Bush is about to make the biggest power grab, possibly in the history of our country, giving one Federal agency, almost unlimited and unfettered funds and power to buy up the debt of Wall Street, and even the debt of London, Beijing and Dubai.
The stakes are even higher because this has taken place with the elections so close in sight (you can even see it from Alaska). However, there is great, great peril in opposing or delaying this bailout plan, and the Repugs are just waiting for the Dems to step in a deep pile of you know what.
See these comments from Boehner, reprinted from the following link ( http://www.breitbart.com/... :
"The American people are furious that we're in this situation, and so am I," the House's top Republican, Ohio Rep. John A. Boehner, said in a statement. "We need to do everything possible to protect the taxpayers from the consequences of a broken Washington."
Signaling what could erupt into a brutal fight with Democrats over add-on spending, Boehner said "efforts to exploit this crisis for political leverage or partisan quid pro quo will only delay the economic stability that families, seniors, and small businesses deserve."
So, how should Dems respond? Here is a suggestion:
- ACT FAST. Any response later than first thing Monday morning is too late. Pelosi and Reid need to be in front of cameras.
- NO ADD ONS. Protecting Main Street is noble, but that can be addressed separately. Anything that is going to stall this package is going to be pinned on the Dems, and believe me, if it stalls, the Republicans, won't even have to say anything. Wall Street is going to cast its vote very quickly if this thing bogs down.
- COUNTERPROPOSAL READY TO GO. If they need to stay up the rest of tonight through Monday morning, the dems need to, in order to put together, a plan that gives the necessary funds with the oversight (congressional/judicial) and transparency needed to make sure our taxpayer dollars are being used only where needed and that it gets paid back.
- TURN THE TABLES. Pelosi and Reid need to make clear that their proposal can be voted up or down in 24hrs and that the American people are FURIOUS over the situation we have been put in and demand RESPONSIBLE action immediately.
This is a critical point for our Democratic leaders to show they know how to handle Bush and his cronies. For the next few days Obama's election hopes could rest in their hands.