Kucinich: It Is Still a Bad Bailout

Good policy is rarely if ever set in the rush to an election.

But Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich keeps arguing that Congress should slow down and develop a responsible approach to the narrow questions raised by Wall Street's financial crisis and the broader question of economic instability on Main Street.

Most members of Congress want to get out of Washington and back to campaigning.

Kucinich is not afraid of staying in Washington and working.

Though the congressman faces a serious challenge this fall -- and a regular battering from his hometown newspaper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer -- he is right about staying in Washington, both from a policy standpoint and from a political standpoint.

Ultimately, Kucinich's determination to stay focused on the economic fundamentals is likely to assure his reelection.

Why? Because voters really are concerned about the disconnect in Washington, where most politicians seem to be more wrapped up with the work of bailing out banks and getting out of town than with the dramatic new issues raised by unsettling unemployment numbers.

Kucinich "gets it."

That was clear in the speech he delivered during Friday morning's House debate on the curent version of Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson's Wall Street bailout bill:

We have come a great distance in seventy-five years; from the New Deal to the Raw Deal, from having nothing to fear but fear itself, to being afraid of everything. We traded democracy's warm heart containing the ideals of faith, fairness and frugality, for the greedy, cold calculations of the Dow Jones ticker. The New Deal saved free market capitalism with jobs and regulation; now both sink in the swamp of speculation, manipulation and capitulation.

The Golden Rule of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you," is submerged by the rule of gold, "do unto others before they do unto you."

Some people will ask of this Congress, what were we thinking? Why did we give $700 billion bailout to Wall Street without fixing what caused the problem in the first place? Why did we rig the free markets for security fraudsters? Why didn't we explore alternatives to let Wall Street solve its own problems? Why didn't we have money save millions of homeowners, create millions of jobs, and a green economy? Why didn't we stop the speculators? Why wasn't there accountability? Why didn't we take time to make an intelligent decision?

Why? Why? Why?

Comments (8)

1. GE just diluted its shares to raise $12 billion to correct credit messes in GE Capital....commercial paper issuance apparently wasn't an option in a market that considers it crap (honest assessment of risk perhaps).

   CNBC, NBC, and MSNBC are owned by GE. Now how is the public going to get an honest assessment of the financial crisis? GE is also a war contractor. Anybody remember "selling the war."

   We need to take our time and carefully craft legislation. Once again, Dennis is looking out us.

   Posted by OneVote at 10/03/2008 @ 11:52am

2. "Though the congressman faces a serious challenge this fall -- and a regular battering from his hometown newspaper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer -- he is right about staying in Washington, both from a policy standpoint and from a political standpoint.

   Why?

   Because he is giving speeches like the one he delivered during Friday morning's House debate on the cuurent version of the Wall Street bailout bill"

   Yes, of course....that's the ONLY reason he's in trouble back in Cleveland....the ONLY reason.

   Posted by Maskdelta at 10/03/2008 @ 12:01pm

3. Why? Why? Why?

   I will take truthful rhetoric over lies anyday....at least the people should know that they are getting screwed.

   Dennis could have mentioned that Congress spends more time campaigning than they do attending to the people's business.....an issue that he is getting hammered on and rightfully so.

   Posted by OneVote at 10/03/2008 @ 1:10pm

4. it seems to me that gramm-leach-bliley was rammed through during the bush v gore nonsense.

   oh well, maybe things will be better on vulcan......

   Posted by frosty zoom at 10/03/2008 @ 2:18pm

5. Dennis could have mentioned that Congress spends more time campaigning than they do attending to the people's business.....an issue that he is getting hammered on and rightfully so. Posted by OneVote at 10/03/2008 @ 1:10pm

   That's like mentioning water is wet.

   Yet another intention of our Founding Fathers. Every 2 years, according to their wisdom as engraved in the Constitution, our reps must grovel, sing & dance, explain themselves to We the People.

   And those Founding bewigged gents (no ladies allowed) had to do it all with real horses. Clippetty-clop. Took even longer.

   No divine miracles of television & angel-like plane flight for them.

   50 more like Dennis K in Congress, alerting We the People every 2 years, & the crooks couldn't have pulled off this crap. GE, for starters, would have to rely on solely on PR, not its own networks. There used to laws about this ownership, and public ownership of the airwaves, back when there were a few more like Dennis K in office.

   Posted by sloper at 10/03/2008 @ 2:20pm

6. By David Weidner, MarketWatch Last update: 12:01 a.m. EDT Oct. 2, 2008NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Not often do you regard a company whose stock is about 50% off its 52-week high as a success story. But a success is exactly what Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GSGoldman Sachs Group, Inc GS) is shaping up to be at this stage of the credit crisis......

   Paulson will continue to create a monopoly for Goldman Sachs....this is a monetary coup......he has the authority (with oversight)to do as he pleases. Remember contractor fraud in military spending?

   Posted by OneVote at 10/03/2008 @ 3:51pm

7. I have to go with Onevote on this. Kucinich is dead right and on target on these issues. I'll vote for Obama because he's light years the better choice compared to McIdiot, but Kucinich was and is the best candidate the dems had running for president.

   He's been made to look like a fringe politician. Mostly because he is honest and secondly because he actually cares and gets pissed off on the floor and tells the truth. Kucinich isn't a politician, that's his problem

   There are only a handful in D.C. who aren't outright owned by one group of powerful people or another, but Kucinich isn't one of them.

   Posted by Wolfgang1 at 10/03/2008 @ 4:35pm

8. uh, rio, read your post again.

   lol.

   Posted by frosty zoom at 10/03/2008 @ 9:47pm