Why No Isn't The End

Wall Street is taking another tumble this afternoon, down more than seven hundred points (still figuring it at the closing bell) after the big vote. It isn't the largest percentage drop but it is the biggest single number dump, almost as bad as post 9-11. The bailout pushed by the Bush Administration, Senate and House Democrat leaders led by Reid, Pelosi, Frank and Dodd, GOP leaders on the flip side including Boehner isn't even close to a yes from the House. Why, then, is this actually a sign Congress is working?

This is going to hurt. Hurt bad. Anyone trying to get credit now will find bankers saying no, and it isn't just us little people, it's companies like Goodyear told they can't access their own credit lines. The pain is unavoidable and the push to get something moving to free up the flow of money is undeniable, but Wall Street still hasn't convinced Main Street yet the fix from the boys and girls in suits in D.C. is the right answer.

We made a big mistake the past ten days, assuming just because the Secretary of the Treasury and Federal Reserve Chairman worked past midnight, joined by respective House and Senate leaders trading behind closed doors, that this was work on the people's behalf. Please forgive Americans from thinking ill of something called a "deal" since it was the "dealing" that got us into the mess to start with.

After watching the bulk of speeches from the U.S. House this morning and afternoon it's clear the work shouldn't have included behind-the-scenes deal or no deal to begin with. The Democrats say it's the Republicans fault for not getting 12 more votes to fall in line, the Republicans will note the Democrats had 94 members voting no, too, and the commentary will reflect the spin that none of the key players did what they had to.

The finger pointing is already underway with Democrats scrapping the GOP for not delivering; the GOP says they might have had a better chance if Nancy Pelosi hadn't made it a partisan fight during her comments on the floor blaming the whole mess on the Bush Administration. Did she really have to do that? Was this opportunity to play mechanic blown by what seems to be the inability for either side to just fix something without trying to inflict political harm? Listening to her speech (thanks to C-SPAN where you can still catch the entire address) I don't understand why she decided to make a Jefferson-Jackson day talk on the floor of Congress instead of showing the leadership to make the point for her bill rather than lecturing. Nice way to move forward -- by wallowing in the same old arguments of the past.

I'm just curious as to how things work in your neighborhood; how willing are you to lend a hand to the neighborhood watch folks when they start our saying you're a jerk? This just seems to be personal politics 101: what was the point of her speech, trying to convince people to vote for this bailout or setting the table for the finger-pointing we're going to watch next?

The usual suspects will come in for the usual ripping on the 15-second interview clips on CNN, FOX, CNBC, MSNBC and the networks.

This credit collapse mess our economy is in didn't happen overnight and while it's important to find a fix the wrong fix without the support of the real bankers who have to pay for it was the wrong policy. We're the bankers now, and when the systems (financial and government) who sold us a flim-flam bill of goods our Depression-area grandparents wouldn't have touched with a ten-foot pole wanted to do it again political labels meant nothing.

It was liberal Democrat and conservative Republican united to force the dealers to return to work and make something happen that makes sense for the very people who stand to suffer most. The unfortunate side of an economic collapse is that those who made the most during the boom years of easy credit and giveaway mortgage plans haven't felt the pain yet because they're still living off the billions they reaped while shooing a compliant public eager for have-it-all into foreclosure and bankruptcy. We rubes back on Main Street understand that; there are enough folks in Washington who hear what the real bosses back home were saying about all of this to go along after less than two weeks of talk.

Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, summed it up in the post-vote comments noting it was important for the greatest deliberative body in the world to give more thought to the actions of government. That's the real job of both the Senate and the House; to deliberate, to weigh and consider alternatives. Washington operates too easily these days on the assumption of must-act without oversight as shown by a budget that has ballooned to put our children's future in jeopardy, put ownership of our country in the pockets of our rivals and enemies, and put our sons and daughters in harm's way overseas.

We find ourselves with an unusual situation after watching today's debate: the very same folks ripping this President for his rush to war (a rush many joined him in with a quick vote) now seem hell-bent on a rush to fix an economy that teeters on the big freeze without asking questions. The same Reid-Pelosi crowd that surged to power two years ago in Washington by riding a wave of disbelief of direction from the White House now seem only too willing to go along with the Administration they don't trust. The GOP crowd that marched in lockstep with the White House now sparks condemnation by doing something we expect our Representative to do: finally listen to their constituents.

The crap-shoot of Wall Street will continue to yo-yo while the politicians go back to work, maybe with even more urgency since they're up for a vote in five weeks. Enough of the partisan sound bites after tonight: listen to each other, listen to the economic experts who were blown off in a rush to vote, and above all listen to the people in fly-over land outside the Beltway who have to pay for this in the long run.