At-risk lawmakers vote 'no' on $700B bailout

Two-thirds of Congress' most vulnerable members--Republicans and Democrats alike--voted against the massive economic bailout package, opting to protect their seats on Election Day rather than follow their party leaders off a political cliff.

"We're all worried about losing our jobs," Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said, endorsing the bill and voting for it after leading a rebellion against an earlier version last week. "Most of us say, 'I want this thing to pass, but I want you to vote for it, not me,'" he said, speaking for colleagues who have tougher re-election fights than his own.

The 228-205 rejection of the $700 billion rescue package for the financial markets reflected the every-man-for-himself posture of lawmakers with no plan to prop up the economy five short weeks from the election. Of the 19 most vulnerable House lawmakers tracked by The Associated Press, 13 of them voted against the bill despite pleas from their party leaders to pass it.

Many of them said they could not vote for a bill that would allow some executives of the failed companies to be paid many times what their cash-strapped constituents could ever hope to earn.

Among the "no" voters was Rep. Nick Lampson of Texas, widely considered the most vulnerable incumbent Democrat from a heavily Republican Houston-area district. He reflected on his constituents hit hard earlier this month by Hurricane Ike, saying in a telephone interview that calls to his office ran at least 15-1 against the package.

"Think of all the people who have lost houses. If they lost a $100,000 house, the most the government can give is $28,100," Lampson said.

Contrast that, he suggested, with the $500,000 limit on compensation packages for executives of the failed companies that would participate in the bailout. "I thought it was a $700 billion boondoggle that I thought had a huge, dramatic impact on our citizenry."

Of the 11 most-endangered Republican incumbents, eight voted no:

Reps. Don Young of Alaska, Marilyn Musgrave of Colorado, Tim Walberg of Michigan, Joe Knollenberg of Michigan, Sam Graves of Missouri, Robin Hayes of North Carolina, Steve Chabot of Ohio and Dave Reichert of Washington.