Sep 24, 2008 5:20pm
One GOP Congressman Tells ABC News
EmailI asked a Republican congressman about a report that, at a meeting of House Republicans this morning, only four indicated that they would support the package.
"That was a rhetorical question by Rep. Jim Barton, when most people had already left," the congressman said.
The congressman told ABC News that constituent calls for Democrats and Republicans "are overwhelmingly against it. Most members don’t see it as an easy No or Yes. The more we learn, the more scared we get. Our general message to Bernanke and Paulson: show us plan B."
- jpt
CPAC: Romney Struggles to Convince Voters 
Obama Backs Off Birth Control Battle?
maybe we should all be worried then, cus I don’t think they have a plan B. maybe McCain knows what he is doing after all. I think they should get theor butts together, and fix this…
Posted by: chudi | September 24, 2008, 5:39 pm 5:39 pm
Chudi,
don’t kid yourself about Mccain….AND there is time to take a couple of hours…have the debate before the AMERICAN PEOPLE…and than hash this thing out.
Posted by: karen | September 24, 2008, 5:48 pm 5:48 pm
” maybe McCain knows what he is doing after all”.
McCain knows less then nothing about the economy. He’s all hat and no cattle, just like his 96% of the time voting with Bush. McCain is part of the problem, and he needs to stay back and let the few intelligent people that are in the congress and senate handle this mess.
Posted by: Phillip | September 24, 2008, 5:54 pm 5:54 pm
The ones wanting to take more time probably can’t be blamed. The ones in a hurry wanting to toss money at it probably want to cover their rears.
Posted by: david | September 24, 2008, 5:56 pm 5:56 pm
This is very serious problem that needs to be completed in a timely manner. Obama is right to stay away and practice for a one man debate that he will likely win, although that outcome is not totally certain. McCain is a proven leader able to get things done, even with democrats who are more interested in power than what’s best for the American people. Obama has very little experience in the Senate so his presence is not really needed. Obama understands this. Country First says it all.
Posted by: Les | September 24, 2008, 6:01 pm 6:01 pm
I have come to the conclusion that this whole race for the White House has nothing to do with age, race or experience. What the American people are looking at are personalities. This is really frighten to me. Maybe they could go on American Idol and get a real hugh crowd worked up and we could just text in our vote. We are all paying for this whole expensive campaigns(used loosely) for these two parties. Our tax dollars(don’t doubt it), our contributions to the campaigns,by buying products that are advertise on TV, in the papers , magazines, radio and the internet.Good luck to all of the voting as well as our total population.
Posted by: William | September 24, 2008, 6:07 pm 6:07 pm
Put the scare of the “Great Depression” into the citizens and who do you think they will run to? Certainly, not the republicans who show absolutely zero compassion… there is more to think about here, let’s get into the second act.
Posted by: bill | September 24, 2008, 6:10 pm 6:10 pm
My question is, how bad could that Couric interview with Palin be for McCain to go this far?
Posted by: johnTX | September 24, 2008, 6:15 pm 6:15 pm
He tried the Palin Hail Mary and that didn’t work.
Now he’s faking an injury in the fourth quarter when he is down by 10 points. Time out! Time out! I’m losing.
Oh, johnny. Honestly, I’ve never seen a campaign flail like this.
This obvious political stunt is already backfiring.
Posted by: Jim | September 24, 2008, 6:17 pm 6:17 pm
“My question is, how bad could that Couric interview with Palin be for McCain to go this far?”
It probably tops the Gibson interview.
Posted by: Ryan C | September 24, 2008, 6:19 pm 6:19 pm
Some historical perspective:
– September 24, 1864: The nation is literally at risk of collapse, mengaged in a large-scale civil war: “Yet the campaign for the presidency was “now being prosecuted with the utmost vigor,” as one could read in the New York Times.”
– September 24, 1932: The nation is mired in Depression, coping with it a full time job, “Yet Herbert Hoover prepared to give a large speech in Iowa and Franklin Roosevelt had just given what became a famous address to the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco.”
– September 24, 1944: World War II well under way, with the United States engaged in fierce fighting, “Yet President Roosevelt had just officially launched his campaign for a fourth term, while Thomas Dewey took his turn speaking in San Francisco, challenging Roosevelt’s supremacy.”
Hmmm. No campaign suspensions there.
Posted by: Jim | September 24, 2008, 6:20 pm 6:20 pm
Hey johnTX,
Notice how the other thread has some 350+ comments dominated by right wingers?
And how this thread has 16 and the previous one has 60 or so.
Guess the McCain campaign sent out an email!
Posted by: Ryan C | September 24, 2008, 6:25 pm 6:25 pm
Ahhhh, now we start to see why McCain wants to CONCENTRATE on the legislation. It may not service his RICH friends enough. He should ask his campaign advisers about this, they’re the ones that have the most to lose or is that who’s telling him to stall? It’s so hard to tell what’s going on in his campaign nowadays, which LOBBYIST is leading?
Posted by: JR | September 24, 2008, 6:26 pm 6:26 pm
Jim;
•-> great points, of course assessing history accurately is not one of the republicans claim to fame.
Mission Accomplished
Posted by: Rex | September 24, 2008, 6:26 pm 6:26 pm
I’m kinda hoping McCain doesn’t show up for the debate this Friday…..
the empty chair would be a great visual prop reflecting his policies and views…
that being…… empty.
Mission Accomplished
Posted by: Rex | September 24, 2008, 6:30 pm 6:30 pm
“Shame on Mccain for wanting to go to DC to do his day job.”
Which begs the question of where was he the last 2 years?
He’s missed the most votes in the Senate by a large margin and hasn’t made a roll call vote since April 8th.
And if this was such an important and immediate action, why did he hold a meeting with an aristocrat living abroad this morning?
I guess the country has to wait for the Rothchilds.
Posted by: Ryan C | September 24, 2008, 6:34 pm 6:34 pm
Ryan C: Yeah I noticed.
Sigh. You can kiss bipartisanship goodbye. The Republicans have all begun to line up behind McCain in an effort to show how he is already leading them.
Maybe Bush will stand up and end this nonsense. I know that’s a lot to expect, but sometimes Bush can lead.
Posted by: johnTX | September 24, 2008, 6:35 pm 6:35 pm
Many people sure don’t think before they speak or even know what they’re talkin about!
Posted by: bittersweet4u | September 24, 2008, 6:36 pm 6:36 pm
McCain would probably do much better by not showing up.
Posted by: antman | September 24, 2008, 6:46 pm 6:46 pm
Congressional leaders are delaying progress on the economic plan. Maybe McCain can get the ball rolling and help craft a bill that will be acceptable to all concerned. I like the idea that he is putting the country first and his campaign second. He is really making some hard choices which may pay off on election day.
Posted by: rose | September 24, 2008, 6:47 pm 6:47 pm
Obama voted 98% w/dems==so what? Obama doesn’t even balance his check book, and claims that since he “runs” a campaign with millions of dollars that he is “qualified” to run a COUNTRY!
So what if McCain kept his committment to Katie, but he called Letterman so he would have time to get a replacememt. Big deal–talk about petty–you guys are losing it!
As for McCain’s “rich’ friends–why don’t you just ask Obama (2nd highest receiver of $$ from fanny mae and Dodd (1st highest reciever of $$ from …fanny mae) Oh wait, isn’t Dodd a key player in the bail-out? Oh, and you better check out the 300 million earmarks Bidden is asking for little old Delaware…
You libs are so unhindged that McSmart out foxed you again…He showed leadership, he IS a leader in congress, as opposed to “I’ve been a Senator for 143 days” Obama.
Howl all you want–Obama is no leader of the pack.
Posted by: lovemyUSA | September 24, 2008, 6:52 pm 6:52 pm
If McCain does not debate on Friday, he can kiss his presidential aspirations goodbye.
Posted by: Alvin1 | September 24, 2008, 6:54 pm 6:54 pm
In the meantime Palin was able to illustrate WHY McCain doesn’t want her to talk to the press. From tonight’s interview with Katie Couric:
COURIC: You’ve said, quote, “John McCain will reform the way Wall Street does business.” Other than supporting stricter regulations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago, can you give us any more example of his leading the charge for more oversight?
PALIN: I think that the example that you just cited, with his warnings two years ago about Fannie and Freddie–that, that’s paramount. That’s more than a heck of a lot of other senators and representatives did for us.
COURIC: But he’s been in Congress for 26 years. He’s been chairman of the powerful Commerce Committee. And he has almost always sided with less regulation, not more.
PALIN: He’s also known as the maverick though. Taking shots from his own party, and certainly taking shots from the other party. Trying to get people to understand what he’s been talking about–the need to reform government.
COURIC: I’m just going to ask you one more time, not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation?
PALIN: I’ll try to find you some and I’ll bring them to you.
Posted by: Try To Find | September 24, 2008, 6:55 pm 6:55 pm
Try to find,
Are you serious?
That’s a fake right?
Posted by: Ryan C | September 24, 2008, 7:04 pm 7:04 pm
Ryan C, it’s incredible and breathtaking, I know, but this the actual transcript…
Should we laugh or cry?…. check Ben Smith’s blog at Politico for the full thing.
Posted by: Try To Find | September 24, 2008, 7:14 pm 7:14 pm
“Should we laugh or cry?.”
Both.
Posted by: Ryan C | September 24, 2008, 7:22 pm 7:22 pm
Sorry I made a mistake, I said pools instead of polls.
Posted by: Jeannetta | September 24, 2008, 7:53 pm 7:53 pm
I think McCain knows this isn’t a two or three point race and his whole campaign is in a panic. McCain is a beaten man with his confidence so shaken that he fears he’ll lose the debate on his only strength, national security.
Posted by: Rakkasan | September 24, 2008, 7:56 pm 7:56 pm
IMagine if Palin had made a huge Gaffe as Biden did when he spoke about Tvs in and Rosevelt in 1929. Hmmmm. FOr soem one with so much experience as Biden, Palin is doing great.
Posted by: Truth08 | September 24, 2008, 8:03 pm 8:03 pm
average joe-
AGREED! The fervor to rush this through…must be done before the weekend or doomsday bells will toll is insanity!
Oversight is a must. Also, has anyone heard who is going to be servicing the these toxic debts. If the banks unload their garbage, will their service depts still be responsible for billing, receiving payments, collection calls, foreclosure proceedings, etc. There are huge operating costs in servicing these poorly performing products. Who is going to foot that bill and how, at what additional cost? This is a very slippery slope without any real sense of the end in sight.
Posted by: Amy T | September 24, 2008, 8:22 pm 8:22 pm
They should debate Saturday night, Nothing is wrong with that!
Obama should show uo and make a decision,
He won’t be able to vote present this time!
Posted by: Ashley | September 24, 2008, 9:06 pm 9:06 pm
Bush was able to debate Kerry while he was president. For all of his sudden urgency, McCain acknowledged just yesterday that he had not even read the administration’s three-page bailout proposal.
Posted by: McPalin | September 24, 2008, 9:17 pm 9:17 pm
Debra-
Who do you think the next leaders of this country will be? Would you like them to be educated, intelligent, and knowledgable? If you do, then wouldn’t you agree that we need to send our kids to college?
Who do you believe will solve our oil crisis? or our solidy our economic status in the world? Will it be the old guys in Washington, the same ones who have been there for the past couple of years and helped create this situation we are in right now? Where do you see this country in the future?
Stop being childish and spiteful and just plain mean, and think about the Whole country,think about your grandchildren. Look beyone yourself
Posted by: Rose | September 24, 2008, 10:16 pm 10:16 pm
Pandering to his young and stupid base again. Like forclosures, and gas prices aren’t as important as those college kids he’s promising $2,000 to.
What a fraud.
Posted by: Debra | Sep 24,
******************************************* That is crazy, he must think it is important to have educated people in America.
Posted by: Truth Matters | September 24, 2008, 11:13 pm 11:13 pm
If McCain is such a maverick, then why is he running. The maverick is running to Washington to save the day, where is his cape!!!!
Posted by: Patricia | September 25, 2008, 2:51 am 2:51 am
THE SECRET OF WHY $200 BILLION WILL BEAT $700 BILLION…
In a reverse auction format firms bid to sell debt to the government. Having a $700 Billion Dollar Fund would create a situation in which the sellers would not have the sense of urgency needed to aggressively price their bids. The bailout funds modest burn rate of $50 billion a month would encourage sellers to collectively holdout for prices that are far above what the debt would bring under competitive bidding. Let’s not forget that the sellers are much more informed and are in a far better position to understand the nuances of their portfolios and the future loan performance modeling than the “experts” the govt. is going to hire. The governments inferior knowledge could leave the taxpayers suffering unimaginable losses. Worse yet those losses may only be discovered well after the treasury runs out of money.
Forget the $700 billion. Authorize an initial commitment of $200 billion and pre-schedule subsequent hearings for additional financial commitments in advance. This would leave just enough margin of uncertainty that the sellers desire to hold out for higher prices would be tempered by their innate fear of loss that they might miss the governments gravy train altogether.
Posted by: Radioceleb99 | September 25, 2008, 6:30 am 6:30 am
to all those who are suggesting that mccain is a hero in this and has rushed off to save the country –
what is it that you believe mccain is actually doing?
the house and senate have been meeting and discussing and figuring this out for a week. mccain as of yesterday had not even read the three page bush proposal.
the meetings and discussions are going to stop thursday afternoon so that mccain can get his “crisis meeting” at the white house with bush, obama and the house and senate leadership and be brought up to speed.
i thought this was an emergency?
mccain did not suspend his campaign. he said he suspended it. instead, after he made the announcement, he continued his campaign schedule through this morning and added this afternoon’s “crisis meeting” to the schedule.
what, are we supposed to now believe that when mccain makes appearances from now until an undetermined time in the future that he’s not campaigning, that he’s “working on the problem”?
if you believe, after a week of mccain wandering around telling us “the fundamentals are strong,” mccain’s sudden call for “crisis meetings” does anything other than destroy his credibility, then you must also believe that something monumental changed in the financial crisis on tuesday. because mccain’s campaign has stated that they talked about doing the campaign suspension on tuesday.
what changed?
what happened that mccain — who had not read bush’s three page plan by yesterday — thinks the public is to believe that he’s the key to success here.
you really have to be daft to buy that bridge.
Posted by: karen marie | September 25, 2008, 12:03 pm 12:03 pm