Palin the Populist

She killed. She had him at "Nice to meet you. Hey, can I call you Joe?" She was the star. He was the second male lead, the good-natured best friend of the leading man. She was not petrified but peppy.

Peggy Noonan

PIGGY POLS IN HOG HEAVEN WITH PORK-PACKED PACT

"This is how Washington works," said Keith Ashdown of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington research group. "A big pot of pork is their recipe for final passage."

The special provisions include tax breaks for:

* Manufacturers of kids' wooden arrows - $6 million.

* Puerto Rican and Virgin Is- lands rum producers - $192 million.

* Wool research.

* Auto-racing tracks - $128 million.

* Corporations operating in American Samoa - $33 million.

* Small- to medium-budget film and television productions - $10 million.

Another measure inserted into the bill appears to be a bald-faced bid aimed at winning the support of Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), who voted against the original version when it went down in flames in the House on Monday.

That provision - a $223 million package of tax benefits for fishermen and others whose livelihoods suffered as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill - has been the subject of fervent lobbying by Alaska's congressional delegation.

Some of the pork-barrel measures buried in the financial rescue package had been contained in a bill that previously passed the Senate, but died in the House.

The Congressional Budget Office said the package of breaks - including obvious pork and some more defensible tax-relief measures - will add about $112 billion to budget deficits over the next five years because the bill doesn't contain enough offsetting revenue hikes to keep the budget balanced.

UPDATED:

Frelinghuysen Statement on Economic Rescue Plan

Evaluating Senate Modifications

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ-11) today issued the following statement on the progress of the economic stabilization package being considered in the Senate:

“All Americans are concerned about the stability of our economy and are worried about the current condition of the financial markets. Our economy is built on credit, and we need to get credit back into the markets to help large and small businesses keep and create jobs!

Congress and the Administration have more work to do, and we should resolve to work every day from now on until we have done what is needed to stabilize financial markets and protect the American taxpayer.

As you may have seen, the United States Senate is taking up its own version of the economic stabilization legislation. I am actively evaluating the package being considered and am encouraged by many of the improvements made. I understand that many people are frustrated by the delay, but it is important that we strengthen this package to protect taxpayers.

Reported improvements include:

• Temporarily raises the FDIC insurance limit from $100,000 to $250,000. America’s depositors need to know that their money is safe.

• Increases Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) exemption sparing millions of middle-class families from an unfair tax increase.

• Tax relief for middle-class families and American businesses. These include tuition deductions, child tax credits, and the research and development tax credits.

• The extension of renewable energy tax incentives.

• Mental Health Parity legislation: This legislation requires that group health plans cover mental illness and addiction the same way they cover other illnesses. I am a co-sponsor of this bill.

• I am also encouraged by actions of the Securities and Exchange Commission to begin rolling back “Mark-to-Market” accounting rules. This move could increase liquidity for banks and other financial institutions.

Some concerns remain from the legislation:

• The legislation still lacks clear parameters and shifts major powers to unelected bureaucrats in the Treasury. Congress will need to have more aggressive oversight.

• The bill needs to do more to get at the core problem which created this mess – a plummeting housing market.

There is clear need for a bipartisan solution, and I feel we are moving toward one. In light of this, I was disappointed to hear of House Democrat’s opposition to extending tax relief for American families. This stabilization package will ask a great deal of taxpayers, and I believe it is important to extend assistance to them as well!”

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'Un-American' Bailout, Paulson Should Have Quit, Gingrich Says

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September 28, 2008 12:46 PM

ABC News' Tahman Bradley and Arnab Datta Report: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., on Sunday described Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's request for billions of dollars to buy debt from struggling Wall Street financial firms as "un-American" and said the secretary should have stepped down.

Gingrich even expressed concern with Paulson's connections to Wall Street. The treasury secretary served as the chairman of a major global investment banking and securities firm before joining the Bush administration.

"You have the former Chairman of Goldman Sachs asking for 700 billion dollars, and in his initial request, asking for it in such an un-American way that I think he should have resigned," said Gingrich. "I think Paulson has terminally misunderstood the nature of the American system. Not just no review, no judicial review, no congressional accountability. Give me 700 billion dollars, 700 BILLION dollars! 'I'll be glad to spend it for you.' That's a centralization of power that is totally un-American."

Watch Gingrich's remarks HERE.