Smart Politics is the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance's blog at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs that is home to timely, pointed, non-partisan discussion of Upper Midwestern and national politics. Smart Politics excavates the key issues driving the 2008 elections as well as provides perspective on statewide and district campaigns in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Unlike most political blogs, Smart Politics' political discussion is driven by thoughtful non-p ...
The United States Senate voted 74 to 25 Wednesday night, in support of a revised bill that would, in part, fund $700 billion in a ‘rescue’ of the financial industry. The Upper Midwest delegation voted 6 to 2 in favor of the bill, with Democrats Russ Feingold and Tim Johnson being the region’s only dissenting members. Feingold and Johnson were two of only nine Democrats (along with Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont) who voted against the legislation. On Monday, in response to the House defeat of similar legislation, Feingold stated: “(N)egotiators should offset the cost of the proposed bailout so that taxpayers don't get saddled with it. There are plenty of proposals out there that can be considered, including asking Wall Street to bear at least some of the cost. Second, negotiators should add meaningful provisions to help families facing foreclosure. This is more than just a matter of fairness - the housing crisis is the root cause of the credit market collapse, and unless we address it, any rescue package is far less likely to work. Finally, negotiators must address the deeply flawed regulatory structure that paved the way for this crisis.” Eight-one percent of Democrats who voted (39 of 48) were in favor of the bill – along with Joe Lieberman (I-CT) – compared to just 69 percent of Republicans (34 of 49). Of the 30 incumbents running for re-election this November, 10 voted against the measure, including 44 percent of Republicans ...
Anytime
