The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. At National Review Online, a report from Senate staff:

The structure is this:

The Senate will call up H.R. 1424, the text of which will be substituted with the economic rescue plan (a Dodd amendment which must have the consent of both the Majority and Minority Leaders). The only other amendment in order will be a Sanders amendment that will be handled by a voice vote.

The bill will be subject to a 60-vote threshold for passage.

Another note from an aide: “it will be the economic rescue plan, plus the FDIC improvement, plus the tax relief extension bill that we passed earlier this month ($100 million in net tax relief that’s being stalled in the House).”

The Washington Post reports much the same.

From Bloomberg:

Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) — Lawmakers received a flurry of calls demanding that they revive the U.S. economy after the House’s rejection of a $700 billion financial-rescue plan triggered a record drop in stocks, House aides said.

The calls countered an earlier outpouring of opposition to the legislation.

“A lot of people called to complain about losing their shirt,” said Sean Brown, press secretary for Republican Representative Joe Barton of Texas, who opposed the measure. Calls have gone from overwhelmingly against the bill to about 60- 40 or 70-30 in favor of it, Brown said.

Interest, attention, motivation, perhaps even a reconsideration — they can all change for constituents and members of Congress, both.

Meanwhile, the Center for Everything is a Quid Pro Quo engages in its usual reductio ad absurdum. From AP:

House members who supported the bailout have received 51 percent more in campaign contributions from the finance, insurance and real estate sectors than those who opposed the legislation, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a private group that tracks money in politics.

And in the world of attribution silliness, can’t we get a little more direct credit than this? 

An aide to one top congressional Democrat said that leader had heard from groups like the Chamber and the National Association of Manufacturers that were stressing the need to approve the legislation, not change it. The aide, who did not want the member identified, spoke on condition of anonymity.

 But wait. The NAM doesn’t make any campaign contributions! Or so we’re told, on deep background.

All credit to the Institute for Energy Research for not getting distracted by financial developments and reminding us all of a moment of legislative history, the expiration of the federal statutory moratorium on Outer Continental Shelf oil and natural gas drilling.

A statement from Thomas Pyle, IER’s president:

“Given the integral role affordable energy plays in the health and vitality of our economy, the ban on offshore energy has been tantamount to withholding food from the starving.  It defies logic, common sense, and the state of our technological capabilities all at once.  Its complete repeal could lead to one of the biggest economic stimulus this nation has ever experienced, and it could not have come at a better time.”

“Unfortunately, many of the environmental laws and regulations concerning offshore energy production are older than the ban itself, and simply do not reflect the technological breakthroughs that have enabled us to produce energy and protect the environment at the same time.  These outdated laws - and those who file frivolous lawsuits based on them - threaten to stop forward progress on greater offshore energy production.  That’s why it is critical for the American people to continue their call for increased production of the energy resources they own beneath federal lands.  Repealing this ban is just the start.”

You want a vital economy and affordable energy, repealing the ban is just a start.

First Lady Laura Bush plans to visit Sims Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Prairie Church, rural Morton County, N.D., on Thursday. The oldest Lutheran church west of the Missouri. Now that’s the prairie. (Although Sims also used to be a manufacturing town, home to a brick factory. )

From J. Piepkorn’s Flickr site.

She will also promote education with a visit to a Bismarck school.

We know that some European elites revel in Schadenfreude everytime things go awry in America, but this is ridiculous.

From the reliably predictably smugly lefty Der Spiegel, “The End of Arrogance“:

The banking crisis is upending American dominance of the financial markets and world politics. The industrialized countries are sliding into recession, the era of turbo-capitalism is coming to an end and US military might is ebbing. Still, this is no time to gloat. [Editor: The Spiegel opined, gloatingly.]

There are days when all it takes is a single speech to illustrate the decline of a world power. A face can speak volumes, as can the speaker’s tone of voice, the speech itself or the audience’s reaction. Kings and queens have clung to the past before and humiliated themselves in public, but this time it was merely a United States president.

Or what is left of him.

George W. Bush has grown old, erratic and rosy in the eight years of his presidency. Little remains of his combativeness or his enthusiasm for physical fitness. On this sunny Tuesday morning in New York, even his hair seemed messy and unkempt, his blue suit a little baggy around the shoulders, as Bush stepped onto the stage, for the eighth time, at the United Nations General Assembly.

Geez, talk about arrogance. Almost makes you want to have a financial crisis to just show them who’s boss.

UPDATE (3:45 p.m.): Worth a visit to Davids Medienkritik for a look at Spiegel over the years.

No panic in Europe or Asia, but the credit markets worsen, the New York Times reports: “Credit Strains Worsen, Global Stocks Are Mixed ”

The Washington Post’s lead editorial is good today, although one wonders how far classical allusions get you, “Congressional Neroes.”

The Hill frames the issue starkly, parochially, “Crushing failure for lobbyists.”

Many of the House Republicans who voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, H.R. 3997, cited constitutional and philosophical reasons. The Heritage Foundation’s scholars addressed key arguments in “The Housing Bailout: Constitutional Infirmities Remain, but a Ray of Hope.”

But former Attorney General Ed Meese and Stuart Butler view the issues differently, a position the NAM supports: “The Bailout Package: Vital and Acceptable.”

And the conservatives at National Review editorialize for the financial stability plan: “Failed Vote”

Again, here is NAM President John Engler:

The defeat of the bipartisan financial rescue package earlier today was uncalled for and wrong for America. This is no time for politics as usual in Washington. The severity of this situation is a reality that none of us likes, but we must deal with it. To avoid a massive financial crisis, our elected officials must lead and protect our national interests. This legislation, while not perfect, will enable the Treasury to stabilize the global financial markets and restore confidence in the U.S. financial system. We cannot afford to waste any more time on political posturing. The NAM strongly urges Members of Congress of both parties to reconsider their “no” votes on this important legislation. Our economy is at stake. Further delay will foster uncertainty and do greater damage to financial markets. 

 

UPDATE (12:25 p.m.): We’re finally getting to the Wall Street Journal editorial page. One of the roughest editorial takedowns of the Washington political establishment we’ve seen, and that’s saying a lot for the Journal. But it’s a persuasive essay, “The Beltway Crash.”

So a financial crisis flummoxes Washington and the blog goes down. If we didn’t laugh…. 

From the Reaction Round-Up, “For Many Americans, Fear and Distrust Run High.”

Alberto Tumitati, 47, a maitre d’ at an Italian restaurant in downtown Washington, said he found the House vote unsettling.

“The government should be helping the economy in any way it can — big guy or small guy,” he said, leaning against his Humvee near 19th and L streets NW. “If the big companies are in trouble, then we’re all in trouble. We need a strong economy. Why do they want to screw it up?”

Possible reporter thought: Well, yeah, but he’s a maitre d’ driving a Humvee. If only Americans lived within their own means instead of indulging in conspicuous consumption, why, we could have avoided all this.

Out on the silly fringe of nuttiness, the trial lawyers jump the loanshark with a news release: “U.S. CHAMBER CREATED CURRENT FINANCIAL CRISIS, NEW REPORT SAYS.” Shame on them.

Meanwhile, Mark Steyn has words of wisdom, as always: “If the entire global economy is so vulnerable that only the stalwart action of Barney Frank stands between it and ten years of soup kitchens, can it, in fact, be saved?

Meanwhile, the Brewster Rockit comic strip is consistently wry. And timely!

In other speculative news….

“Carbon Sale Raises $40 Million”

In the absence of a federal government program to cap the amount of carbon dioxide that power plants pump out of their smokestacks, 10 Northeastern states established the initiative to set their own limits and force all fossil fuel plants to buy allowances to cover excess emissions.

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 29, 2008 - National Association of Manufacturers President John Engler issued the following statement urging Members of Congress to reconsider their “no” vote on the agreement reached over the weekend to deal with the nation’s financial crisis:

The defeat of the bipartisan financial rescue package earlier today was uncalled for and wrong for America. This is no time for politics as usual in Washington. The severity of this situation is a reality that none of us likes, but we must deal with it. To avoid a massive financial crisis, our elected officials must lead and protect our national interests. This legislation, while not perfect, will enable the Treasury to stabilize the global financial markets and restore confidence in the U.S. financial system. We cannot afford to waste any more time on political posturing. The NAM strongly urges Members of Congress of both parties to reconsider their “no” votes on this important legislation. Our economy is at stake. Further delay will foster uncertainty and do greater damage to financial markets.

 

Random observations.

Larry Kudlow is grim.

Democrats say they’ll try to put together another plan.

C-SPAN has video of Speaker Pelosi’s speech, the partisanship of which Republican leaders are blaming for poisoning the atmosphere. Really? That much more partisan than usual? (Watching again, it does get more aggressive toward the end, promising vigorous oversight hearings by Henry Waxman.)

AP has the rollcall vote, 205-228 nos. The House website has crashed again. 

This reminds us more and more of the Panic of 1893. Fannie and Freddie are the railroads.

UPDATE:  (4:45 p.m.): Statement from Assistant Secretary Michele Davis on Emergency Economic Stabilization Act Vote:

Washington, DC– Treasury Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Director of Policy Planning Michele Davis issued the following statement on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 vote:

“The Secretary will be consulting with the President, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Congressional leaders on next steps. In the meantime, we stand ready to work with fellow regulators and use all the tools at our disposal, as we have over the last several months, to protect our financial markets and our economy.”

UPDATE: (4:57 p.m.): Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ) on Fox News says let’s stop pointing fingers, give credit to both sides, and cool it, then we can get it done. Read Rep. Barney Frank’s sharp comments, Kyl refrained from responding in kind.

UPDATE: (5:15 p.m.): Strong criticism of Pelosi at Volokh.com, the legal blog. The argument: Why not eschew partisanship and instead plea for passage of the legislation, if it’s such a crisis emergency?

The recent survey on the Employee Free Choice Act conducted by the NAM’s affiliate in Lousiana has prompted some useful commentary in the state’s media about the “card check” legislation. The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry found that the majority of Louisianans strongly preferred secret ballots as a method for forming a union, rather than being exposed to the union coercion that would result from the collection of signature cards. The Orwellian  Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)  would effectively eliminate secret ballots, and the voters in Louisiana  are telling their members of Congress that’s a bad approach. 

In a column for the Lafourche Parish daily paper, LABI’s President Dan Juneau gives a bit of perspective of how this issue may shape voters’ decisions in November:

“Louisiana voters aren’t buying what Congress is selling. It might be well for our future congressional delegation — Democrats and Republicans alike — to take a close look at what Louisiana voters think.”

Meanwhile, there’s a great  op-ed today from Baton Rouge, LA that responds to an error-laden defense of the card check bill, and sums up the impact of EFCA quite nicely:

“If the Employee Free Choice Act is passed, all of this will change for the worse.

• First, employees will be subjected to intimidation by union workers. Mr. Day should recall the reason for the Labor Relations Act of 1935: union worker intimidation.
• Second, employees will no longer have the time or full knowledge to make an informed and conscious decision.
• Third, employees will no longer have the ability to have a private ballot, making his/her opinion public for not only the union organizers but also the employers.
• Finally, a majority vote would not be needed for employees to become unionized. Union workers would only need 50 percent of employees to sign the authorization cards. Once 50 percent of authorization cards were signed, employees would be represented by a union, even if the other 50 percent of employees opposed being unionized.”

The author, who is a department store employee, realizes that this legislation isn’t designed to help workers, but rather is a tool sought by union organizers.