I guess it shouldn’t be shocking that the White House bail out plan is basically a plan to give free money to Wall Street firms. Democrats are at least starting off by pointing out the obvious: if you want to help Wall Street, then help the regular American as well:
Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, who attended emergency meetings with the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., and the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, on Capitol Hill last week, described the proposal as a good start, but said that it did little for regular Americans.
“This is a good foundation of a plan that can stabilize markets quickly,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement. “But it includes no visible protection for taxpayers or homeowners. We look forward to talking to Treasury to see what, if anything, they have in mind in these two areas.”
In Florida, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the Democratic presidential nominee, said he would press for a broader economic stimulus initiative to be part of the bailout plan for financial firms.
The GOP’s response: “This shouldn’t be partisan!”:
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said in a statement: “This proposal is, and should be kept, simple and clear.” He added, “Simply put, now is not the time for partisan plans or pet projects.”
Nevermind the fact that giving almost $1 trillion of free money to businesses, while adding virtually zero additional regulation or help to regular homeowners is about as much of a GOP partisan plan or pet project as one can possibly get.
The question is whether the Democratic leadership can keep their caucus together. Once again, the blue dogs in the House and Senate may be spooked into voting for an unamended bill, which would give the Bush Administration an excuse to hold firm and play the “partisan plan” card. If the Dems can hold together, I think a “what about Main Street?” line can be successful in forcing some concessions.
We’ll have to see how this plays out next week. McCain hasn’t given his opinion of Bush’s plan yet, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he tows the GOP line of “we have to pass it now as is.”
