Opposing the bailout plan — from the Right

(By Ed Morrissey, Hot Air) - Two voices have arisen in opposition to the Bush administration’s bailout plan for the credit markets. William Kristol and Rep. Mike Pence have voiced early opposition to the nearly $1 trillion plan that Congress will hastily address this week. While both see the need for action, Pence especially argues that the proposal will extend the same bad practices that led to the meltdown in the first place:

“The administration’s request amounts to the largest corporate bailout in American history,” Pence said. “Congress should act, but should act in a way that protects the integrity of our free market and protects the American taxpayer from more debt and higher taxes.”

Pence offered a number of alternatives, from suspending capital gains taxes to passing a comprehensive energy bill to establishing a commission to overhaul entitlement spending, but nothing that would give the markets the financial security Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and others believe they desperately need.

“Congress must not hastily embrace a cure that may do more harm to our economy than the disease of bad debt,” Pence said.

The Indiana Republican also stokes an ongoing call to overhaul of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored mortgage giants that act as a backdrop for most Americans’ home loans. The Treasury Department could use Fannie and Freddie as financial vehicles to purchase some of the bad debt before Congress grants it broader authority.