Today Dow Jones fell 777.68 (greatest single-day point loss ever) upon Republican refusal to pass bail out.

As bad as the bill to pass the politically modified version of the Paulson Proposal is, the failure to pass it is worse. The Conservative Republican refusal to support the bail out has immediate effects.

The Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index lost 8.8%, its seventh worst day ever on a percentage basis and the biggest one-day percentage drop since the crash of '87, when it lost 20.5%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) fell 9.1%, its third worst day on a percentage basis and also its worst decline since the crash of '87.

Stocks tumbled ahead of the vote and the selling accelerated on fears that Congress would not be able come up with a fix for nearly frozen credit markets. The frozen markets mean banks are hoarding cash, making it difficult for businesses and individuals to get much-needed loans. (Full story)

Republican conservatives put ideology above the clear needs of the American people.

But that is always the case. Conservative ideology - as idiotic and self-centered as it is - will always be more important than real problems faced by real people. That's true even when those real people include conservatives working on Wall Street.

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From Steve Benen. As of today, the Dow Jones is lower now than it was the day Bush took office in 2001.