Panic and fear were used as a tool to rush through the bailout bill, and there is further proof of this in the you tube videos below of two representatives speaking on the House floor.
Now this next you tube video of Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, informing Americans that the "martial law" rule has been invoked in the process of discussing, and then passing, this bill. I originally thought it was a strange reference to the threat of martial law. Thanks to Halycon in the comments below for informing us of this rule. I leave it up here as a testament to the added pressure that was applied in the passage of this bill.
I've made it no secret that I opposed this bill in my diaries here, and criticized Barack Obama for supporting it. Obama also phoned house members to encourage them to support it:
Maryland Democratic representatives Donna Edwards and Elijah Cummings said they had received calls from Obama after voting against the original package.
"It meant a lot to me that somebody who at least has a 50-50 shot at being the next president of the United States would take time," Cummings said.
We could have had a better bill that actually helped those strapped with the scammy mortgage terms, about to lose their homes. Instead, we have been subjected to a pork-laden bill that I predict will do little to help Americans, but will certainly insure that Wall St. emerges from this "crisis" less scathed than if they were actually held accountable.
Here is Dean Baker, with the Center for Economic Policy and Research, on the panic and fear tool used to pass this bad legislation:
This is the first time in the history of the United States that the president has sought to provoke a financial panic to get legislation through Congress. While this has proven to be a successful political strategy, it marks yet another low point in American politics.
It was incredibly irresponsible for President Bush to tell the American people on national television that the country could be facing another Great Depression. By contrast, when we actually were in the Great Depression, President Roosevelt said that, "we have nothing to fear, but fear itself."
It was even more irresponsible for him to seize on the decline in the stock market five days later as evidence that his bailout was needed for the economy. President Bush must surely understand, as all economists know, that the daily swings in the stock market are driven by mass psychology and have almost nothing to do with the underlying strength in the economy.
The scare tactics of President Bush, Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Bernanke created sufficient panic, so that by the time of the vote, much of the public believed that the defeat of the bailout may actually have had serious consequences for the economy. Millions of people have changed their behavior because of this fear, with many pulling money out of bank and money market accounts, and in other ways adjusting their financial plans.
update: Halycon below posted a link to a house rule called "martial law". No kidding. A bit ironic, yes? The second video has Michael Burgess speaking on that rule, and is not a reference to martial law itself.
I'll leave it up there though, as a testament to the pressure applied to get this bill passed.