Moore stands by his bailout vote

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Oct 26, 2008 by Tim Carpenter

By Tim Carpenter

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

OVERLAND PARK -- Rep. Dennis Moore faced the most personally tumultuous vote of his 10-year career in the U.S. Congress.

The controversial $700 billion financial recovery plan up for a vote in the House had been endorsed by Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, President Bush, presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce lauded the measure.

Taxpayers in Moore's 3rd District of Kansas hated it. Constituents from Lawrence to Leawood denounced anything smelling like a bailout of Wall Street fat cats.

Two House colleagues urged Moore to take political cover behind a "no" vote. Let members in the safer, less-competitive campaigns take the heat, they said. For God's sake, they chimed, don't be the only person in the Kansas delegation to endorse the legislation.

Moore voted "aye," but the bill failed by a slim margin. He stood firm and supported the modified version passed by the Senate and House and signed into law by Bush in October.

"The easiest vote for me would have been to vote 'no,' " Moore said. "I had to do this to try to keep our economy from sliding into a recession or worse."

Plenty of folks were watching what could turn out to be the defining moment of this campaign.

The votes

State Sen. Nick Jordan, a Shawnee Republican scrambling to gain traction in an uphill race against the Democratic incumbent, paid close attention to Moore's internal deliberation on the bailout. Jordan opposed both versions of the bill, and he pounced when Moore pushed the "yes" button on the House floor.

Jordan said Moore's votes raised questions about his grasp of economics and attention to detail. For years, Jordan said, Moore neglected warnings about mortgage and credit problems from his seat on the House Financial Services Committee.

The GOP challenger pointed to a "smoking gun" amendment co- sponsored last year by Moore. Jordan claimed it undermined attempts to regulate the financial sector, including mortgage powerhouses Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Both were taken over by the federal government after faltering under the weight of bad loans.

"After years of playing with matches," Jordan said, "Dennis Moore and Congress seemed shocked to see flames engulfing our economy."

Moore, a member of the financial services committee since elected in 1998, said Jordan was misinformed. Moore said the amendment would have improved oversight by blocking federal officials from injecting ideology into regulatory actions. In addition, he said, the amended bill hasn't become law.

"It's apparent to me," Moore said, "and I hope to a lot of people out there, he's just playing political games here and not thinking about what this is all about."

The money

Others keeping tabs on Moore's position included Wachovia Corp., among the largest financial service providers in the United States. The company was in freefall, posting a third quarter loss of $23 billion. It stood to benefit from anything Washington produced in terms of a rescue package.

Within hours of the House's initial vote on a bailout, the Wachovia "good government" political action committee cut a $2,000 check to Moore's campaign. An employee PAC associated with banking giant Wells Fargo, which is in the process of acquiring Wachovia, donated $2,500 to Moore the following day.

Moore's two-day take from interests capable of benefiting from the bailout was $64,300.

"We'll let everybody decide what it means," Jordan said.

Amounts funneled to Moore's campaign were miniscule compared to the unprecedented infusion of $700 billion in the marketplace, but Jordan said the congressman should return his latest bounty.

Moore said he had no intention of refunding donations. He said he didn't know who would contribute to his re-election when casting votes on the rescue package.

"I didn't do anything wrong," Moore said. "I'm not for sale. I'm going to call them like I see them."

The election

Jordan said Kansans going to the polls Nov. 4 will buy into assertions Moore didn't do enough to avert economic meltdown. Jordan said the public believes the bailout was too large. It ought to have incorporated suspension of the federal tax on capital gains, he said.

"There were all kinds of solutions before we got to the crisis," Jordan said.

On the flip side, Moore is convinced he protected Kansas communities rocked by home foreclosures and helped small businesses obtain credit. Moore said he didn't like every wrinkle of the package, including $100 billion in goodies added by the Senate.

"I voted to protect the people of Main Street," the Lenexa congressman said. "We were left with very few choices and little time to preserve our economic stability."

Moore said voters won't swallow Jordan's strategy of guilt by association.

"If he wants to play that game," Moore said, "I could criticize him for bringing in President Bush to raise $324,000 and say he's a clone of President Bush. But, I won't say that."