Allrighty then. The GOP and McCain do not want the bipartisan bailout solution. Fair enough. Then it is time for the DEM bailout bill. With HOLC, a stimulus package, rigorous oversight of Paulson, equity stakes in the bailoutees, and everything the Democratic caucus thinks is necessary now.

Pass it on a party line vote. The Senate can then decide what to do. And then President Bush can decide what to do. The House Republicans do not want to be a part of this bipartisan short term bailout solution? Fair enough. Then Bush has to take the Dem bailout solution.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Public Policy Polling has a new North Carolina poll out. It's Obama 47, McCain 45 and Bob Barr 2. Full poll results are here.

Independents are moving toward Obama in droves. Where last week he had a 42-39 advantage with them, now he is up 48-37. He also now receives 36% of the white vote, up from 33%. He will likely need 35-38% in that demographic to win the state, depending on how high turnout from black voters is.

Sen. Barack Obama is campaigning in Colorado today. He has released this statement on today's Bail Out vote and John McCain's specious response.

“This is a moment of national crisis, and today’s inaction in Congress as well as the angry and hyper-partisan statement released by the McCain campaign are exactly why the American people are disgusted with Washington. Now is the time for Democrats and Republicans to join together and act in a way that prevents an economic catastrophe. Every American should be outraged that an era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and Washington has led us to this point, but now that we are here, the stability of our entire economy depends on us taking immediate action to ease this crisis,” said Obama-Biden campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

Jury selection is underway in the trial of five men who were arrested for allegedly plotting an attack upon the soldiers at Fort Dix. As Wonkette noted, if a small group of guys who trained in the Poconos thought they could successfully attack a heavily armed military base, this was the dumbest terrorist plot ever.

But was it a plot? The government's strongest evidence comes from the informant who was paid to infiltrate the group. Whether there was ever a plot in the mind of anyone other than the informant will be the key to the trial's outcome. The prosecution will play some tapes that the informant recorded, but the defense says it will play even more tapes to prove their clients' innocence. [More...]

Here's the McCain/Palin Campaign's statement on the failure of the bailout bill to pass the House.

McCain falsely implies he brought about the bipartisan agreement for the bill and blames Obama and the Dems for its failure. If you needed a greater reason to see how McCain distorts the truth, this statement is it.

As for Nancy Pelosi's speech today affecting the vote, keep in mind the Dems got 140 of their members to vote for it and only 95 Dems voted against it. If McCain was so influential and wanted the bill to pass, why couldn't he persuade more than 63 of them to go along? Why couldn't he persuade the other 133 to listen to his advice? [More...]

The Nay's are here, and the 95 Dems who voted against it are in Roman letters, while the Republicans are in Italics.

Of note: Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.)voted against it. Udall, a true progressive in my view, is running for the Senate in Colorado. Another Colorado Democrat who voted against it is the much more centrist John Salazar, brother of Colorado Senator Ken Salazar.

Update: Rep. Dennis Kucinich says the bailout will not keep homeowners in their homes, urged colleagues to vote against it and provides this letter (pdf) from an Emory law professor.

Whose vote do you find surprising or laudatory?

It's been awhile since TalkLeft took note of Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, the former CIA officer who accepted lavish gifts from defense contractor Brent Wilkes, who in turn bribed former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. After Foggo and Wilkes were indicted, Wilkes took his case to trial and lost. (Perhaps the jury was swayed by the hookers who testified against him.) Wilkes was sentenced to 12 years. Cunningham entered a guilty plea and earned an 8 year sentence. For her trouble in pursuing the investigation, San Diego U.S. Attorney Carol Lam was fired.

Today Foggo pled guilty to wire fraud.

As part of the plea, prosecutors dropped 27 other counts against him and agreed to seek a prison term no longer than three years and a month.... The plea comes three weeks after prosecutors complained that Foggo was threatening to expose the cover of practically every agent with whom he had contact as part of his defense.

Foggo is scheduled to be sentenced on January 8.

The House of Representatives has rejected the proposed bailout.

The vote against the measure was 228 to 205. Supporters vowed to try to bring the rescue package up for consideration against as soon as possible.

Stock markets plunged sharply at midday as it appeared that the measure was go down.

The Inspector General's blistering 392 page report on the Bush Administration's firing of 9 U.S. Attorneys has been released. You can read it here (pdf.)

Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced he will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate and decide if criminal charges should be brought against former AG Alberto Gonzales.

“The report makes plain that, at a minimum, the process by which nine U.S. attorneys were removed in 2006 was haphazard, arbitrary and unprofessional, and the way in which the Justice Department handled those removals and the resulting public controversy was profoundly lacking,” Mr. Mukasey said in a statement. The report called for further investigation to determine whether prosecutable offenses were committed either in the firings or in subsequent testimony about them.

[More...]

Apparently, word reached the McCain campaign that Gov. Sarah Palin isn't making a good impression on the national stage. With only three days to go to her debate with Sen. Joe Biden, some major changes have been made.

More broadly, the McCain campaign aims to halt what it sees as a perceived decline in the crispness and precision of Gov. Palin's latest remarks as well as a fall in recent polls, according to several advisers and party officials.

First, she'll be leaving today for McCain's AZ ranch to prep. Second, at her husband's urging, since he believes part of her problem may be that she misses her family and her Alaska staffers, the family and a top aide will be flown to the ranch as well. Third, she will now be prepped by McCain campaign manager Rick Davis and senior adviser Steve Schmidt, as well as McCain's debate coach, Brett O'Donnell. [More...]

I have filled the page with my thoughts. I will be out for the rest of the day. J and Chris are sure to come along. But for now, it is your turn.

This is an Open Thread.

After today's bailout plan, Democrats must explicitly promise to help out distressed homeowners with a modern day HOLC. What was HOLC? I'll use the neutral part of the Wikipedia description:

The Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) or Home Owner's Refinancing Act, was a New Deal agency established in 1933 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its purpose was to refinance homes to prevent foreclosure. It was used to extend loans from shorter loans to fully amortized, longer term loans (typically 20-25 years). Through its work it granted long term mortgages to over a million people facing the loss of their homes. The HOLC stopped lending circa 1935, once all the available capital had been spent. HOLC was only applicable to nonfarm homes, worth less than $20,000. HOLC also assisted mortgage lenders by refinancing problematic loans and increasing the institutions liquidity. When the HOLC ended its operations and liquidated assets in 1951, HOLC turned a small profit.

Listen to Hillary Clinton on HOLC and the current crisis: