As Wall Street Bailout Talks Continue, House Democrats Form a Skeptics Caucus

Membership

Dear reader,

We're going big with a new Mother Jones Corruption Project, because we realized so many of today's stories come down to corruption: a system that is consistently manipulated by those with wealth and power. We aim to hire, build a team, and do time-intensive reporting to understand how we got here and how we might get out, publishing a major series of investigations in the summer of 2020. If you like how that sounds, please read the plan and join us with a tax-deductible donation so we can go all in.

Monika Bauerlein, CEO

"Corruption Isn’t Just Another Scandal. It’s the Rot Beneath All of Them": That's where we explain why Mother Jones is going big with a new Corruption Project. We aim to hire, build a team, and do time-intensive reporting to understand corruption as a pattern, not just isolated incidents. If you like how that sounds, help us go all in with a tax-deductible donation today.

As Capitol Hill negotiations on the Wall Street bailout proceeded on Friday afternoon, Representative Brad Sherman, a Democrat who has questioned the under-construction plan, sent out this brief message to his fellow House Democrats:

Skeptical about the Administration’s $700 Billion Bailout Plan?

Dear Democratic Colleague:

Please come to a meeting of the Skeptics Caucus to discuss President Bush’s $700 billion bailout bill. One staffer may attend with you.

The main story today about the bailout is that House Republicans are raising objections to the proposal and blocking a deal. But there are House Democrats worried that the deal-which would let the federal government buy up $700 billion of bad paper from Big Finance firms– is moving too fast and is too problematic. How many? Let’s see who shows.