If Monday’s House defeat of the bailout plan was a big political loss for President Bush, one of the big winners was Rep. Mike Pence. The Republican congressman from Indiana carried a high profile in opposing the plan, and the Monday vote raises his stock as a leading conservative politician.

Congressman Mike Pence was among the Republicans voting against the bill.

"Today Congress took a stand for the American taxpayer and free markets. The American people rejected this corporate bailout and today the People's House did likewise," Pence said in a statement.

Pence says it is imperative that Congress come together and develop a response to the crisis that reflects the American people's belief in personal responsibility and fiscal discipline.

Many hoped the bailout plan voted down in the House monday was the answer, but Indianapolis bankruptcy Lawyer Andrew Sawin noticed a problem.

"There is broad language in the bill that indicates the federal government wants to set up plans to help people with faltering mortgages but the bill itself doesn't set up how that is going to happen," Sawin said.

Pence, who had been an outspoken Republican opponent of the plan, spoke on the House floor before Monday's vote and then flew back to Indiana after the proposal failed.

"The American people rejected the massive corporate bailout that the bush administration brought to Capitol Hill and today the people's house rejected that bailout as well," he told 6News' Rick Hightower. "I think it's imperative now that Congress set aside this failed proposal to come together in a bipartisan way and develop alternatives that will protect our free market and put the interest of taxpayers first."

Rep. Michael Pence (R., Ind.) conceded that Republicans had helped win changes to the bill, including a plan that would incorporate an insurance-based program into the bailout, which would be funded by finance companies and potentially help ease losses for taxpayers. But Rep. Pence condemned the package as "the largest corporate bailout in American history," and urged Republicans who believe in free markets and limited government to "vote in accordance with those convictions."

Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, who spoke out early against the plan first proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, circulated a letter to colleagues on Sunday: "We now have a deal that promises to bring near-term stability to our financial turmoil, but at what price?"

Enter Representative Boehner who joined with Indiana’s Mike Pence, Georgia’s Tom Price, North Carolina’s Thatcher-come-lately Virginia Foxx, and the rest of the "drilling rebels" to nationalize the issue while Pelosi and the Democrats took their summer vacation. These men are conservative and constructively -- even refreshingly -- partisan; they also refuse to back down on issues of principle. And now they are the gang that refuses to be part of the Democrat bailout scheme promoted by Pelosi and Harry Reid.

Those fighting the bill suggested that Republican activism had improved it, but that the proposal remained, as Representative Mike Pence argued in an open letter to fellow lawmakers, "the largest corporate bailout in American history," and one that "forever changes the relationship between government and the financial sector."

"We now have a deal that promises to bring near-term stability to our
financial turmoil, but at what price?" Republican Congressman Michael Pence, a
critic of the bailout, asked in a letter to colleagues.

“We now have a deal that promises to bring near-term stability to our financial turmoil, but at what price?” the Columbus Republican wrote in a statement to his colleagues today. "Economic freedom means the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail. The decision to give the federal government the ability to nationalize almost every bad mortgage in America interrupts this basic truth of our free market economy.”

Spokesmen for most of the eight other Indiana members of the House said their lawmakers are still reviewing the plan and haven’t decided how they will vote.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) urged fellow Republicans to oppose the deal in a letter.

"The decision to give the federal government the ability to nationalize almost every bad mortgage in America interrupts this basic truth of our free market economy," Pence wrote. "Republicans improved this bill but it remains the largest corporate bailout in American history, forever changes the relationship between government and the financial sector, and passes the cost along to the American people. I cannot support it."

Pence added, "Before you vote, ask yourself why you came here and vote with courage and integrity to those principles...If you came here because you believe in limited government and the freedom of the American marketplace, vote in accordance with those convictions."

"The strength of America resides in our faith in God and our faith in freedom, including our economic freedom. To have the freedom to succeed, we must also have the freedom to fail, and any solution to the present crisis must preserve that essential economic liberty," Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., said.

Democrats messed up. Republicans were robbed.

Democrats incorrectly closed a vote on the House floor in August 2007, which would have resulted in Republicans prevailing on an immigration issue, according to a special bipartisan House committee.

The committee found that "the vote tally of 212 yeas and 216 nays that was finally announced was incorrect. It is either 215 yeas and 213 nays, which would have reflected the tally at the time the chair prematurely announced the result, or 211 yeas and 217 nays."

When the vote showed 214-214, McNulty, who was the presiding officer, started to announce the vote. A tie would have meant the Democrats, who were in the majority, would have won. But in the confusion, several late-arriving members tried to cast votes by hand, rather than using the electronic vote system. At the same time, Majority Leader Hoyer was heard loudly insisting that the vote be ended.

Shortly thereafter, the electronic tally showed a "final" 215-213, meaning the Republicans would have won.

The final announced vote was 212-216. That vote was incorrect, according to the special panel. At the time, the Republicans walked out in protest. The ranking member of the special panel, Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., said the panel's report proved "the Republicans were right; the vote was wrong."

The select committee's chairman, Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., did not disagree with Pence's conclusion. He pointed to an "abundance of mistakes" that led to the erroneous tally.

When the result was announced, furious Republicans stormed out as allegations of partisan bias flew.

In the report, Delahunt said Roll Call 814 was "the perfect storm," comprising "a long and contentious week; a close vote on a sensitive issue; the lateness of the hour; urging from the Majority Leader and other Members to close the vote."

Calling the roll call "a botched motion to recommit on a bill that never became law," he recommended changes to the voting system, including the repeal of a rule introduced at the beginning of this Congress that would bar the majority from holding open a vote "for the sole purpose of reversing the outcome of such a vote."

Ultimately, the report gave two conflicting possibilities for the vote, following a second-by second-analysis of "three pivotal minutes" in the closing stages of the vote -- as two Democrats and three Republicans attempted to change votes they had already cast: "It is either 215 yeas and 213 nays . . . or 211 yeas and 217 nays."

Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.), the ranking Republican on the committee, said the vote "will forever be a black mark on the 110th Congress."

It took a special House committee more than a year of investigating, at a cost of $500,000, to validate GOP claims that majority Democrats made the wrong call on a contested vote one late night in the summer of 2007. The dispute fed into the highly partisan atmosphere on Capitol Hill that continues to this day.

"One fact is indisputable," according to the report Thursday by the six-member bipartisan panel. The final vote was "incorrect" on a procedural motion by Republicans intended to ensure illegal immigrants would not get certain benefits from an agriculture spending bill.

The investigative panel led by Reps. William Delahunt, D-Mass., and Mike Pence, R-Ind., recommended the repeal of a House rule that bars the majority from holding a vote open until enough arms can be twisted to change the outcome.

"There is nothing wrong with any majority leader seeking to have a vote closed when his side is winning," Pence said. "But there is a line that must not be crossed."

In the House, conservative Republican stalwarts like Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana and Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas have been mobilizing opponents of the bailout bill. Their message is starting to get through. Rep. Ray LaHood, a moderate Illinois Republican who is retiring from Congress, told administration officials yesterday that the measure would not pass.

Indiana Congressman Mike Pence has been making the network rounds in the last few days, saying some similar things.

"Now's the time for us to be dealing with the root causes of this economic downturn and not simply opening the cash window at the Federal Reserve and writing one bailout check after another," said Pence.

He also objects, philosophically, to the use of taxpayer money to revitalize Wall Street because, he said, the problems there can be traced to a weak dollar and the high cost of energy."Well, I'm very concerned about where it will end," said Pence.

Congressman Pence's position has resonated among Hoosier circles, WISH TV reports:

But Republican Congressman Mike Pence continues to oppose the bailout. Pence went on C-Span to make the argument.

"I'm just very concerned that our first answer here is, looking at bad decisions from Washington to Wall Street, is to say to the broad range of the American people, 'You need to pay for it'," said Pence.

Pence is not alone. Opposition to the bailout plan produced a small protest at the federal building downtown Indianapolis. ACORN, the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now, organized it.

Rep. Mike Pence, one of the first members of Congress to come out against the proposal, has gotten more than 300 calls opposing the plan and only nine in favor. The more than 500 e-mails the Columbus Republican's office has received on the issue are similarly overwhelmingly opposed.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) linked the issues in a release earlier this week.

"Passing an energy bill that lessens the price of gasoline at the pump through more domestic drilling, wind, solar, nuclear and conservation would bring relief to family budgets and create American jobs," Pence said.

"My sense is that the meeting did not abate the growing discontent," said Representative Mike Pence, Republican of Indiana, who opposes the plan.

`There is growing discontent in the heartland of America over the transfer of nearly a trillion dollars of taxpayer money to Wall Street,'' said Representative Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican.

"Nationalizing every bad mortgage in America is not the solution," Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) said on MSNBC’s "Hardball" on Monday.

Congressman Pence was on "Your World with Neil Cavuto" yesterday to talk about the Bush Administration's proposed bailout plan. Transcript and video are available from Fox News. An excerpt of the interview is below:

CAVUTO: Well, you know what? And, by the way, it's not the way to calm Wall Street down, Congressman, as you know.

PENCE: Right.

CAVUTO: When this news came early today that Barney Frank had an understanding — I'm probably poorly paraphrasing it — with the White House to provide some sort of a mortgage relief inclusive of the package, the market, which already had been down, just fell another 75 points.

PENCE: Right.

CAVUTO: So, I think the markets read into this — not that they're great soothsayers, Congressman, as you know — but the markets read into this, game lost. What do you say?

PENCE: Well, Neil, I — look, I think you just examine what's going on with the price of oil, and you have also talked about what is going on with the American dollar today. The world markets are looking at this and saying, "Good heavens, the United States of America is about to add a trillion dollars to its $9.6 trillion national debt." And that suggests inflation. That drives up the cost of oil. It drives down the value of our currency. Look, if we have a liquidity problem in this — in this marketplace — and, to some extent, we do, there's no question — let's pursue policies that will — will release the — the entrepreneurial capital that's tied up in this country because of higher taxes.

CAVUTO: All right.

Although President Bush warned Monday that the world is watching to see whether Washington can act quickly to shore up its financial markets, Pence argued that "nationalizing every bad mortgage in America is not the answer."

"Republicans should demand that Congress take time in deliberating the merits of any legislation until the facts and competing solutions can be fully debated," the Columbus Republican said in a letter he started circulating Monday on Capitol Hill. "We should demand consideration of free market alternatives to massive government spending, and we should fight to pay for the solution through budget cuts and reform instead of more debt or taxes."

Pence said there might be a need for short-term government intervention but "not of the magnitude that's being discussed."

He said he would vote against the bailout, even if his is the deciding vote and the president personally asks him to support the bill.

Pence said he hopes Republicans will balk. In a letter he sent to 198 House Republicans, Pence urged them to oppose the plan and move more slowly on any alternative.

Congress is scheduled to adjourn at the end of this week or early next week to campaign for re-election.

He said there are alternatives to the Bush approach, including cutting the capital-gains tax to release capital into the market and freezing bank dividends for two or three months.

He said if taxpayers are tapped for as much as $1 billion for the bailout, the federal budget should be cut that amount.

"We should fight to pay for the solution through budget cuts and reform instead of more debt or taxes," Pence said in the letter.

In a letter to colleagues, conservative Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., wrote: "To avoid a slide into socialism for our financial sector, Congress must consider all available options to put our nation's economy back on its feet. There are no easy answers but there are alternatives to massive government spending."

Former Chairman Mike Pence (R-Ind.) came out against the idea of a government bailout in a statement on Saturday.

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

"Congress must not hastily embrace a cure that may do more harm to our conomy than the disease of bad debt," Representative Mike Pence of Indiana said.

Rep. Mike Pence told FOX News he saw no reason to rush into a plan that had been properly evaluated.

"Don't accept it. Don't believe it. Whether I'm in Washington, DC or a used car lot. Anytime somebody tells me I've got to do the deal now, it usually means they're going to get the better part of deal," said Pence, R-Ind.

"I understand that our financial markets are in turmoil and the president was right to call for decisive action. But nationalizing every bad mortgage in America is not the right answer," he said.

Some conservative Republicans also expressed unhappiness. Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) said, "Our financial markets are in turmoil and the administration was right to call for decisive action to prevent further harm to our economy, but nationalizing every bad mortgage in America is not the answer."

"You cannot nationalize every failing business in America," an angry Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana told me. "In a free-market society, you are free to either succeed or fail, and if government now becomes the safety net for every private enterprise too big to fail, we are going to end up with an economy that looks a lot more like France than like the United States," the conservative House leader said.

Human Events: "Dangers in the Bailout"

This is being done, the proposal said, to stabilize the financial market and protect the taxpayer. Some Congressional conservatives are cautioning against doing too much too fast. In a statement issued Saturday, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind) 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. To have the freedom to succeed, we must preserve the freedom to fail. Any solution to our present crisis must preserve our essential economic freedom."

Pence and like-minded conservatives are right. Doing too much too fast is how the government creates big problems by solving smaller ones.

In case you missed it, Congressman Pence was the first lawmaker to oppose the Bush Administration bailout plan, and his statement is available HERE.

**UPDATE**

U.S. News and World Report: "Congress Nears Historic Vote on $700 Billion Bailout Plan for Wall Street"

On the Republican side, Mike Pence, a conservative House lawmaker from Indiana, on Monday began circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter, urging GOP members to vote "no" on the bailout. He also tried to throw up speed bumps. "Nationalizing every bad mortgage in America is not the answer," Pence wrote to colleagues.

Pence acknowledged the push for fast action but said, "I'm doubtful that the only thing standing between us and a financial panic is for Congress to sign this week, on behalf of the American taxpayer, a $700 billion check over to the Treasury."

Indiana Congressman Mike Pence, a former broadcaster, is now working to pass the Broadcaster Freedom Act, which would ensure the Fairness Doctrine never returns. His efforts have been stalled, however, by the Democratic leadership of the House. Pence is trying to gather enough signatures on a discharge petition, which would force an up or down vote on the Broadcaster Freedom Act this fall. Pence has 196 of the 218 signatures he needs to force a vote, but no Democrats have yet signed on. Odds are that even those Democrats who are sympathetic won't buck the leadership before November's election.

Congressman Pence is getting district media coverage regarding his reaction to the turmoil in the financial markets and how the federal government is responding.

WISH-TV's Jim Shella: "Pence leads GOP bailout backlash"

"I'm very troubled about what amounts to nationalizing one of the largest businesses in this country," said Pence. Pence said that recent White House actions could cause the U.S. economy to look more like the economy of France. He was unmoved by the president's comments Thursday.

"The American people can be sure we will continue to act to strengthen and stabilize our financial markets and improve investor confidence," said Bush.

Pence is worried about keeping the federal government financially strong. Instead of orchestrating bailouts, the president, he said, should address the weak dollar and the high cost of energy.

"Now's the time for us to be dealing with the root causes of this economic downturn and not simply opening the cash window at the federal reserve and writing one bailout check after another," said Pence.

View video of Congressman Pence's interview on the 6:00 News HERE.

Our own U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, a Republican generally aligned with Bush administration policy, parts company with the administration over its recent actions on behalf of financial giants. Pence is quoted in Thursday's Washington Times as decrying the political ramifications of what he refers to as "nationalizing" failing businesses in America.

"If government now becomes the safety net for every private enterprise too big to fail, we are going to end up with an economy that looks a lot more like France than like the United States," Pence told the newspaper in a strong departure from administration policy.

What book is on your nightstand right now?

The book Troublesome Young Men [by Lynne Olson]. It’s a fascinating and very well-written book about the anti-appeasement movement in the British Parliament and ultimately the rise of Winston Churchill.

"You cannot nationalize every failing business in America," said Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, chairman of the House Republican Study Committee. "If government now becomes the safety net for every private enterprise too big to fail, we are going to end up with an economy that looks a lot more like France than like the United States."

Conservative leaders like Mr. Pence who cheered the administration's decision last week to allow Lehman Brothers, the giant investment bank, go bankrupt rather than bankrolling it, are now attacking the White House's third corporate bailout of the month - sparking an intraparty debate.

JIM LEHRER: Republicans insisted the measure is a hoax. Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana said it has so many restrictions, it won't make any difference at all.

REP. MIKE PENCE (R), Ind.: The drill-nothing Congress has brought a bill that actually includes basically a drill-almost-nothing provisions. They say yes to drilling, but not in Alaska, not in the eastern gulf, and not within 50 miles. On behalf of our constituents who are struggling under record gasoline prices, end this charade. Stop playing politics with America's energy independence.

“I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the passing of my friend and mentor, J. Patrick Rooney. Pat Rooney was a man who had a head for business and a heart for ‘the least of these.’ Pat Rooney was an inspiring leader, a good friend and a great man.

“In addition to building one of the most successful business careers in Indiana, Pat Rooney conceived of and tirelessly promoted reform in the areas of education and health care.

“He will always be remembered for having launched the first privately funded educational choice program in America, an idea that has been replicated in dozens of cities across America to the benefits of tens of thousands of underprivileged children.

“He will also be remembered as the father of the Health Savings Account, the leading free-market reform to the current crisis of the uninsured in America. His unshakeable belief in the ability of the individual to make their own health care choices has shaped the American health care debate for the past decade.

“I will miss my friend and mentor Pat Rooney on a very personal level. His ability to challenge and encourage those of us who knew him well was unique among his peers, and I will miss him greatly.

“May God bless the life and memory of J. Patrick Rooney.”

In short, the welfare of others simply mattered to Mr. Rooney. He lived accordingly.

The Golden Rule, as it appears in Matthew 7:12, exhorts: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you." Would that more American executives could come as close to fulfilling that command as Mr. Rooney did.

Speaking on the floor, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) appealed directly to the chamber's top Democrat, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California.

"Speaker Pelosi, respectfully, you could turn off the lights on the House floor, you could shut off the microphones, but you cannot silence the majority of the American people that want a comprehensive bill and want to drill here, drill more, drill now," Pence said.

Reps. Mike Pence (Ind.) and Rep. Louis Gohmert (Texas) were also common fixtures in front of the Will Rogers statue for the daily press conferences, appearing eight and nine times, respectively.