It's become clear to me that this bailout, is at best, being horrifyingly rushed with far too little transparency in the same manner that W was trying to push through his Social Security privatization bid. That effort failed largely because Democrats stuck together and said no. That's what we need to do again.
One of the breakthroughs made during the Social Security fight was a sort of public whipping campaign run out of Talking Points Memo, which was an effective tool to push wavering Dems to do the right thing, and just say no.
With that in mind, I propose an open source whip count (with links to news articles if at all possible) that helps us track and pressure those who want to cave to Paulson and Bush. Thus, with that in mind, let me get the ball rolling:
South Carolina
Sen. Jim DeMint-against (even a stopped watch is apparently right twice a day)
Sen. Lindsey Graham-leaning towards some sort of bailout
Rep. Bob Inglis-no comment as of yet
Updates:
Indiana
Rep. Mike Pence (R)-no
Minnesota
Sen. Norm Coleman (R)-for the bailout
Mississippi
Rep. Travis Childers(D):sounds like a hell no!
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D):likes the Democratic alternative
Reps. Chip Pickering (R) & Gene Taylor (D):no comment
Sen. Thad Cochran (R):for the bailout
Sen. Roger Wicker (R):sounds like leaning towards a yes vote, but hedging
Ohio
Sen. Sherrod Brown-sounds pretty against it
Montana
Sen. Jon Tester(D)- "doesn't pass the smell test"
New Jersey
Sen. Bob Menendez (D): there must be accountability provisions in the bill, open to bailout
New York
Sen. Hillary Clinton(D):sounds like she favors something like the Dodd plan
Oregon
Sen. Ron Wyden (D): no public risks for private profits
Pennsylvania
Senator Bob Casey (D): not for Paulson's plan, but sounds open to a bailout
Sen. Arlen Specter (R): wants thoughtful consideration of all options
Vermont
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I): not at all interested
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D): wants a "balanced bill"
Washington State
Rep. Jim McDermott (D): hell no!
Please, contact your representatives and share what they tell you. Are they for it, against it, or do they have their finger in the wind? I'll try and update this post as often as I can (I'm currently on the West Coast, so probably until about Midnight eastern time at least).
Its time to realize the fierce urgency of now and slow this freight train of a bill down so we can, at the least, clearly evaluate all of the information and take prudent, reasonable action.