Inslee, Baird again explain their bailout votes

Back on Monday, Representatives Inslee and Baird released statements outlining their respective views on the bailout bill demanded by the Bush administration. Today, following this second (and successful) House vote, both Democrats again tried to explain the thinking behind their vote.

Here is Representative Inslee:

Our credit challenge is real, but this plan was both inadequate and inequitable. It protected neither the taxpayer nor the need to address the underlying reason for this credit crisis - the collapse of the housing market.

We are now reaping the bitter wind of the great irresponsibility of Wall Street. It’s not enough to have a provision asking for some unidentified President to present some unidentified plan to take back taxpayer money from Wall Street.

It was an illusion of protection. We also must do more to help people stay in their homes by addressing the root of this financial crisis, the collapse in the housing markets. We should work for a plan to require that taxpayers get what Warren Buffet gets - equity.

I repeat that I am willing to stay here and keep working for a bill that works for taxpayers and addresses the real problem. The fundamental problem is the housing crisis and the effect is it having on American families and homeowners.

I realize the need to find consensus and I hope this plan works to firm up credit, but this plan is far short of what the American people need.

And here is Representative Baird:

In the past week, I have received thousands of emails and hundreds of calls from folks in Southwest Washington. People are understandably concerned and angry about this situation. I share their concern, and their anger.

However, when the Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve both said we could soon face conditions worse than the Great Depression, doing nothing was not an option.

If do not act millions of people will lose their jobs, their retirement savings, their businesses and farms will disappear and a financial catastrophe will ensue. We’ve been put in a terrible situation. While this bill is far from perfect, it will help prevent the current economic crisis from getting worse.

So there are your two perspectives - one from Camp Nuh-uh and one from Camp Hafta, as Daily Kos has characterized it. Maybe Camp Nuh-uh should be called Camp We Need Better Plan, because many who voted against this bill - like Jay Inslee - are for taking proactive action that addresses the causes of this crisis instead of just attempting to throw money we don't even have at the symptoms.