According to Maplight.org, House members who voted for the bailout received 54 percent more money from banks and securities firms than members who voted against it. The nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog group has also broken down the average donation from those sectors, based on lawmakers’ bailout stances and party affiliations:
All House Members//// Average Amount Received
Voting Yes…………………………..$231,877
Voting No…………………………….$150,982
Democrats
Voting Yes…………………………..$212,700
Voting No…………………………….$107,993
Republicans
Voting Yes…………………………..$273,181
Voting No…………………………….$181,688
Republicans who opposed the bill are thought to have done so because they’re rabid free market ideologues. So why hasn’t the Street showered these guys with money in the past? Were they actually pro-regulation? (I doubt it). Are they simply marginal members of their party? Or is pure free market evangelism scary even to Wall Street? My bet’s on the last one, but I’d be happy to be proven wrong. (Also, money might not explain everything)
The other interesting detail in these numbers is the small difference in donations to anti-bailout Republicans compared to pro-bailout Democrats (only about $30,000). It’s not that Wall Street doesn’t like free marketers; it’s just a bit wary of anything in the extreme. Or to put it another way, it practices risk aversion at the ballot box. Just not enough of it; obviously, that GOP stock ain’t so hot now.
