Citizens of Evansville, Indiana stood out in front of Congressman Ellsworth's office to protest his signing of the bailout bill, saying that the legislation is unethical and robs the taxpayers. Though Ellsworth insists that his vote for the second draft of the legislation was a vote for a necessary evil, voters liberal and conservative alike have united against the $700 billion out-of-pocket charge that Congress has made on their behalf.

Ellsworth says that the act is expected to help struggling businessmen and homeowners and hopes that his constituents will accept it in time, but many are wary of Congressional and Presidential promises made over the past decade that have been broken. Could this vote mean the end of Ellsworth's career?

With Red states turning Blue as the public becomes aware of McCain's economic policy which favors the wealthy and fear for the next steps abroad in Iran with regard to foreign policy, Idahoan Republicans are beginning to take a closer look at Sali and see the failed policies of the current administration reflected in him at home.

His recent confrontations in Washington with his colleagues and iffy spending habits are starting to turn many Republicans off. Five such members have turned to Minnick to make their voices heard, choosing to do what they feel is right for the betterment of the nation instead of following party lines.

Recently, the Republican party both at the congressional and presidential levels has come under fire for negative ads misleading voters with biased information against their opponents.

A recent ad by Sali featuring negative information and false attacks on Minnick was recently pulled by the Sali campaign after the FCC acknowledged it's violation of the regulations. Because the ad made a direct reference to Minnick and did not feature Sali's image for the appropriated four seconds required to make a political ad legitimate, Sali's campaign managers pulled the ad to avoid further reprimands.

The spokesperson for Minnick's campaign released the following statement:

“This is yet another part of the pattern of Bill Sali’s ineffectiveness and incompetence. He is not following the simple laws governing his congressional office and his campaign. He spends almost $4,000 per month in taxpayer dollars to keep a swanky campaign office outside his district, he knowingly files false campaign finance reports and he refuses to pay off more than $125,000 in debt from his last campaign. Bill Sali must be held accountable for his violations of the law.”

Diaz-Balart's smear campaign targeting Garcia released an ad last month which made supposed links between Garcia and Enron's disgraced founder, Ken Lay. Diaz-Balart blatantly said that Garcia went to Lay to gain favors and win himself the position of a federal energy regulator.

However, Garcia has responded to his opponents insinuations, with a simple "do your homework" response. Garcia said that he did indeed answer some calls from Lay and a dozen other energy providers and traders who were interested in his policies and stance on energy policy. Garcia said that at no point was he attempting to gain favors from Lay. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Garcia: "The last thing on earth you want being a regulator is owing this guy [Lay] anything."

Last week, Murphy responded to an outcry from the physically disabled patrons who are disappointed with the dirty inconvenient public transportation system in New Britain, CT. Accepting an invite from one of his constituents, Murphy rode a New Britain Transportation Co. bus from Bank Street to Farmington and concluded that the bus's age and lack of amenities were indeed problems, which require federal amending.

Murphy: “It’s great to have firsthand experience, seeing the problems we have with local buses. This way I can press the case for more federal funding.”

Murphy insists that since the economic stimulus package will not go into effect for another few weeks, emphasis should also be put on transportation renewal. The buses should be replaced every ten years, but the 12 year state mandate freezes funding until the buses are almost completely run down. Murphy has vowed to do what he can in Congress to shorten the cycle to ten years, but is concerned that the limited funds provided by the stimulus package ($38.9 million is available only to “urbanized areas” – those with more than 50,000 people) will keep the seriously underfunded transportation system from receiving adequate attention.

Recently, Himes addressed the issue of expensive health care premiums for the self-employed and the small businessman by citing one example of a mother who was forced to choose between paying for her personal health care and Little League for her child. Christine McCarthy, a PhD in psychiatry with her own practice, recently stood up with Himes to support his campaign and bring down health insurance rates for at-home professionals.

Himes, who is an avid supporter of shifting the health coverage system away from one which provides incentives to curing illness to one that instead strives to prevent health problems in the first place, says that it is Congress's duty to stand up for the health needs of America's private business person.

Himes: "If you have a good plan, you keep it, but somebody like Christy can buy into the government pool. Christy is a professional, she's a psychiatrist with a PhD. It just shows this is a problem that effects everybody."

An advocate for pro-choice, Blythe believes that giving women the right to choose is a basic right. However, he does want to eventually limit the number of abortions in Brevard County and nationwide, not by revoking a woman's right to choose, but by "making every pregnancy a wanted pregnancy."

Blythe: "I feel strongly that we should reduce the number of abortions - and the way to do that is to make every child a wanted child and every pregnancy a wanted pregnancy. For this reason I have worked with other parents in Brevard County to make objective birth control information more accessible to our young women through the Brevard County School District."

Given the grassroots initiative by county residents to revise the sex-ed program in public schools to make them more accurate and detailed, it seems that Blythe is on the right path to pleasing his progressive constituency.

Recently, Diaz-Balart aired an ad featuring Martinez during his 1990 indictment for bribery and real estate development extortion that essentially made Martinez appear to be political convict. The 30-second spot focuses on Martinez's past conviction, but does not portray the trial in an entirely truthful light.

Martinez was indeed tried and convicted, but later filed an appeal, won, and his 1996 acquittal from previous charges. Diaz-Balart is saying the purpose behind the ad is to stir up public opinion regarding where Martinez comes up with the funds to furnish his back pay and legal fees, implying that Martinez illegally used city funds granted to him as Mayor by the city council. So what is Diaz-Balart really trying to do? Is he digging through Martinez's already reconciled past because he's out of attack points?

As a member of four unions himself, Franken is proud to endorse the Employee Free Choice Act which allows Union members to vote without authoritarian pressure from their employers. Coleman openly opposes the Act, saying that the bill is a misnomer and that union employees actually prefer the secret ballot. Franken states the opposite.

Franken: "The National Labor Relations Board is responsible for preventing intimidation of workers whether is be by unions or by employers."

When it comes to a change in transportation methods in Illinois, Roskam and Morgenthaler both agree that a railway merger will play some point in easing congestion for Illinois commuters, but Roskam does not favor property buy-ups in order to expand O'Hare.

If the airport, which is the second busiest airport in the US according to a poll taken by the FAA last year, is to be expanded in order to accommodate all of the extra traffic, then, says Roskam, the face of Basenville will completely change. The expansion may jeopardize local businesses.

At such an uncertain moment for our nation's economy, is it prudent of Morgenthaler to want to further foreclosure risks for homeowners and small businesses?

Instead of Congress "throwing money at the problems" on Wall Street, Bilbray says that Washington should have analyzed the issue in 2004 when the companies were first showing signs of overspending and Wall Street started to look weak to the shareholders.

Bilbray likens the Wall Street bailout to Welfare reform, and says that Congress merely feeds the problem with taxpayer dollars and then wonders why, five years later, there's more poverty.

Bilbray: "After we defeated the item on Monday[9/29], you saw the administration say 'Okay, we'll go change an accounting process called, Mark-to-Market.' They're starting to do that. Before the defeat, they said, 'we can't change anything.' We needed to force the people to the table, do the right thing first, and then justify it to the American people."

According to new statistics presented by the Bureau of Labor this month, the unemployment level continues to grow and in September another 159,000 jobs were lost bringing the grand total in 2008 up beyond three-quarters of a million people previously employed without work.

A frustrated Barnes blames all of the financial on Graves, saying that he should have seen it coming, he voted for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac credit increases and he opposed cracking down on CEO's who had been known to falsify numbers. While these overzealous remarks are not backed up with any hard evidence by Barnes, Graves has made some strange remarks with regard to what he calls "mandatory spending", e.g. medicare, medicaid and social security. Graves says this is the problem in Washington. The reason why the economy is in the pit is because Democrats want to "increase mandatory spending". Priorities?

Barrow introduced the Senate sponsored SHOP Act earlier this year to establish a nationwide health insurance purchasing pool for small-businesses to make health care more affordable and accessible. Thrilled with this initiative, the NFIB has endorsed Barrow for being, "such strong representation championing their issues in the U.S. House."

Barrow: “Small businesses are the engine of our economy. We need to take care of them so that they can continue to take care of us. This year I introduced the SHOP Act to make it easier and cheaper for small businesses to get health insurance. Passing that bill in the next Congress will be one of my highest priorities.”

In order to assist Rhode Islanders financially trapped by the foreclosure crisis, the HUD and Reed, as a senior member of the Banking Committee, have worked in conjunction to award the state a $19.6 million grant as its share of a $3.92 billion dollar federal program designed to curb foreclosure impacts.

The money comes from the CDBG program and is designed to help communities suffering under the economic weight of mass foreclosures regain their footing and re-stimulate the economy at the state level.

Reed: "Vacant, foreclosed homes can invite crime and drag down neighborhood property values. This federal aid will help protect homeowners and neighborhoods by allowing local communities to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed homes and abandoned properties across the state."

Kilroy points out that when Bush first came to Congress, gas was $1.45 a gallon, and has now almost tripled in cost nationwide. This sort of energy depletion must be analyzed at the source, and Kilroy has a plan to address that. It is not realistic, she says, to think that America can drill itself out of this problem. Right now car companies such as Mercedes, GM are already working to produce a working, efficient, electric American car to put a permanent damper on every day American petroleum use.

Kilroy also thinks that if the 68 acres owned by oil companies and being held by the government for domestic production uses isn't being used for those purposes, then the government should revoke the companies leases and use said fuel to provide funding for research and production of renewable energy.

Kilroy: Government must focus its resources on helping businesses and universities to develop the technology and commercialize it. Ultimately, government investment in hybrid, biofuel, electric, hydrogen and other technologies will result in the creation of good paying advanced energy manufacturing jobs.

Recently, Judy Baker revealed her new economic plan to keep jobs in America and in Missouri to help stabilize economic distress on her turf. She is seeking a tax credit for smaller companies who work with larger manufacturers and small business owners to help them continue with their business in light of the unstable market.

Her plan, specifically focused on stimulating the American manufacturing sector calls for:

1) Crack down on companies that inflate prices and then write off the losses.

2) Close a loophole for writing off expenses associated with moving jobs overseas.

3) Restrict government research money to companies with at least 50 percent of manufacturing in the U.S.

4) Make permanent the tax credit for research.

5) Pay employers $1,500 for each new American-made job.

She has already received positive feedback from Bill Hoover of B&K;Manufacturing, Inc., who hopes that Baker's new plan will help him continue to do business and keep the large companies, which he services coming back.

Luetkemeyer is skeptical, however, and says that Baker's plan is "irresponsible" when looked at with regard to the state of the economy. However, as he has only given vague answers in response to Baker's solutions for the local businessman, is Luetkemeyer's creating dissent without any counter-proposal evidence of inaction?

Despite his being out fund raised by Guthrie almost 3-1, Boswell's higher rank in public opinion and his name recognition among constituents due to his four years as state agriculture commissioner.

During a debate last month between Boswell and Guthrie, the Republican candidate spoke at length about what he believes is abuse in the earmarks process over the last ten years in Washington, saying that the process is completely out of control. Guthrie cited the $223 million Bridge to Nowhere project in Ketchikan, Alaska as an inappropriate use of federal earmarks and the proposed plan for Hartland Parkway construction as an appropriate use of earmarks. All of this to which Boswell replied, "I'm not a supporter of earmarks."

Amongst other subjects, the two also differed on the subject of troop removal from Iraq. Guthrie stated that Washington must call for a pull-up of generals, while Boswell said that rash actions do our servicemen and women working hard to do their duty a great disservice.

As an advocate for NCLB reform, Esch is committed to finding ways to ensure that children in low-income households get the attention and funding they require instead of being one of the first deemed negligible on the admitted list of federal budget cuts.

To make this a reality, if elected, Esch presents a 4-part plan to improve the educational system at the federal level.

1- invest in early childhood education, i.e. preschool to create a strong basis for a child's education.

2-advocate for the reform of NCLB to restore flexibility at the state level and fully fund federal mandates

3-work with schools to secure an emergency program to guarantee that learning in a safe environment for all students is a key priority.

4-Promote initiatives to make higher education more affordable.

After Latham secured his vote against for the revised bailout bill, Greenwald came forward to express her dismay with her opponent's decision.

Greenwald: “I am disappointed that Tom Latham voted against fixing the financial mess he helped create. Latham’s years of support for George Bush’s failed economic policies and deregulation of the financial markets while taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Wall Street put America in the economic crisis it faces today. I'm just glad he didn't get his way when he supported George Bush's plan to privatize Social Security and risk America's retirement safety net on Wall Street. And to add insult to injury, this vote was also a vote against providing tax relief to middle income families and disaster victims in Iowa.

Greenwald states that she is pleased that the bill managed to pass despite Latham's protest, because the new stipulations are meant to assuage financial burden for middle-class Americans hit by the unreformed AMT by unfreezing credit. Even though Greenwald says that she does not believe HR 1424 will make all of the changes necessary on Wall Street, disaster has been averted at least for the time being until real changes can be made.

Greenwald: Through no fault of their own, Iowans who have planned and saved for retirement and families trying to send their children to college would have been forced to delay their plans. Something needed to be done, and Tom Latham voted to do nothing.

Although No Child Left Behind has received some significant criticisms, the largest being the pigeonholing of child and teacher potential and severe underfunding, Moore has not given up hope that the program can be fixed.

Moore sponsored a bill, KPAC to provide the missing funding promised by NCLB to require the full funding granted to NCLB through the amended Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Moore also believes that extra help needs to be extended to special needs students that NCLB has not fully stipulated.

Moore: "There are some changes that need to be made in No Child Left Behind. To require special needs and special education children to meet the testing requirements of No Child Left Behind is not reality. There are some children, because of their learning disabilities, who will never be able to compete with so-called regular education children in testing."

Seals supports strengthening the US energy policy through tighter legislation, such as the recent increase in CAFE standards last summer. By influencing energy reform through Washington and focusing on details like fluorescent light bulbs and hybrid technology, Seals hopes to bring America's focus back onto the environment and conservation, not only for green policy's sake, but also for the working American's wallet.

Seals strongly rejects any policy that would include disrupting ANWR and the fragile wildlife life that such a reserve was built to protect. Such suggestions, says Seals, represent the short-sightedness that got America into the energy crisis we face today. Disappearing wetlands, lake communities in jeopardy, especially Lake Michigan and, least of all, the future state of the planet for our children are just a few extremely important reasons why Americans and Washington must focus on Green Energy reform, argues Seals.

If elected, Seals will make renewable energy policy one of his greatest priorities.

Seals: Aside from our energy needs, we also have to acknowledge that our air, water and land are resources even more important to our survival, and even easier to exhaust than oil reserves. Since we use Lake Michigan for so many important activities we have to be very aware of how we are treating this invaluable public resource. Recent studies have shown major areas of concern for the lake, including disappearing wetlands and shorelines, inadequate sewage facilities, invasive species contamination, and increased toxic pollution.

Catching up in the Grassroots game in the third quarter, Seals has broken his own fundraising record in the 10th district, gaining almost $700,000. This puts his total raised at $2.9 million from 6,300 contributors for the 2008 cycle, 1,600 of those are new donors from the third quarter.

Mark Kirk, a representative of the Bush agenda, raised $900,000 in the second quarter, but his earnings since then appear to be stabilizing rather than increasing.

Frustrated by LaTourette's inaction when he voted against the bailout, O'Neill released a statement chastising the incumbent for the apparent disregard he exhibited through his refusal to support any measure that would help save a diving economy. Despite the holes in the current version of HR 1424, O'Neill insists that the increased negative market action since the first bill was rejected is only proof that it is in Congress's best interest to do whatever may be necessary to prevent a crash.

O'Neill: “Inaction is not an option right now. Families are losing their homes, people are watching their life savings disappear overnight, and we’re facing the biggest financial crisis since the great depression. The idea that our congressman would stand in the way of this urgently needed package – especially for callous political posturing – is downright offensive."

Cook recently received the "Speaking Truth to Power" Award at the ASPO-USA (Association for the Study of Peak Oil) Conference in Sacramento. Director of CORE, Randy Udall presented Cook with the honor for her frank and open willingness to discuss energy issues with the public.

In addition to being the Mayor of Huntington Beach, Cook is also a board member for ASPO, and was one of the members responsible for bringing the organization to California.

Udall: "We honored her for her courage, for speaking honestly about energy realities and for promoting an energy program that makes sense."