The Republicans Have Blood on their Hands

The Republican party has blood on its hands. All morning, as I've dialed around on the House vote, it's been apparent to me that the G.O.P. leadership didn't have the votes to get this sucker passed.

It didn't matter that those Republicans who took a run at the Paulson plan--Eric Cantor of Virgina, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin--didn't have a enough juice to keep the Republican conservatives from killing this bill.

The conservatives had been warned repeatedly that this could happen and all but 66 Republicans decided to say, screw it. There were Democrats who didn't want to be part of this either but it was primarily a Republican killer. The leadership has lost control of its party and now it's anyone's guess what could pass with this crowd.

Throughout the morning I spoke with Republican staffers and they had no idea where this vote was going although they were convinced that if Pelosi let the vote go forward they'd have enough Democrats. But it became clear that Pelosi was no more sure than anyone else.

For a generation, Republicans have played the patriotism card, playing Lee Greenwood songs at rallies and condemning their opponents as soft on the flag. I'm sure those who voted to kill this rescue package were convinced it was bad for America. I'm sure it wasn't easy to buck party and the business lobby.

But let's have no more lectures about flag lapel pins and the pledge of allegiance. House Republicans had the chance to take a tough vote and they punted.