Reader comments
Matheson, Bishop oppose bailout, Cannon supports

37 comments   |   Read story

Ash | 1:42 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
I hope all Americans realize what this actually means to them personally. It WAS 700 BILLION but now it is more like 850 BILLION!!! That translates to more than $2,800 FROM EVERY MAN WOMAN AND CHILD IN AMERICA (except for illegal aliens) OWED TO THE GOVERNMENT IN THE FORM OF TAXES!!! For a family of 6, that is $17,000. The extra 150 Billion is for "Sweeteners" for the congressmen and senators who would have voted against the bill without them. Sweeteners are flat out pork packages meant to help congressmen's pet projects in their home states.

It is disgusting that this bill passed, and Congressman Matheson is correct in saying that this bill will do Nothing in solving the problem. We just delayed it a little, but the delay comes in the form of digging the hole we're in that much deeper. They've socialized the risk, (or losses) and kept the profits private.

Shame, shame on every congressman and senator who voted for this.
I know who I'm voting for | 1:43 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
This circus pretty much validated my decision to go from registered Republican to unaffiliated a couple years ago. I haven't voted for a democrat in quite some time but that will change next time Matheson is up for election. He will have my vote. Hatch and Bennet will never see my vote again. Republicans just lost whatever shred of faith I had in them. I'm also going to start checking out third party choices to see what they are all about. The Constitution Party sound interesting.
True Colors | 1:50 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Hatch, Bennett and Cannon support their rich buddies.

Bishop and Matheson support the taxpayer.
Comments continue below
I can't believe it | 2:08 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
I can't believe it passed. This is going to hit us ten times worse in the future, and the government won't be able to bail us out the next time, and it will be a worse depression than if we went through it this time around. This is exactly what is going to destroy this nation

My vote is already for the Constitution Party. They were against from the beginning.


Madden | 2:09 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Adding pork spending = getting more votes. Of course we already knew Washington was corrupt, but has it ever been more evident on a major bill before?

Throw. The. Bums. Out.
(Chris Cannon = 1 down, hundreds to go...good job 3rd district!)
Hypocrites! | 2:23 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
This bill may have been loaded with pork - which is a complete joke. BUT WAKE UP - this bill was absolutely necessary. Sure, it only buys us time. But we NEED time. Without some sort of solution and commitment on the Fed's part to help contain this mess, we were heading for another depression. Just look at the facts - the economy became completely dependent on real estate - whose value was dropping.

As ridiculous as the add-ins were, voting against it was not a viable option.

Bishop and Matheson are the biggest hypocrites. Since when do they 'support the tax-payer'?
They approve so much waste all of the time.
Kevin | 2:28 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
October 3, 2008, the beginning of the end of the United States of America.
DCZE | 2:38 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Matheson and Bishop represent Utahans in the light they deserve... we care more about our country than ourselves. Hatch and Bennett were bought and voted for themselves and their party interests instead of listening to the people they are suppose to be representing... us. Time for some new representation in the senate! Reps Matheson and Bishop deserve re-election for actually representing the majority vote in Utah. I don't care if they are two different parties. Hatch and Bennett have lost my vote next round. Time for 3rd party representation as far as I'm concerned. And I agree... Constitution party is going in MY direction!
Lane Meyer | 2:38 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
How utterly repugnant this whole mess is. Not only have Hatch and Bennett lost my votes but I will actively oppose them in the next election. Too bad it was too late and Cannon was able to cast another damaging vote. All three are such discraces. I am uncertain about Rob Bishop but I hope he has a conscience.

Equally I am terribly dissapointed in the American people for the lack of responsibility in this matter. The heat should have been so high in Washington that this bill would have gone down. The House listened to the people the first time and rejected the plan. Alas they listened to the "arm twisters" and rejected the will of the American people.

Seems that the will of the people wasn't strong enough to overcome the power players in Washington. T'is a Terrible day in the history of this once great nation.
Next Vote | 2:49 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Well,

Now I know that I'm not voting for Senator Bennett or Senator Hatch when their terms are up.

Get them out of there.
Re: Hypocrites! | 2:56 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Ah yes, this bill did so much. The DOW still dropped 400 points AFTER IT PASSED!

Yes, this bill is going to to wonders to help the economy.
Nancy | 2:57 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
This is exactly why I voted for Jason Cheafets in the Primaries. Cannon is just like all of the old I mean old members of Congress who needs to be voted out of their positions and let a new kind of blood go into Washington for the People not for anything else. Cannon is noting but scum as far as I am concerned.
Third Party | 3:03 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
We need REAL change in this country. The Democrats AND Republicans need to be replaced. These two parties no longer work and need a wake up call. They just ignored the people they represent and will keep doing so until voters take action by voting them out or leaving these parties in droves.
Wake Up! | 3:17 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
"Hyprocrites" needs to go back to business school! Anyone who truly understands free market capitalism would be AGAINST THE BAILOUT! The fundamentals of economics will always be sound. Given the chance, these fundamental laws of finance will correct the economy with painful symptoms to investors. You cannot fix a problem caused by borrowed funds WITH MORE BORROWED FUNDS! HELLO?!?!?
Kudos to MATHESON and SHAME ON HATCH AND BENNETT! Go read your economics books folks.....
You just don't get it, do you! | 3:20 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
You just don't get that this isn't a "bailout", that it's not about tax dollars out of the average citizen's pocket, that it's not Wall Street vs. the rest of us. This is about fixing our economy so that everyone single one of us has a brighter future. If you don't understand that failure to pass this bill would have hit you much harder economically than passing it, you need to open up your one-track mind and start thinking instead of knee-jerk reacting. Shame on Bishop and Matheson for looking out for themselves instead of Utah and the nation.
@You just dont get it | 3:35 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Your fighting a losing battle my friend. People don't want to hear that they would be hurt more severely by the full on depression that would have occurred had the bill not passed. They dont realize that the people that caused this crisis ( Irresponsible lenders, opportunistic and just plain ignorant home buyers ) have already been hurt by this badly. The entire mortgage industry has gone through a period of rapid consolidation. Regulations from major lenders ( GMAC, Fanny, Freddy etc ) have tightened up lending requirements a LOT. Those companies that engaged in the risky behavior simply dont exist any more.

Yes it rankles that the big names are being bailed out of thier own irresponsibility, but it had to be done or the truly innocent would have been hurt far worse than any of the "fat cats" that would be hurt from not passing the bailout.

What rankles the most to me is that the second version of the bill had so much pork attached to it. Is it any wonder that the second bill had even less republican support than the first, yet still passed handily ?
Mahershalalhashbaz | 3:45 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Perhaps this is why prophets have said "avoid debt like the plague". Because if you are in debt up to your eyeballs like so many when you get a little nervous about the economy, you have no choice but to jump on board these pathetic socialistic/communistic ideals. And you're going to find out it did nothing to save you from your debt ridden life, but did lead you to bondage. The rest of us who love our FREE country were willing to do the hard thing/let the market correct itself. Kudos to Matheson (never thought I'd say that) and Bishop. I gained a lot of respect for a Democrat for the 1st time in my life today. I didn't lose any respect for Hatch. I voted against him in the last 2 elections. I can't help it if I am way more politically savvy than the rest of my state. What can I say?
Kevin | 3:54 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
@You just don't get it, do you!

You don't know what the heck you're talking about, friend. If you think buying illiquid junk status securities with borrowed money is going to fix our economy, you're not thinking this through. If you bought into the fear tactics that have now created a huge expansion of government and our debt, you're just plain gullible.

The fact is fear and frantic political pressure thrust this bailout upon us. The only knee-jerk reaction I see was Congress' hurried and thoughtless approval of it.
TB | 4:09 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Thank you rep. Matheson for sticking to your guns, bishop as well. Hatch and Bennett take note, you will have my undying resistance from here on out. We don't need your pork and lies. This bill will do nothing to solve the problem
Ash | 4:48 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
I never thought anyone who was smart enough to actually use a computer (ie those who are supporting this bill) would actually think throwing good (relatively) money after bad is a good idea. Maybe their wives are posting for them ala John McCain???

They probably think giving more drugs to a drug addict is the way to solve their problems too.

"You've already abused drugs for 20 years??? Well, here's another month's supply as long as you promise not to do it again when you're done with this last batch. What's that??? You can't promise that? Well here's a month and a half's worth supply then. Now just go away."

Please, rest of the country, follow the 3rd congressional district's lead AND VOTE THE BUMS OUT!!!

Good for Matheson and Bishop for voting against this.
DMH | 4:51 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
I am so glad that at least 2 of our representatives have a head on their shoulders and have been willing to listen to the people of Utah. I am so mad at both Senator Hatch and Senator Bennett I could just scream. They are definately not getting my vote in 2 years for re-election, and I will be campaigning hotly against them and pick another candidate to give my vote to. I am also going to vote third party in the Presidential election, because both Obama and McCain voted for this absurd bill, too. Anyone else that is sick of these 2 parties doing all of the wrong things and not listening to the people need to join me and vote for either Ron Paul, or Ralph Nader, because at least these 2 gentleman know what is going on and how to fix it.
Responsible American | 4:52 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
OK. Now let's do the math. $700 billion divided by 300 million people equals $2,333 for each man woman and child. My family of six (including children) now have to pay $14,000 to help bail out people who can't live within their means or successfully run their businesses. That's about one year's worth of mortgage payments. Nobody's helping me make my house payments and now I have to pay an extra year because of others poor discretion.
Martial Law | 4:52 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Thanks to Matheson and Bishop for bravely showing some good old-fashioned common sense! I will continue to vote for Matheson as he represents my district. I am seriously investigating the Constitution Party. Their platform reflects my own beliefs. People, we need to take drastic action in the voting booth or we're not going to have our beloved America anymore.

We're not allowed to post URLs here so if you want to see a video of Rep. Sherman telling how some representatives were told that if the baillout bill was not passed there would be martial law in America go to YouTube for a brief exerpt. For his entire speech to the House of Representatives you can watch it on CSPAN. It's a real eye opener and makes me terribly afraid for our country. Terrible pressure was put on the people's representatives to pass this monster of a bill. I would like to know just who was applying this pressure.

It took real courage to stand against what Matheson and Bishop had to face this week. I won't forget that.
My Vote | 5:01 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Matheson and Bishop both need votes this November from all the conservatives in this state. It was an easy decision for both of them.... Vote against the bill-get elected. Vote for the bill- not get elected. This is not rocket science folks.
Yeah for the Bailout! | 5:13 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
As much as I hate large government spending, this bailout was necessary. The feds are not paying $700B for useless assets for the sole benefit of the greedy banks and wallstree investors who gambled on subprime mortgages. The reality is that the feds (or all of us in taxes or increased federal debt) are paying $700B for "mostly" useless assets for the purpose of removing instability from the banking system & (to a lesser extent) the stock market, which affect all of us. If banks stop loaning money to each other because of instability then the whole economy suffers as banks fail and credit tightens up. Its hard to run a small or large business with no capital. A depression is not entirely out of the question. For everyone concerned about the price tag: Depression = less individual and business tax revenues = bigger deficit. No Depression = more tax revenues = smaller (albeit still enormous) deficit. In summary, assuming it boosts the economy then the bailout is expensive, but worth it. It troubles me that Matheson doesn't grasp these economic principles sufficiently to make a judgment call without the contradictory experts.
Jim | 5:27 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Bishop and Matheson are prime examples of elected officials that don't have a clue when it comes to saving jobs, stablizing the stock market, preserving Utah businesses, and saving banks from runs and ultimated failure, and averting a depression. Their vote, and the others who voted against the bill have an economic death wish for the USA and world. Thank goodness other members of the US House and Senate have the courage to vote for the Bill!
Craig | 5:28 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
You got it right Kevin. There were a lot of ideas out there on how to repair the damage and they seemed to be excluded from the debate in congress. The notion that all people who opposed the bailout wanted the government to do nothing is simply wrong. There are things the government could have done to relieve the problem without spending so much money.
grapple | 5:39 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
So begins an historic collapse of the Republican party. Republican President and his administration came up with the plan and gutless "conservatives" fell in line. Flat out lack of moral courage. Even McCain...the original "maverick" who hates pork voted for the pork laden bill. What a joke. Senator Bennet is as clueless as they come when it comes to economics so he simply states the parties official response. I'm incensed. How can politicians call themselves "conservative" and then vote for the biggest leap to socialism in the history of this country? Like minded conservatives like me need to activate and put our weight into a 3rd party. Constitution party is solidly conservative in every way. If your a Republican now even after this most saddening event, your wrong as 2 left feet. The Republican party must go down.
casual observer | 5:50 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
The country is in financial straits and instead of fixing the bill to make it more acceptable, they bought the votes to buy the bad legislation.

Unbelievable.
Ken Goddard | 6:01 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
I have been puzzled by the actions of Georgie Porgie in all this. A wall street guy and his henchmen are leading Bush around as if they had a ring in his nose. Then it came to me. The reward will come after Bush leaves the white house and capitalizes on crony capitalism with lucrative employment and figurehead positions. Bush will be well rewarded while poor old John McCain once again goes down in flames as a result of the Bush taint. I'd like to know what John really thinks of George.
grapple | 6:01 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Its no mystery Bennett and Hatch would vote to bail out their pals who contributed most to their campaigns.
Bennett's largest 5 contributors:
Morgan Stanley
1800 contacts
JP Morgan
American Express
Citigroup
Hatch's largest contributors:
Xango LLC
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
Cerberus Capital management
St Paul Travelers Ins. Co.
Bear Stearns

Bought and paid for politicians. Lets get rid of 'em
grapple | 6:30 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
All those people out there that simply say "something has to be done" hasn't a clue about what is going on. The problem is a severely broken monetary policy. Google Keynesian economic theory and you'll quickly see this monetary theory based on debt and spending is a complete failure. Paulson and Bernanke are Keynesian theory followers and it has or undoubtedly will fail miserably. Meanwhile we will see hyper inflation and the destruction of the dollar. Buying bad debt with borrowed money in the first place should perk up anyone's attention and be seen as a broken business model. As for Hatch and Bennett, they are a disgrace and need to go. How can they call themselves "conservatives" and vote for the greatest socialist intrusion into our free markets in the history of this country? The Republican party will and should be destroyed by this saddest event in our proud history. True conservatives activate! The Constitution party is conservative to the core. Check it out. And the Republicans wonder where all their former members are going? This is why we are going to 3rd parties. Idiots!
arc | 6:38 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Well, I voted for Jason Chaffetz, and will vote for him again. I wanted Cannon gone.

Yes, I know Jason said he would not support the buyout and his democrat challenger would have voted for it.

That said,, I told Cannon to vote for something for the bailout, and he did. Banks were stopping loaning money to small developers building commercial projects. It wasn't that they were high risk, it was the lending money was that tight.

Congress was at fault for much of the mess. They knew about this two years ago, and did nothing.

The Fed caused much of the problem with the lowering of the rates, and then jacking up home equity rates over 3% in a few months.

The SEC didn't regulate how leveraged the mortgage funds were getting.

Congress had a law that required the banks to issue riskier loans than they wanted.

All of that doesn't include people overspending, including huge houses they couldn't afford, and lenders being stupid.

We needed this. It is real sad they had to add the pork to get it.

grapple | 6:44 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Jim is a prime example of a citizen that doesn't have a clue. The debt bubble that has driven the "expansion" must be deflated. How do you think bailing out 1-2 trillion of BAD DEBT is going to fuel a further expansion? Expansion of what? More debt? America is already spending 2% more than it makes each month. The bad debt needs to be liquidated through free market action. Regardless of how painful. I would rather live in a tent with my wife and 6 kids than see the socialization of our financial system. Go study up on monetary policy and you'll find the root cause of this problem is our worthless currency that will be inflated into infinity.
Who's to blame???? | 9:50 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008
Does anyone remember that the democrats were going to clean up things when they took over the majority? I think we need to wise up and accept the fact that we as a people have to take some blame, along with the banks. This is not just a one party blame. The is far more complex than that. Wake up Americans and work together not against each other. We can do with a lot less material things than we think.
Sanity | 12:05 a.m. Oct. 4, 2008
You ultra-conservative wingnuts are scary. Constitutional Party??? And the fact that Jim Matheson has joined with you on this issue is even more scary. Do you really not get it? Do you not have jobs or houses or retirement plans? Do you know that the funding Congress passed today does not give any money to "Wall Street" -- it provides badly needed liquidity to our banking system so our economy won't completely collapse. It's not a total solution, but it will help stablize things. Take a deep breath and be thankful for those in the House who showed a little courage today.
Bishop / Matheson | 1:11 p.m. Oct. 4, 2008
I don't care what else you have done...you have now won my support. When the economy collapses anyway, I can at least thank you for not dumping 20k on my family.

Add your comment

Comments are monitored. Any comments found to be abusive, offensive, off-topic, misrepresentative, more than 200 words or containing URLs will not be posted.

Words Remaining

E-mail address: For internal use only. We may want to contact you to publish your comment (not your e-mail address) in the newspaper or for a separate story idea.

Advertisement
previousnext

Latest comments

3A plays at 6:30, 5A at 2:30, 4A at 11:00

Fear and ignorance won a round in the US House. Nothing is guaranteed in...

I cried as I read this. I understand Murray skeptic's point of view however...

'Renters all ready have enough laws on their side.' Spoken like a true...

If it's about "beauty, loving, blah blah blah" go play charades or UNO or...

They are not daycare centers but most parent's do work Mon - Friday and are...

A question for President Obama, "What took you so long?" President Bush &...

Price injured; Miles has cast removed

at the same time Nash did the same to Rondo. Phoenix won in Boston last...

'I'm LDS (sic) I was not offended.I don't know anyone who was.' My Two...

U. hopes to keep clicking

Poor Ute haters...but the Yners know all about losing to TCU...! They know...

Advertisements
Advertisement