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Hernando Today

Flawed Bill

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Hernando Today

Published: October 4, 2008

Updated: 10/04/2008 11:01 am

Flawed Bill

I was extremely concerned with the original bailout plan crafted by Democrat leaders in Congress and the Bush Administration. The bill was drafted hastily, forgoing the normal legislative process. By drafting the bill in this manner, the Democrat leadership in both houses of Congress limited the debate and prevented alternative plans from surfacing.

Sen. Chris Dodd and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's original bill was flawed and while the House rejected that bill, the Senate simply added some pork and passed it without making any real changes to the bailout language.

I was dismayed by the Democrats. Instead of fixing the real problems with the bill, they continued to play the usual political games and bribed lawmakers for their vote with money designated for things like manufacturing of wooden arrows for children, wool research and film and television producers.

This is the most important issue of the day, but it doesn't look like Washington understands what is going on in the real world. Thankfully, our representative, Ginny Brown-Waite, has the courage to say no in the face of these fear tactics. If we really want to fix the economy, we need to put together real forward-thinking legislation and not the haphazard, slapdash bill that was put together by Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat leadership in Congress.

Alan Setelius

Spring Hill

GOP Wrecked U.S.

I have to laugh at all the letters from Republicans who try to blame the current financial crisis on Democrats.

Because Bush said something about housing or banking in 2001, 2003, 2004 or whenever, it must be the Democrats' fault that nothing was done about the problem. Or, if anything happened in the Clinton Administration that had anything to do with housing or finance, that must be the cause of our problems today.

Come on, GOPers! The Bush crime wave - er - administration has been in office for almost eight years. Even if the Clintonites did make some mistakes, Bush and his Republican Congresses have had plenty of time to correct them. But to listen to the GOPers tell it, Bush and the Republican Congresses were innocent bystanders as history rolled on past them.

And how about the Democratic Congress? The Dems have only been in control of the House of Representatives since January 2007. Democrats are nominally in charge of the Senate, but the Republicans have undertaken a "permanent filibuster" so any legislation needs 60 (out of 100) votes to pass. So, the Democrats don't have the votes to pass laws on their own.

So, GOPers, it's on you. Your Republican Party has controlled the presidency, the judiciary and the Congress for six of the last seven-plus years. And you have faithfully supported that reckless and lawless gang of grifters that is the Bush Administration. All the national disasters that have stemmed from the malfeasance and negligence of that regime are your fault.

It is your Republican Party that has wrecked America.

Dallas Dunlap

Brooksville

Defeat Bailout

All we have heard from the Bush Administration the past week is "the sky is falling." If Congress doesn't vote for the $850 billion (and growing) bailout package, the clear message from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is that the entire U.S. economy will crash and we will enter the next Great Depression.

Well, what happened when the House rejected the bill? Well, the Dow went up nearly 5 percent. The dollar made its largest single day gains ever against the Euro, and LIBOR rates dropped from more than 7 percent to less than 3 percent.

It is clear to me that capitalist markets have a way of working themselves out, and that socialist government intervention like the plan pushed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is not needed.

Defeat this bill and protect American taxpayers.

Lester F. Keith

Spring Hill

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