Uncertainty

The House has just defeated the $700 billion bailout plan and the liberal media and spin masters are out in full force.

It is uncertainty which is driving down the markets, not the fact that this hastily assembled check to Wall Street was not passed. Upon hearing the news that the bill was defeated, the Dow plummeted more than 700 points. In a matter of 30 minutes however it had almost gained half of the loss back. (-410 as of this writing)

I applaud the GOP for returning to its roots of small government and restrained spending. The Bush Administration has alienated many conservatives, including this one, with regards to a massive federal government and spending money like John Edwards in a beauty salon. (One of my favorite lines from Mike Huckabee)

You will hear liberal commentators claim this is the last straw in a broken economy and that the markets could lose up to a 1/3 of their value. This is simply not the case. This is not the end of the world. And on the contrary to Chris Matthews commentary, you will still be able to withdraw money from the ATM.

There is no need for panic. There is however a need for action. But our leaders must ensure the actions they are taking will not be mere band-aid solutions; which might quell panic in the short term but will have no lasting importance.

I am also pleased to see more than 90 members of the Democrat majority vote against today's resolution. The more deficit hawks we can send to Washington, the better off this country will be.

San Francisco Pelosi did not listen to the concerns of House Republicans nor the concerns from members of her own party. Leadership from both sides will now convene back at the table and reach a more amicable agreement.

This is not a failure for the McCain campaign either. The Maverick went to Washington to start a dialogue, to show the public he is a doer and not a talker. Barack Obama phoned in his contribution to the discussion and only came to the White House when summoned by President Bush.

Congress will go back to work and this resolution might pass in the coming days. But at the very least, a real debate is going on and issues that matter to every American are being discussed in the public arena.

This, my friends, is democracy in action.