'Skeptics Caucus' To Huddle Today

By John Bresnahan

(The Politico)  The "Skeptics Caucus," a bipartisan group of House members opposed to the $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan, will meet again today.

The group is being led by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), demonstrating that its not just House Republicans who have major concerns about the idea of a massive government intervention in the financial markets.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) does not face the same kind of opposition to the plan that Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) does, but there are many voices on the left - both on and off Capitol Hill - that don't like the idea of giving $700 billion to the Bush White House for any reason. How many "no" votes there are in the Democratic Caucus is unclear, but it could be a significant bloc. Not enough to prevent Pelosi from delivering enough of her members to assure passage of any bailout plan, but enough to make Democrats leaders cautious.