Barney Frank: Today's Vote "One Of The Truly Great Coincidences In History Of Numerology"

With the bailout bill failing to pass in the House of Representatives, Democrats and Republicans are pointing the finger of blame at each other. Republicans have said that the Democrats' partisan tone is the reason the GOP couldn't get enough votes on their side. Democrats scoff at this, saying it's ludicrous that hurt feelings prevented Republicans from voting yes. Democratic Representative Barney Frank highlighted "one of the truly great coincidences in the history of numerology; the number of deeply offended Republicans who put feeling over country turned out to be exactly the number you would need to reverse the vote."

[WATCH]

Comments

[StephenBarry]

Can someone educate me here ? I seem to recall from elementary school that a bill only went to the Senate AFTER the House approved it. Why did the Senate even get the bill ? What the heck is going on ? Have they changed our entire system to address this mess ?

Thanks in advance for any input.

[KKojei]

Mlee1111: Another good reason why Congress and the Senate should vote the bailout for Main Street. Does it occur to anybody that our system allows corporations to gamble investors' life savings carelessly in too many cases with no recourse if they lose? The game is rigged, the winner takes the money and there is nothing you can do about it. This is the grand version of Pump & Dump. Congress and the Senate should also vote to make sure investors get their money back with interest!

[KKojei]

The real leaders of this country-American voters-a.k.a Main Street-have finally stood up! When they did, Congress nearly wet their pants. "Vote For The Bailout & we vote you out of office." I jumped for joy. Let them eat worthless paper. They've raped the American Economy in every decade since the end of WW2.

Hey Stupid! Bail Out Main Street!

Still, Main St. has to go further. If Congress can give banks 700 Billion Dollars to bailout a bunch of white collar losers, they can vote to give the same 700 Billion Dollars to Main Street America. Give each and every American who is living below the poverty line a grant of just $150,000.00. Give every small business a grant of $200,000 dollars, every unemployed person who wants to start a business a grant of $200,000, every single mom a grant of $150,000, every disabled, homeless veteran a grant of $150,000 dollars, every other homeless person a grant of $150,000 dollars, every hurricane victim an across the board grant of $150,000 dollars. Immediately, banks, retailers, housing and employment would recover from such a move. We would jumpstart this economy where it counts. Why not! It"s taxpayer money. We"re taxpayers.

Why is that so difficult to figure out? Well, I guess they know who"s in charge now! Copy and send this comment to your congress person. Insist they introduce it, vote on it and pass it. Let"s try some trickle up economics for a change.

[elgrande]

Not only a fall of 777 points, but it was a 7% drop, and the proposed bailout is $700 billion.

[Suburburama]

I still cannot get over the fact that those who voted against the bill (Republicans, in this case) had the gall to actually even mention Pelosi's speech as the reason for their inaction. What a bunch of babies. And while I actually applaud lawmakers listening to their constituents in this case, which rarely if ever seems to happen, this is one time when it might be better to defer to financial experts and be an elected leader.

[stargazer13]

I am not a glutton for pain But I am still against this bail out .for sooner better then later we are going to have to
place humans in a tier more important then money

[snarkopolitan]

If there isn't some sort of action, every business you know is going to find it hard to borrow money and will start laying off workers. New projects will be dropped "because we're pulling in our ears for now". Everyone with a 401K is feeling this already. My husband's pension fund took a big hit, so his pension may be cut, we just had his friend sleeping on our couch while he interviews for a job-- he was laid off last week.

It isn't a human/money split. It's complicated, and Americans can't seem to handle any concept more complex than will fit on a bumpersticker.

[FunkyP]

Why is it the big greedy execs get to keep their assets and compensation packages, even when the companies they run, fail? And why should we bail them out?
Why can we not look to re-structuring the mortgages of those unable to keep up payments, to possibly make them more affordable. The banks receive liquidity, in the form of mortgage payments, people get to keep their houses, life will go on.
But, to bail out the execs who's' greed brought about this situation, with the help of politician/lobbyists on BOTH sides of the aisle (who also have investments they wish to protect), is wrong.
I support Obama over McCain, but with the former head of Freddy as his economic adviser, Obama looks bad, from where I sit. Of course he supports the bailout. His economic adviser probably does too :>)
I recommend this video http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=184723
Barney Frank is part of the problem, and he pushed the banks to accept unsecured loans for 'minorities' and other low income persons. So did other Democrats, and they provided cover for the greed and corruption.
Check out the video. Facts are facts, and we should not be fooled by this corporate financial coup.

[moongal6]

Hello,
Does the name Davis ring a bell?
He hasn't even cashed his $15,000.00 payroll check for August from Freddy yet.
As I said, you guys have more nerve than a bad tooth.

YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM.
TR0LL
Oh, BTW for all you others, Rick Davis is McCain's manager.

[moongal6]

You know what?
I should have been more considerate and just ignored you.
What would Sarah do?

[mlee1111]

I am not sure if the "greedy" executives are the only ones to benefit. The equity holders of the banks are being wiped out no matter what happens, look at Bear Stearns, Lehman, Wachovia, etc. What you have to understand is that a ton of the stocks are held in pension funds, retirement funds, 401K funds, etc etc etc. Guess who own these funds?

I don't get how people are so angry at people who make more money than they do, that they risk their own lives and financial wellfare just to see them "taken" down a peg. We all love to watch the wall street bankers take a big fall, but I rather not take a fall myself in order to see that.

[snarkopolitan]

So it's 'minorities' and low income persons? Nope, nice try to shift the load, though. How about the deregulated predatory lenders who gave them balloon mortgages? How about the McMansions across the country bought by middle-class people who thought they could have it all and who didn't read fine print about how their interest rates would soar?

Robert Rubin is one of many financial experts on the Obama team, which also includes Robert Reich and Paul Volcker. There's somebody to dislike for everybody. Or like.

McCain, OTOH: Phil Gramm, author of the deregulation bill that precipitated the mortgage mess, and Rick Davis, campaign manager while his company is being paid by Freddie Mac.

Hey, is Davis managing Johnnie or Freddie? It's hard to tell.

[codwix]

"A house divided against itself cannot stand."
Abraham Lincoln

[Krackonis]

I live in another country so, from here America gets whats coming to it for 50 years of Imperial Arrogance.. However, the people should have been in the streets long ago over the removal of their rights.

This is simply a final move to keep stock prices up while the fat cats sell off.

[DBtv]

The more important numerologic figure was the point drop in the market: 777.

This bill was another massive republic party redistribution of wealth to the economic elite and I thank Krishna that enough Congrespeople had the wisdom, albeit born of fear for their position, to defeat this criminal con job masquerading as economic policy.

Obviously the credit markets must be stabilized, but legislation of that magnitude must be developed with care, transparency and much scrutiny. Far more responsibly than this rightly failed piece of fecal legislation was thrown together, and at the American people.

[c.w.]

I love Barney - but he's full of it.

Almost a 100 Dems voted against the bailout - if just a dozen of them had voted FOR the bill it would have passed.

How could the Democratic leadership been so stupid as to bring this to a vote when they didn't have the votes????

[tangelan]

You haven't read much about this, huh? The Dems put up the votes they said they would put up. Bush or BatCain weren't able to deliver their votes because no one is currently leading their party. It's a Repug bill, remember?

[berryessence]

dude,

ARE YOU FORGETTING THAT WE HAVE A REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT?

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WAS FOR THIS BAILOUT

Pelosi stated she can get her half, BUT Republicans MUST get their half.

VOILA, Republicans didn't deliver.

Did you know that the people who voted FOR the bill got over $250k each from the banks?

Did you know that the people who voted NO the bill got over $109k each from the banks?

Did you know I only got $47 until friday and half a tank of gas?

So why in the hell they bickering over who was wrong?

[LiarLiarIraqsOnFire]

The ones that voted NO want their $141k .

If I were you I wouldn't let on about you $47 or they'll be wanting that too.

[nachtengel]

There is no reason why it ended up this way, except the republicans having very good strategy to let McCain claim victory. The whole thing today seemed staged, a total setup.

Like I said below, today was setup up for one hell of a check mate position. This is the perfect setup for McCain to walk in on Thursday, when we know a resolution will magically get voted on by the Reps, and McCain can claim to have saved the day.

Obama has the same opportunity, and I hope he seizes it and shuts McCain down, by claiming he swung the right AND the left.

[curocat]

Yeah, Senator McCain will say he voted on the House Bill to pass it...

[kein-name]

McCain can claim victory and hopes that Thursday's debate Biden/Palin will be ignored.

[CrabbyGolightly]

WHAT THE HELL DID THEY FIND SO FUNNY? Here they were, Congressional Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barney Frank and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson sharing a laugh while announcing to the media that they reached an accord on the repulsive $700 billion bailout of Wall Street"s Masters of the Universe at the expense of ordinary Americans. But the self-congratulations were premature and the pictures taken Monday showed grimmer expressions on the dealmakers" faces. During a presidential campaign with lots of talk about chickens coming home to roost, this story was a foulest. We are all complicit in this mess; the media for spoonfeeding us stories about Jesus" face in cat fur stories while ignoring real crises. Or for dismissing what they surely thought shrill complaints from Ralph Nader about lax governmental regulation and corporate welfare for the likes of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Count me among the millions who are glad that they issue hasn"t been resolved quite so quickly to Congress" satisfaction. Yes, yes, I"m aware that something must be done to avert another Depression. Americans rely on ol" Uncle Sam to play both mommy and daddy. But there"s lots more work to do to ensure that all of those who contributed to this fiasco are forced to sweat before the final tally is deducted from the next generation"s future.Here"s where they can begin: Bush, Pelosi, Reid, Paulsen, et.al " stop laughing at our expense.
CrabbyGolightly.com.

[callings]

This is a Republican problem, born and raised. This is, at its core, a Republican initiative- assuming Bush is still a Republican. So, two thirds of Georgie's very own party vote against him, and it's Nancy's fault? What a crock. This whole mess, this crumbling McMansion, was built by the free market fundies that are the rotten core of the GOP (Greedy Oligarchs and Patricians).

[Gary47]

This has nothing to do with anything except repubs worried about the voters back home. Hey, they're representing the interests of their constituents - we all used to think that was a good thing.

[RaderBarbarian]

Of course, it is possible that LEADERS are actually supposed to LEAD, not just follow the whims and anxieties of their constituents by putting their wet finger up to the wind to see which way it blows. Then again, how long has it been since a political LEADER actually did any LEADING on ANYTHING? So much better to just "represent the interests of their constituents", right? No matter, if "the interests of their constituents" is directly contrary to what is actually good for them. I sure am glad my parents didn't follow that rule when I wanted all that candy and they said I should eat my vegetables. I am a healthy boy today because they did not "represent the interests of their constituents" but instead did what was GOOD for their constituent. There IS a difference, and that difference is what elected officials are SUPPOSED to do, I believe. Or would we rather just have a popularity contest only? If so, I am going to vote for Paris Hilton next time. I really like her style!

[florixie]

Your analogy fails as I did not choose my parents. I did choose my representatives. Children and adults have different choices.

[florixie]

95 democrats are worried about their constituents too. Apparently.

[DannyEastVillage]

Y'know..i dont give a s*** who's worried about whom--I think America has just about had enough of these pigs, and it's time to put an end to it. These selfish bas***** have had the run of the place way too long--thanks to Bush, yes, but also thanks to William Jefferson Clinton and the cabal known as the Democratic Leadership Conference--that shi**** Rahm Emanuel, Steney Hoyer, the whole bunch of them. Lousy bums just like anybody you care to name in the Bush administration.

[lm945]

"...representing the interests of their constituents..."

That would be a first.

They're only "listening to their constituents" because they're afraid of losing their jobs.

[philopatris]

How do you find WHICH twelve Republicans were told off to make this bill fail?
Barney Frank is right. The number is too exact to be an accident.
Also, it is important whether they have secure seats or insecure seats.
If they all have insecure seats then they might have some reason to say they were afraid of their constituents who threatened not to re-elect them. Even then, why did they first think they would be Profiles in Courage and then change their mind?
If they are all in secure Republican districts, then why did they lie at first and say they would vote for the bill?
All twelve need to be identified and interviewed.

[hkochii]

There should be no secure seats in any elected office. We The People need to let our elected officials know they are all replaceable.

[florixie]

Along with the 95 Democrats that voted nay. Hooray for them.

[vietveter]

HORRAY FOR THEM INDEED !

[instagladiator]

The twelve apostles?

[florixie]

No, they are on the Messiah's side

[Chaucea]

*chuckles*

No no, there apparently were TWELVE horsemen of the apocalypse, not four. ;-)

[LiarLiarIraqsOnFire]

Boehner's Dozen!

[BigHeadTodd]

This was a helluva lot funnier when Danny DeVito as "Larry the Liquidator" tried to scam the system in the movie "Other People's Money."

[Krackonis]

That movie taught me a lot about Greedy bastards...