As to Tim’s wondering why John Conyers and Xavier Becerra didn’t vote for the bailout: A cursory look at the vote makes clear that a large number of Democratic members of Congress from majority African American or Latino districts opposed the bailout, though these are entirely safe districts. Plainly, it’s the judgment of these members that bailing out Wall Street has no support whatever among their constituents. Maybe if the bill is rewritten to include a stimulus package or add a stock-transaction tax as a chief funding mechanism, it would pick up their support – though we don’t know how well it will do with Republicans.
And that's the choice before the Democratic leadership (which I assume includes Barack Obama) just now. Do they try to get a revote on the existing package, or do they include more progressive elements, including specifying some regulation of now-unregulated financial institutions, devices and transactions? This latter course would solidify their own party’s support and in effect would dare the Senate Republicans to filibuster and Paulson to oppose. (Although whipping up regulatory specifics in a couple of days sounds daunting.)
--Harold Meyerson
