Could more Republican members of the House of Representatives act like adults, please?
If they can bring themselves to do so, the House may yet do the responsible thing and pass the financial bailout bill that failed on Monday. If not – well, let's not dwell on such a depressing prospect. What happened Monday was depressing enough.
No one should have any doubts about who is responsible for the failure to pass the compromise plan worked out by the Bush administration and members of the Senate and House.
For this package to work, both Democrats and Republicans have to have an equal part in its passage. That's the only way to ensure that the issue won't become a partisan shuttlecock in the November election.
To make that happen, each House caucus had to deliver half its members. Democrats had to deliver 118 votes in favor of the measure; Republicans had to deliver 90 votes. In the end, Democrats did their part, delivering 140 votes in favor of the bailout (including Rep. Doris Matsui). Republicans could manage only 65 votes. Among them, to their credit, were Reps. Dan Lungren and Wally Herger. Among local lawmakers, only Republican Rep. John Doolittle, the lamest of lame-duck House members, voted against the measure.
Clearly, the blame for the failure of this measure lies with Republicans, despite their attempts to blame the vote tally on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's criticism of the Bush administration. That bit of rhetorical nonsense can't obscure the message of the numbers: This bill failed because too many Republicans voted against the entreaties of a president from their own party – and against the national interest.
There is no doubt that the rejected measure was imperfect. There are no perfect solutions to the current crisis in the world financial markets. Any effort to ease the situation inevitably will reward some people and institutions that shouldn't be rewarded, and fail to help some people and institutions that deserve to be helped.
But all the available evidence points to the need for substantial action by the U.S. government. And any action that does not help lead to that action – whether it is ill-timed criticisms of the administration or self-serving whining about the speaker's rhetoric – is a grave disservice to the country.
It's not too late to remedy the situation. House Democrats can and should try again to pass the bailout measure, this time suppressing the understandable urge to pin the $700 billion tail on the White House. And Republican House members – along with the 95 Democrats who voted "no" – can and should reconsider their position in light of the subsequent turbulence in the financial markets.
There is a time for partisan wrangling and for an insistence on perfection. This is not it. This is a time to take a deep breath and cast a vote for the best available option. Voters in this election year should pay close attention to how their House member responds to the challenges of the current situation.
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