“Martial law in America if we voted no”

Posted at OpenCongress.org

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) made this statement on the House floor last Thursday, the night before the House reversed course and passed the bailout:

“The only way they can pass this bill is by creating and sustaining a panic atmosphere. … Many of us were told in private conversations that if we voted against this bill on Monday that the sky would fall, the market would drop two or three thousand points the first day and a couple of thousand on the second day, and a few members were even told that there would be martial law in America if we voted no. That’s what I call fear-mongering, unjustified, proven wrong. We’ve got a week, we’ve got two weeks to write a good bill. The only way to write, to pass a bad bill: keep the panic pressure on.”

Needless to say, Sherman voted against the bailout.