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Democrats may smile as they remember the first time they watched the GOP struggle with a battered Administration, a sour economy and a controversial war. The Dems cleaned up in '74 and won a majority of the popular vote for President in '76--the only time they've managed that in 40 years. But they should not forget how the movie ended four years later...
After the Sept. 29 House vote, the Administration found a new and much more effective spokesman for its case that Wall Street chaos was bad for everyone: the Dow Jones industrial average. It plunged 778 points, and suddenly calls and e-mails to LaTourette's office that had been running 200 to 1 against the bailout leveled out. He said half the callers were thrilled with his no vote but "the other half are looking at their 401(k)s drop[ping] $50,000 in a day, and they call and scream at me and say, You rat bastard...
...Boehner is in a no-win situation: none of his members really want to vote for this bill, and with just five weeks left before the election, they aren't thinking about much beyond their own self-preservation. Still, now that Monday's stock market free fall has generated phone calls from concerned constituents to go along with the angry ones opposing any rescue package, most GOP House members do want to see something passed - only they'd prefer that it be done without their votes. Worse yet, there is precious little that President Bush, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson...
...While most of the GOP conference didn't want to vote for the bill, they also did not believe their leaders would let it fail. Some members emerged from the vote shell-shocked and blamed Boehner for not twisting more arms. "Conclusion: the leadership needs to work the votes and get it done. It was disappointing," says Representative George Radonovich of California, the only Republican who switched his vote from no to yes during the vote. Boehner's initial clumsy attempt to blame the bill's defeat in part on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's partisan speech before the vote...
...hopeful sign for Boehner - and Wall Street - Shaddeg, an influential conservative voice on Capitol Hill, now looks likely to vote yes this time around. "Much as I would like to see much more dramatic changes, there comes a point in time where we've got to send the signal to the U.S. markets, U.S. consumers and world markets that we're dealing with this," Shadegg told the Washington Post. "I'm inclined to hold my nose and vote yes." Republicans, however, may not be the only hurdle for a successful vote; some fiscally conservative, moderate Democrats are not happy about...