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Y! MyWebCongress faced with stinker of a bill
Sunday, October 05, 2008
WASHINGTON — Last Monday, while the House considered a $700 billion bill aimed at helping avert the credit crunch, a dozen elementary schoolchildren stood outside the noxious men's room in the U.S. Capitol, waving their hands in front of their faces and making pained expressions as they waited for their turn to go.
One floor up, House leaders were wishing more of their members would hold their nose and vote for a bill that even they acknowledged was a real stinker.
Instead, the House voted against the so-called "bailout bill" and, once again, Ohio became a microcosm for the nation. Ohio members represented the spectrum of opinions on a bill that no one seemed to like, but some argued was necessary for the good of the world economy.
For U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, it was an issue of accountability and anger. Turner voted no because he felt the bill did nothing to hold the people responsible for the crisis accountable. He's watched the city where he once was mayor be decimated by the foreclosure crisis, and he wants to see heads roll. He believed the bill didn't do enough to stop the predatory lenders who have wreaked havoc on Dayton.
"We need a bailout," he said. "But we should not be buying this stuff."
For U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, it was a more philosophical issue. Jordan is averse to big-government solutions, and fundamentally believes that the government fails to do much of anything well. He believes the matter is better handled with a free-market solution.
For U.S. Rep. David Hobson, R-Springfield, the vote was a wrenching one to end his congressional career on. Hobson was torn: He didn't like the cost of the bailout, he didn't like the pork that the Senate added and he didn't like the way that the White House negotiated the bill. But on Monday, he voted for it.
"I didn't want history recording me doing the wrong thing," he said, adding that he worried that if he didn't vote for the bill, world credit markets would crumble.
The bill, perhaps, was most crucial for House Minority Leaer John Boehner, R-West Chester. Boehner's been in a jam for two weeks: Early on, he struggled to find members to support a bill that even he acknowledged was tough to swallow, and meanwhile, he faces speculation about whether he'll lose his leadership position next year. On Monday, he watched his caucus abandon his pleas and largely vote against the bill.
By Friday, he admitted that the last two weeks have been the toughest of his 18 years in Congress.
"It's been work, real work," he said.
On that day, that work would pay off for Boehner: The bill passed overwhelmingly, though Jordan and Turner still voted no.
Hobson, however, had threatened to switch his vote. He still wasn't happy.
After the vote, reporters swarmed him in the halls of the Capitol.
Had he voted yes or no?
As an answer Hobson held his nose, nodded and gave a thumbs up.
