The bailout act has just failed to pass the House, getting only 202 of the required 218 votes.
This is what happens when you have a free-rider problem: it’s in Congress’s collective interest to pass the unpopular act. But if the act is going to pass, then it’s in any individual’s interest to vote against it, thereby looking noble and on the side of his consituents.
The result? Stocks are down well over 5% as I write this. And it could get much worse.