Kill the bailout: The vote draws near; Lindsay Graham quivers; watch Sanders’ tax-the-rich surcharge
Scroll for updates…liveblogging the final hours…
Conservative stalwart GOP Sen. Richard Shelby is speaking on the Senate floor against the Bush/Pelosi/Reid/Frank/Dodd/Paulson Crap Sandwich. Thank you, Sen. Shelby.
Also against: Fellow staunch conservative Sen. Jeff Sessions. Thank you, Sen. Sessions.
On the other side of the aisle, Dem. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida has just announced his opposition on the floor.
We are just a few hours away from the vote. No hearings. Rush, rush, rush.
Long live the deliberative process.
Tons of you have e-mailed your stories of not being able to get through to Congress. I share your frustration, but keep trying: 202-224-3121.
The beast keeps growing and growing and growing:
The Senate hopes to revive Treasury’s $700 billion financial rescue plan Wednesday night by packaging it together with more than $100 billion in popular tax breaks as well as aid to rural schools important to House Republicans.
To calm voters fearful of bank failures, the $100,000 cap on federal insurance for deposits would also be raised to $250,000—a concession backed by both parties but also aimed at community banks who can be helpful in building small town support for the larger bill.
With each permutation, the bill has steadily grown in size. Treasury’s initial plan was about three pages long. The House version, which failed, stretched to 110. The Senate substitute now runs over 450 pages. And tucked away in the tax provisions is a landmark health care provision demanding that insurance companies provide coverage for mental health treatment—such as hospitalization—on parity with physical illnesses.
Really a bill onto itself, the mental health parity measure has been a bipartisan priority for top lawmakers in both chambers but has stalled because of disagreements again over how to pay for its estimated $3.8 billion five-year cost. In the current climate, that seems to be no longer a stumbling block, and if the Treasury plan becomes law, it will also.
Tell your Senator: Don’t swallow Crap Sandwich 2.0.
Ick: Lindsay Graham just took the floor.
Update 6:45pm Eastern. Oh, for crying out loud. Graham just ended his Main Street paean by declaring he’ll “vote his conscience” with a quiver in his voice. “I know this is not a perfect bill and I know this is a bad choice, but I also know from my common sense and my life experiences that I need to act and I need to act now and I will.”
Flashback: Remember his hissy fit on the Senate floor during the shamnesty battle?
Man up already.
***
Here’s conservative stalwart Sen. Jim DeMint’s floor statement opposing the bailout behemoth. Thank you, Sen. DeMint.
Update 7:24pm Eastern. Senate staffers say Bernie Sanders’ tax-the-rich surchage will go down on a voice vote. It’s the only amendment that was allowed. Stay tuned.
Senate staffer notes: “Curious isn’t it that on the bailout… er, sorry, we’re not allowed to call it that anymore… the ‘profit-generating, rescue for Main Street, civilization salvation’ bill that the only amendment allowed is by the only avowed socialist in Congress.”
Indeed.
Update 7:28pm Eastern. Dianne Feinstein recounts receiving 85,000 calls against the bailout…and then goes on to explain how they are all stupid and ill-informed.
7:34pm Eastern. Ok, a break from bailout mania for debate on the Amtrak bill.
8:52pm Eastern. Harry Reid is rambling on about a Senate staffer who’s retiring. It’s David Tinsley, legislative clerk. He gets a nice round of applause.
8:57pm Eastern. Mitch McConnell is warbling about bipartisanship.
I repeat: McConnell is toast.
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» Bad manners
Only McCain can Defeat McCain.
I’m with those ready to start a mutiny. I was going to capitulate and vote for McCain because of Palin - she is a breath of fresh air. But it does seem McCain is totally intent on losing.
Hi, nyc123me; how ya doing with everything?
On October 1st, 2008 at 8:21 pm, Perk said:
Wasn’t the first step back when JP Morgan Chase got a firesale price on Bear Sterns, and we got stuck with $30 Billion in debt? I made several warnings back on March 17th in that Hot Air post.
And maybe a few more among these folks???
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/fugitives/la/la-list.htm
Well if this is McCain lulling Obama’s campaign into a false sense of security…it might be working too well
I’m just sayin unless they have something up their sleeves.
I’m taking a break, I can’s stand watching these tools on C-Span, actually thanking each other, for the hard work and the great results. I have had all the lowered expectations, I can take for one evening.
Laree - meeeee too! Going to go mess up every inch of the kitchen getting the frustration out. I’m into what my mother used to call her “depression dinners” and everything but the sink goes into it! People - save every penny you can. The only freedom left to us is money. My dad used to say, “it’s not what you earn but what you keep.”
On October 1st, 2008 at 8:29 pm, 24Klady said:
Interesting that you should notice that.
Bush 41 and McCain have something else in common…
the Trilateral Commission.
I believe the Reagan assassination attempt was intended to lift Bush 41 to the presidency sooner. I believe that the nomination of Souter to the Supreme Court was no accident.
I believe that both Bush 41 and McCain are Trojan horses. I believe that McCain did many unethical, and some possibly illegal, things in order to get the Republican nomination.
And I believe that the Republican nomination should be rescinded from McCain because of his betrayal with this bill.
Mike Huckabee has proven that the “Nanny Stater” title belongs on McCain, not Huckabee. Huckabee has correctly called this bailout “insane” and “unconstitutional”.
Our wisest form of revolt may just be to strip John McCain of the Republican Party nomination, and nominate Huckabee/Palin instead.
And he’s doing a good job of it.
Kill this turkey. Kill it dead. Anybody with a “conscience” shouldn’t be supporting this bill. The logic of these senators escapes me.
Is this bill really about helping America or padding your pocket? If you fully had confidence in the bill you wouldn’t need sweeteners such as the pork. This is insane!
If I have to listen to much of Harry Reid I will pull my fingernails out by the root just to change the pain.
BOOO MITCH MCconell
Why dont they just throw EVERYTHING into this bill and get it over with.
If you’re going to clog the toilet with just one Crap Sandwich - then you might as well make absolutely sure you dont need to call the plumber twice.
Hi Vickisoup - doing better thanks
this guy just quoted harry potter. I’m done.
Excellent; glad to hear it. Monday was rough. Today is rough, but we know so much more than we did (not that we like it any better
)
I also hate how these crapweasels are scaring American citizens. There is simply no honesty about what is going on. There is no willingness to talk about making changes to the structure of the mortgage industry. These idiots cannot sell many like me this piece of garbage.
I feel like crying right now. I don’t understand this. Why won’t people stand up to this? Why can’t they listen to us, the American people, and get a better bill that doesn’t need “sweeteners” or pork? I don’t understand this. I just don’t.
This will go down in history with other great emergency acts of Congress- Gulf of Tonkin resolution and creation of the TSA among others.
I tried commenting on the McCain blog. Generally supported McCain but said if he really wanted to win he would expose this bill, the Dems that caused it, …. I was blocked from any further posts minutes later - what a joke!
This is sailing through.
Well here it goes….
Lindsey Graham and Clay Aiken . . . same person?
I’m so glad I was wrong about Tuesday. I managed to get rid of all my investments late Tuesday and only lost a little in the end. Still can’t believe they’ve apparently added $105 billion in earmarks.. if they (we) can afford to do that, then I can’t see how the economy is in bad enough shape to warrant a bailout. Can’t see how they hope the house would pass it either..
Certainly has made me rethink where I stand. Bloody politicians.. grr.
We need to kill it again in the House. Do NOT call the DC office- find the member’s home page and call the local district office-you’ll get through and it has more impact.
What the hell does pork have to do with helping American tax payers stuck with this crap sand…fire ‘em all but the very few hard line conservatives, now if that hurts any left winger’s feelings here on this great site may you as quickly as possible shove the bail out right up your closed mind…you can find it in the back of your pants.
mccain aye… jesus tapdancing christ
They just reached 60…it has passed
Predictable. Senators are further removed from reality than Representatives.. marginally.
ITookTheRedPill #109 - thank you. I’d forgotten all about the Trilateral’s and at the time thought it was nothing more than conspiracy theory. At this point, I’m willing to believe anything about our exalted leaders. They play a game that none of us know the rules, nor the actual gameplan - much less, the actual bet on the table.
Back to cooking and frustration reaching stroke level.
So this is what Socialism looks like. Guess I better get used to it. Does anybody know what time of day government-rationed gruel gets delivered?
Silly you for thinking McCain is for free speech.
I still can’t believe this man is all Rs have to offer…
so now they are voting in pieces?
You have to use your government issued bus pass to get to the government managed community center. Gruel daily at noon and 5 pm sharp.
McCain was not all the Republicans had to offer. McCain was chosen by the press, much to the disgust of the true conservatives.
Please Sir, may I have some more?
Gruel will be available to taxpayers only after members of La Raza are full.
However there will only be half rations of gruel - Chairman Obama thanks you for donating the rest to less needy people in Europe.
74 to 25, does that mean it passes? It this the real bill? or just a piece?
katablog - I don’t know. Are they voting on ammendments to the bill before voting on the bill itself?
House has to vote on Friday. If they don’t ok it, it does not go through.
afaik
Well surely no one thinks that the House is going to allow the Senate to get all the pork. The House will add some lard to the larger since we are giving away free money.
Well then, consider me a chicken little, the sky is indeed falling.
afaik? Dare I ask what that means?
falling? if that’s the final vote, the sky has plummeted.
Yep that’s the final vote! We now have wooden arrow heads and nickels.
afaik = ‘as far as I know’
Saw Huckabee on something the other day, and oddly, he was making sense and sounding like a leader…and I was never a big fan.
nope, the house still has to vote it through too..
oh…
Thanks!
What do you have against Clay Aiken?
Fixed it.
sold out again by our leaders(burp) voted into office traitors.
I cancelled my little county newspaper. No sense in spending money on a paper that doesn’t report the news accurately.
Lyndsey Ghramnisty might have a narrow stance in the men’s room, but I am sure he knows a tapping hand signal that works very well at attracting the attention of other lonely men…. what a wimpy puss.
How do losers like him and the short, broken, loser McAmnesty ever pass as real men??? I could pick up both of them and toss them ten feet.
I’m glad to hear it. Keep plugging away at your college degree.
On October 1st, 2008 at 9:09 pm, Perk said:
Those who can’t handle the truth
try to silence those who speak it.
Thank you for speaking the truth.
The fact that you were banned because of it is very significant. We must rescind the nomination from McCain. He and his operatives are proving to be as thuggish as Obama and his operatives.
And both campaigns received money from George Soros.
On October 1st, 2008 at 9:24 pm, katablog said:
The MSM and a corrupt RNC both chose McCain.
Get used to it,
Obama in 08,
Bend over,
assimilate…
Has anyone followed the left’s reaction to the bailout? Is there comparable fuss on the left blogs? Or are they just happy that the right is splintering?