I am totally amazed at the response of the House of Representatives in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Instead of responding with a sense of nationalism and shared sacrifice to this crisis which will affect all Americans, but particularly the middle class and the poor, instead we see partisan politics rearing its ugly head. Blame can be shared for sure. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi conducted herself very inappropriately in politicizing a crucial moment when unity was essential. But at the same time, it was the House Republicans, overly right wing and free market oriented, who ultimately caused the defeat of the so called bailout bill.
Understand, I am on principle opposed to a bailout of those greedy Wall Streeters who without any concern misled and manipulated investors, and promoted sub prime mortgages and lobbied for deregulation. But remember also that it was the GOP talking points since 1994 and, really, going back to the Ronald Reagan administration, that glorified deregulation and less intervention in the economy at large. These people glorified laissez faire, forgetting the hard lessons learned from the Calvin Coolidge-Herbert Hoover era which caused the Great Depression. It was Franklin D Roosevelt and the New Deal who came to the rescue of the average American who suffered through the decade long Depression which had no effect on the elite wealthy. Modern American conservatism is a reprisal of what already had been proven corrupt and disastrous but was put into new packaging and sold to unsuspecting, poorly educated Americans.
The reality is that IF nothing is done to deal with the economic crisis we face, the real losers will be the average Americans who will lose their homes as many have already; will also no longer be able to pay basic expenses as many will lose their jobs; will also discover that they cannot get paychecks on time because of the ongoing freeze of credit; will also lose their retirement and pension plans because of the losses on the stock market; will be unable to cope with everyday life, causing a rapidly growing health crisis in America; will lead to a surge in crime by desperate people who will in many cases have never engaged in such activities before; and cause a world wide economic depression which will undermine our national security and any stability that might exist between nations.
In other words, after seven years of supposedly improving our national security, the Bush Administration legacy will be a less secure, more divided, nation with a nightmare facing the next President.   In these circumstances, IF we elect John McCain with a Democratic Congress (which assuredly will occur as the GOP will be blamed rightfully as having greater responsibility for this economic crisis), then stalemate and gridlock will result and nothing will happen, which will greatly worsen the nation over the next few years. Only the election of Barack Obama and Joe Biden with a STRONG majority of Democrats in the Congress will allow us to enter a new PROGRESSIVE ERA as we did at the turn of the 20th century after the disastrous Gilded Age period of American history. REGULATION is the essential reaction to this disastrous period we have been through since the 1980s, with the chickens having finally come home to roost. I see Barack Obama and Joe Biden as leading a NEW DEAL series of changes in a new PROGRESSIVE ERA. We have waited too long for such a transforming event and the time has come for its fruition. This is NOT a time to sit on the sidelines; it is a time for everyone to vote; and for action on this economic crisis. The future of the nation is at stake!