The silliest moment in yesterday’s fiasco came after the vote failed and the Republican leadership emerged to blame Nancy Pelosi’s speech for hardening the hearts of a dozen ‘yes’ votes and turning them into ‘no’s’. That was some historically sorry rhetoric, as several GOP House members readily admit.
Republican Rep. John Shadegg said Tuesday that House Minority Leader John Boehner and other Republican leaders made a “stupid claim” by alleging that Nancy Pelosi’s speech changed any minds on the bailout.
“I do believe that we could have gotten there today had it not been for this partisan speech that the speaker gave on the floor of the House,” said Boehner after the failed vote on the bailout package. His leadership colleagues endorsed the opinion. Rep. Eric Cantor waved a copy of Pelosi’s speech and said the bailout went down because of Pelosi.
Shadegg said that he doesn’t know of a single GOP vote that shifted because of the speech.
On Monday evening, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), a lead opponent of the bailout, told the Crypt that the notion was “nonsense” and mocked the possibility that a Republican would be shocked or offended by the partisan nature of a Democratic speech.
That’s some refreshing candor. Boehner’s failure to deliver the votes could well cost him his position as minority leader. It’s a mistake to look at today’s polls and think that the public will reward the people that prevent a rescue plan. In fact, the polls already show a mixed story. The public assigns responsibility for the failure to the Republicans by a 44-21 margin. You might think that would benefit the Republicans, but after seeing the markets tank yesterday, the bailout isn’t all that unpopular. Forty-seven percent oppose it, while 45% support it. Perhaps most significantly:
…nearly nine in 10 expressed concern that the failure of the bill could lead to a more severe economic decline, including a slim majority calling themselves “very worried.”
David Brooks made a good point on culpability:
And let us recognize above all the 228 who voted no — the authors of this revolt of the nihilists. They showed the world how much they detest their own leaders and the collected expertise of the Treasury and Fed. They did the momentarily popular thing, and if the country slides into a deep recession, they will have the time and leisure to watch public opinion shift against them.
Indeed. It takes more foresight than courage to vote for the rescue plan. In the end, people will want to know why nothing was done, and they won’t be looking to reward the do-nothings. As we assess the new package, I hope we can avoid hyperbole. It won’t be a hand-out to CEO’s, it won’t be a trillion dollar appropriation, it will not lack oversight, and it will have measures to slow the rate of foreclosures. Of course, that was all true of yesterday’s version of the bill, too, but it didn’t prevent a flood of commentary to the contrary. Can we do better?
