Democrats say they won’t get fooled again

[DeepModem Mom]

Politico: Dems say they won’t get fooled again
By: Glenn Thrush
September 22, 2008

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) says he’s seen this movie before: The Bush administration, citing an unprecedented national threat, puts the hammer on Congress to ram through gargantuan legislation with a minimum of review — and the murkiest of repercussions. “We will do something this week — but if we learned anything from right after 9/11, it’s that the biggest mistake is to pass anything they ask for just because it’s an emergency,” Leahy says....

Historically, breathtaking national crises have spurred Congress to act swiftly, sweepingly and in bipartisan lockstep, with ornery legislators casting aside years of bickering to produce consensus at breakneck speed. But the current generation of Democratic congressional leaders feels burned — and not a little humiliated — by the Bush administration’s use of the 2001 attacks to justify both the speedy enactment of the controversial and complex USA Patriot Act and congressional authorization of the resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq....

The legislative hangover from 2001 isn’t going to derail — or even seriously stall — the $700 billion bailout. The consequences of inaction are too grave. But it has emboldened Democrats to seriously question Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s two-and-half page demand for the reins of the American economy, even as Paulson worked the Sunday shows to warn of economic Armageddon if a “clean” version of his bill isn’t passed soon.

If the coming week’s theme song is “Come Together,” the B-side will be “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”...

***

Democrats are under mounting pressures not to roll over. Republicans may be facing the bankruptcy of their free-market philosophy, but Democrats could face a populist backlash from blue-collar voters if they are perceived as Paulson’s poodles. After regaining Congress on pledges of fighting for common people, the party of Jefferson is on the precipice of approving a $700 billion, no-strings-attached gift to the most wealthy and — in the eyes of some — least responsible Americans.

And that could prompt some blowback from voters.

“The public doesn’t like a blank check,” former Labor Secretary Robert Reich said in Politico’s Arena forum. “They think this whole bailout idea is nuts. They see fat cats on Wall Street who have raked in zillions for years, now extorting in effect $2,000 to $5,000 from every American family to make up for their own nonfeasance, malfeasance, greed and just plain stupidity.” Reich notes that the bailout proposal comes as many Americans are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of gas, food and health insurance. “And so,” he said, “ the public is asking: Why should Wall Street get bailed out by me when I’m getting screwed?”...

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=86B6E712-18FE-70B2-A8D17F5B984610EC

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. So Congress was fooled when they reauthorized the PATRIOT Act?

Or is Leahy attempting just making a show of pacifying the base before giving in?

[eowyn_of_rohan]

2. a populist backlash from just "blue-collar voters"?? D U M B

white collar voters, ivory tower voters, voters in the arts, the vast majority of ALL voters will not tolerate this.

[Jim__]

3. We've all seen this movie before.

I really don't expect it to end any differently.

[babylonsister]

4. Rec'd, but with skepticism. I'll believe it when I see it. nt

[DeepModem Mom]

5. Me, too. nt

[stillcool]

6. Poor Senator Leahy..

too bad he doesn't read DU. We were never fooled in the first place.