Ideology Over Reality as Bailout Bill Fails

Early this afternoon, the bipartisan bailout bill, more properly known as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, went down to defeat. Unless it is brought up for another vote, we'll all soon have a chance to see what a worldwide depression is really like.

Remember, this is a bill no one likes. Not Bush, not Treasury Secretary Paulson, not the Republicans and not the Democrats. Main Street doesn't understand it. Every congressperson fears it -- or, rather, fears the political fallout. Yet, all signs are that it is necessary for the public good.

In a very real sense, what it all comes down to is a struggle between reality and ideology.

The reality is harsh. As Representative John A. Boehner (R-OH) said today, "there is too much at stake not to support" the bill:

He urged members to reflect on the damage that a defeat of the measure could mean “to your friends, your neighbors, your constituents” as they might watch their retirement savings “shrivel up to zero.”

Not just retirement accounts, we might add. With day-to-day business credit frozen, as vividly described last Friday on NPR radio, what's at risk are business payrolls, jobs, credit card loans, student loans, home loans, and every other form of lending, from overnight bank-to-bank lending to the cash advanced to fill your favorite ATM machine.

The ideology that opposes the bill is bankrupt. It is perfectly captured in all of its gory glory by the words of congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA). The New York Times reports this afternoon that "he was 'resolute' in his opposition to the measure because it would betray party principles and amount to 'a coffin on top of Ronald Reagan’s coffin.'”

Issa and the other 227 congressmen who voted against the bill may as well eat their ideology. It isn't good for anything else.

Dept. of Amplification

Economics professor Brad DeLong: "This Republican Party needs to be burned, razed to the ground, and the furrows sown with salt..."

Dept of Further Amplification

Roll Call on the motion to pass the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

Republican Ayes - 65 .... Republican Nayes - 133
Democratic Ayes - 140 .... Democratic Nayes - 95