[Peace-discuss] Another Democrat betrayal

[Stuart Levy]

On Sun, Sep 28, 2008 at 12:16:52AM -0500, C. G. Estabrook wrote:
> 	Mortgage help for bankrupt homeowners dropped
> 	By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and DAVID ESPO, Associated Press Writers
> 	Fri Sep 26, 7:54 PM ET
>
> WASHINGTON - House Democrats say the idea of letting judges rewrite mortgages
> to help bankrupt homeowners avoid foreclosure won't be a part of the $700
> billion financial industry bailout.

Yuck.

  [...]

> Altho' the bailout is in the interests of the rich and against those of the 
> (much more numerous) poor, it's instructive that the Senate Democrats, the 
> Senate Republicans, and the House Democrats all support it.  But the deal 
> fell apart last week because the *House Republicans* wouldn't support it.  
> Why not? Because their mail and phone calls were running 10-1 against it, 
> and the House Republicans are reflecting the views of their constituents, 
> while the others (Pelosi et al.) are protecting the interests of the rich 
> -- with some interesting exceptions, like Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL).  
> --CGE

Do you think that's why?  Surely it's not only the House Republicans who are
hearing from their consituents.  (Sherrod Brown, D-OH, mentioned last week
that his office was hearing something like 99-1 against, and I'm sure
he's not alone.)   The Republicans do have other goals, such as eliminating
corporate taxes and the capital gains tax -- if we didn't think so before,
both of those provisions were in *their* proposed bailout plan.

If the House Republicans have thrown enough sand in the gears to block a prompt
and successful vote, that's a good thing, but I hope we don't go thinking
they're doing out of populism.