Newt Weighs In

I thought this was an interesting perspective on the bailout I discussed earlier...

I just got back from a Newt Gingrich press conference where I had a nice back-and-forth dialogue with the former Speaker of the House about the Paulson Plan, which he totally hates. A few quotes and Gingrichian observations:

1) He called it a "stupid plan" that looks like it had been designed by autocrat Vladimir Putin. He also said it will be a "nightmare" to implement and full of corruption.

2) He said the Paulson Plan would be a "dead loser" on Election Day that will "break against anyone who votes for it." It will hurt even worse with the 2010 election once Americans see what a drag it is on the economy when implemented.

3) He recently chatted with economic historian Alan Meltzer who advocated doing nothing rather than implanting the Paulson Plan. Meltzer apparently joked to Gingrich that this was about the third time he had seen Wall Street scream "the apocalypse was nigh" only to have the economy keep right on chugging along.

4) Gingrich thinks that if the Paulson Plan isn't passed by this weekend, it is dead and the White House better have a Plan B, economic-growth package ready. Right now, he still thinks it has an 80 percent chance of passage, partly because of Paulson's apocalyptic tone that if a bill isn't passed, "the whole world will end on Tuesday."

5) He advises McCain to play the maverick and come out against the Paulson Plan. Then it will be the Obama-Bush plan.

Since he is no longer in office Gingrich has the luxury of being candid - he can say things like 'that's a stupid plan' without fearing the loss of his job at the next election.  That apocalyptic tone he mentions is all over the headlines right now, and the media is certainly playing it up as such, but Gingrich's last point is a very good one - this is clearly not a good move for someone who says he stands for fiscal restraint, and breaking on this would make McCain stand out of the crowd right now.  Given the anger and resentment in the American public at how spend-happy...no, make it spend-giddy...our Congress is right now, simply standing up against it could be a good move.  The fact that it would pigeon-hole Obama and Bush together and on the wrong side of a powerful economic issue would be icing on McCain's cake.

Have you called your reps about this bailout yet?  This will be by far the most expensive bailout yet, costing thousands of dollars per American citizen, and we just can't afford that right now.  There are a few conservatives in Washington who are trying to garner support for the slaying of this bill, but they'll need the assistance of the American people to shove the dagger in deeply enough to kill.

Here's a personal experience for you.  I spoke with a staffer for one of my Senators this morning (a Democrat), and I asked what position the Senator had taken on the bailout.  The staffer told me, but since there was a lot of background noise wherever she was, I hadn't heard her very well.  When I tried to re-state what I thought I had heard her say to see if I got it right, she jumped all over me (I had apparently NOT gotten it right!) to clarify the Senator's position.  I cannot recall a staffer being that nervous about being misunderstood on any issue since the immigration debacle last year!

So, I think it's safe to say that our politicians are jumpy right now, unsure of which direction to go.  So, now's a perfect time to exert your influence - demand fiscal accountability from them, and urge them not to support this bailout.  Let's create another sandstorm!

There's my two cents.