I think we've established the Senate's price...

First, the bailout bill proposal was 3 pages.  By the time the house overturned it, it was a bit over 100 pages.  

Last night, the senate passed the bailout bill.  By the time it was passed, it had reached 451 pages.  Granted, there were about $100 billion in tax cuts written, but by the time the senate handed this monstrosity to the United States taxpayer, every pork-barrel spending plan that had been defeated, either before it came to the floor or on the floor, had been tacked on.  Otherwise, there's no way it would have passed.  Not against the public outcry against it.

The bill passed 74-25.  For those who wanted to see the bill fail, there's a roll-call of who voted how here.  If you feel strongly enough, remember this, and make sure your senator who voted yes does not get re-elected, and your senator who voted no does.

There's an anecdote about Winston Churchill that I (and others) feel is applicable to the situation.  The story goes that Churchill, at some dinner or other, asked some duchess or other if she'd sleep with him for a million pounds (about 5 million in today's pounds).  She answered that she would, of course.  The next question he asked was "What about for ten pounds?"  She answered that of course she wouldn't--what kind of woman did he think she was, anyway?  His response fits today's senate, as well as yesterday's duchess: "Madam, I believe we have established that.  Now we are haggling over price."

Here's hoping our congress critters in the House hold their "virtue" a little dearer than those in the senate.  Be prepared, though, to fire them, too.