Anyone on Joe’s email list, which probably includes most of my readers, knows by now that Joe Courtney voted against the bailout, since he sent an email to announce his vote. You can verify it here, and yes, if you follow the link, the bailout legislation was attached to a bill:
To Amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to Provide Earnings Assistance and Tax Relief to Members of the Uniformed Services, Volunteer Firefighters, and Peace Corps Volunteers, and for Other Purposes
In my humble opinion it was the right thing to do. It hurts to say it, in a way, because the majority of Republicans voted against it. As to them, they did the right thing for the wrong reasons, but that’s what strange bedfellows are all about.
I suspect that Joe got the all clear from the leadership on this. It looks like there was a deal for blame sharing, with each side to deliver enough votes to make it a bi-partisan bill, while still allowing for anyone perceived as vulnerable to vote against it. The Democrats delivered, the Republicans did not, leaving John McCain, who took credit this morning for passing a bill that later failed, looking like an idiot again. His people are spinning madly to blame Obama for the failure of House Republicans to vote for the bill, but even the media isn’t falling for it.
Update: I should have excerpted Joe’s reasons for voting against the bailout. Also, it looks like I may have gotten the email because I emailed to his office to oppose the bailout, so maybe you won’t get something if you’re on his regular campaign list. Anyway: the excerpt:
Despite the best efforts of Congressional Leaders to improve the unprecedented request from the Bush Administration for a $700 billion blank check for Wall Street, I believe the Financial Rescue Package fell short of effectively addressing America’s financial crisis. I voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.
I stand ready at any time to work with my colleagues to forge a better, more effective, and more responsible legislative proposal that can gain the majority support of Congress. We can and we will move beyond the current impasse to seek a solution that makes sense for the future of our nation.
The stubborn refusal of Bush Administration to include a meaningful solution to the home-mortgage foreclosure crisis in the final version of the bill means that the underlying cause of this financial disaster will continue unabated. I could not in good conscience vote to borrow $700 billion in taxpayer money for a plan that did not stem the downward spiral in the real estate market, nor invest in economic stimulus that would help struggling middle class families.
Lastly, the final round of negotiations undermined Congressional efforts to limit CEO compensation and to pay for this measure responsibly.
My vote does not reflect any feelings of complacency about the state of our economy; far from it. The threat to our economy and our banking and credit systems is real and it is serious. We are now facing the repercussions of yet another disaster, inflicted by the stubborn opposition to meaningful oversight by many leaders, including President Bush and those who controlled Congress in the nineties. I look forward to joining my colleagues in establishing new and carefully considered regulation. That needs to be done, and will be a priority of Congress no matter the final outcome of the current credit crisis.
I appreciate the valiant efforts of Congressional leaders, who demanded and won significant improvements in the original package. Unfortunately their efforts fell short in producing a measure that I — and the taxpayers of eastern Connecticut — could support. We now look to our next steps to further improve on this proposal.
