-Ohio, who represents a neighboring district.

“If they haven’t resolved the issues I had with the bill, I think I’ve probably got to vote no,” said Latta. “I like John. This is not a referendum on John.”

Like many of the foes of the bill, Latta said most of the constituent calls to his office continued to run heavily against the measure, even through some callers had also expressed concern about the volatility in the stock market.

Iowa’s Latham, one of Boehner’s best friends, declined to say how he would vote.

“I’ve got to look at my district, and at the issues. It a tough decision,” Latham said.

Another longtime Boehner ally who remained on the fence described the conversation he had with the top Republican. “He told me he knew he would lose some of the knuckle-draggers, but when he lost me, he knew there was a big problem,” said the lawmaker, who did not want to be identified.

The bill passed 263-171 with 172 Democrats and 91 Republicans voting in favor. 108 Republicans opposed it, as did 63 Democrats. Quite a few good Democrats, like Jesse Jackson and Donna Edwards changed their votes after calls from Obama. Boehner was able to get Charlie Dent, Mean Jean Schmidt, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, John Shadegg, Randy Kuhl, Tom Cole, Zach Wamp, Charles Boustany, Pete Hoekstra, Jim Gerlach, and Judy Biggert to flip.

Annette Taddeo, like many Democrats, was not satisfied that the bill would address, let alone solve, the serious problems working families are facing because of the mortgage crisis brought on my market manipulation, wholesale deregulation and shoddy, incompetent governance. Annette: “Bush Rubberstamp Ileana Ros-Lehtinen flip-flopped on the bailout bill under pressure from President Bush and special interests in Washington. We need a bill that protects homeowners and those of us on main street, not just Wall Street and special interests. Ros-Lehtinen stood by the sidelines instead of speaking up for South Florida’s homeowners and small business owners. When I get to Congress, we will have work to do to make up for the inadequacies of this bill.”


UPDATE: OBAMA ON THE RESCUE PLAN

“America is facing one of the greatest financial crises in history, and today’s passage of an emergency rescue plan was absolutely necessary to prevent an economic catastrophe that could have cost millions of jobs and forced businesses across the country into bankruptcy.

“I’m glad that Democrats and Republicans put aside their differences, came together, and took this step. I am also grateful to the House Democrats I personally spoke with who supported this rescue plan. While the Administration initially asked for a blank check to solve this problem, over the last few weeks we were able to include important taxpayer protections to prevent golden parachutes for CEOs, provide independent oversight, help struggling homeowners, and ensure that taxpayers get their money back when the economy recovers.

“Now we must ensure that this Administration uses the authority it has been given wisely and in a way that protects American taxpayers. We also must do more than this rescue package does to help homeowners stay in their homes. And while we will all hope that this rescue package succeeds, we should be prepared to take more vigorous actions in the months ahead to rebuild capital if necessary.

“This is not a moment for celebration, but a sobering day when we found out that three-quarters of a million jobs were lost just this year. Passing this rescue plan cannot be the end of our work to strengthen our economy – it must be the beginning.

“I call on Congress to pass an emergency plan for the middle-class that will help folks cope with rising food and gas prices, save one million jobs by rebuilding our schools and roads, and help states and cities avoid budget cuts and tax increases. It’s a plan that should extend expiring unemployment benefits for those Americans who’ve lost their jobs and cannot find new ones.

“I will also continue to lay out the clear choice in this election between myself and Senator McCain: four more years of policies that have killed jobs and devastated our middle-class, our a change in Washington that will provide tax relief to 95% of workers and create millions of new jobs by investing in clean, renewable energy. It is time to end the era of greed and irresponsibility in Washington and on Wall Street so that we can come together and restore American prosperity from the bottom-up.”