Who: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
What: Before calling for a vote on a $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill, Pelosi turned what should have been a bipartisan effort to stabilize the nation’s financial markets into a Democratic pep rally when she said: “In the new year, with a new Congress and a new president, we will break free with a failed past and take America in a new direction to a better future.” But the only direction Pelosi took the bill was down – to a 228 to 205 defeat.
Recommended Stories
Cure: Leave the campaign rhetoric in the cloak room next time.
Daily Outrage
No drilling, no royalties
Who: Republicans and Democrats
What: The decades-long ban on offshore drilling, which finally expires today, proved to be very costly to U.S. taxpayers. By preventing the development of our own natural resources, the ban helped to increase prices at the pump. And the federal government could not collect 15 percent royalties on off-limits oil and gas reserves.
Why it’s an outrage: Those royalties amounted to $2.5 trillion, according to information provided to Rep. John Peterson, R-Penn., by the Minerals Management Service and the Energy Information Agency.
Where to vent: Call your congressional representatives.
Sound Bite
“I’m seriously considering changing my political affiliation to Democrat. Then I, too, can get away with breaking the law and not face any punishment, right?”
– Blogger JamieWearingFool commenting on House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel’s tax troubles.
