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Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Congress is a Dead Zone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The inability of Congress to function, even in time of crisis, tells us all we need to know about the future of bipartisanship. It’s dead — and that’s certainly true so long as Nancy Pelosi is Speaker of the House.
The Senate will take a crack today at reviving the bill her rhetoric caused to be killed on Monday. One element certain to be added would increase Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. protection of bank accounts from the $100,000 set in 1980 to $250,000. That should be done. It was among the approaches recommended by House Republicans and both John McCain and Barack Obama favor it.
Another provision they recommend would address the regulatory problem that has fueled the panic. Financial institutions are required to write down the value of assets to market values, even when they intend to hold them long-term. Accounting rules require them to adjust the book value even when the market is in chaos. Some modification is warranted to keep the rule from pushing companies over the edge when the mob is in stampede.
The Senate will also add provisions from a tax bill that now won’t get through Congress because of the wasted days earlier in the year. The trick is to keep it from becoming a Christmas tree for pet projects and special interests. That’s often what “bipartisanship” means: Both parties agree to their own treats.
And then there’s the Pelosi House still to act. In Pelosi’s view, no crisis is too pressing or severe to bypass the opportunity for a partisan cheap shot. Any chance the House had of passing the bailout earlier failed with Pelosi at the helm offering partisan commentary such as this:
“[W’hen was the last time someone asked you for $700 billion? It is a number that is staggering, but tells us only the costs of the Bush administration’s failed economic policies: policies built on budgetary recklessness, on an anything-goes mentality, with no regulation, no supervision, and no discipline in the system.”
Democrats, she continued, “believe in the free market, which can and does create jobs, wealth, and capital. But left to its own devices, it has created chaos.” And to prevent that, the wise and loving hand of government regulators will pick the winners and losers and apportion the blessings throughout America, as Democrats see as fair and just.
Pelosi is certainly no authority on what conservatives or Republicans believe. Nevertheless, her inability to discipline herself at a crucial time did undoubtedly drive Republicans into opposition. It could have passed anyway, had she spent the time railing against the evil Bush in trying to persuade some of the 95 Democrats who voted against it to vote yes.
The point though, really, is that Congress and the House especially is a dead zone, so deeply mired in partisan politics that it has ceased to function. That’s been the hallmark of Pelosi’s “leadership.”
