Dems Can't Lead Their Own to Vote Yes; Blame GOP

Riddle me this: How can the House leadership (that brilliant cabal of Reps. Pelosi, Frank, Emanuel and Hoyer) blame the GOP for this bill not passing when fully one third of their caucus voted no? Generally leadership is defined as being able to muster support for your plans by convincing those on your side that voting for something is in the party's best interests as well as convincing the opposing side that it's for the good of the country. Pelosi failed miserably on both counts.

33% of Dems didn't like what Pelosi negotiated into this bill and went against the wishes of party leadership. Conversely, 33% of Republicans voted for the bill and against leadership that was tepidly supportive to say the least. Government bailing out private business is anathema to Conservative thinking and it shocks me that one-third actually voted for this bill.

Let's look at it without blinders, shall we? Speaker Pelosi could rally only less than 7 out of 10 members of her caucus to her side. And this for a bill that was supposedly a breakwater to a full-on depression. Still, she could only earn the grade of a high D. Oh well, that's a full grade better than anything else she's accomplished these last two years.

And you know what's coming next; the donks will say that President Bush couldn't rally the party either but he's a lame-duck with a high twenties approval rating, what clout does he still carry to rally anyone?

So we move on and the markets will continue to correct themselves. The poorly run financial houses and banks will be gobbled up by the ones with a stronger foundation and free markets will settle things once and for all. The GOP reps who opted to vote no did so not because of a partisan speech by Pelosi but simply because the government has no business owning businesses and to pretend that it would have been successful flies in the face of 100-years of governmental failures. I respect those who voted their conscience.

Ed Morrisey is a lot harder on both parties than I.

Update: Glenn Reynolds notes that both Rush Limbaugh and A.N.S.W.E.R. were against the bill. Strange bedfellows indeed...

Update: While McCain convinced some to support the bill, he couldn't get enough. An overly optimistic Obama couldn't rally his party either. Hope and change my friends, hope and change...