Crap.

UPDATE: Okay, let’s try to make sense of this. I’m not sure what happens now, but I can say that it’s not very good. NYU’s own Nouriel Roubini wrote today that we’re on the verge of a total systemic meltdown. And the not-entirely-terrible plan that we had couldn’t even make it through Congress. Maybe it goes up for a re-vote, maybe there will be another compromise in a week or so, but it’s hard to say. And you’re going to have to go to actual economists to find out whether or not we even have the time for that.

Why didn’t it pass? Well, since both House leadership and the White House signed on, this was a prime opportunity for Republicans to distance themselves from both. Plus, since the economy is fucked for a very long time no matter what we do, people who voted against the plan could declare it a failure a couple months from now and run on being right from the start.

One problem: once it looked like this thing was going to go down party lines, some of the blue dog Democrats probably got skittish too. And that’s when this whole thing fell apart.

If you’re sitting at a desk, now would be a good time to curl up under it and cry.

UPDATE II: Just wanted to add that what happened today shows how completely disfunctional our government is. Apparently, we’re not even capable of enacting even the shittiest compromise bill to prevent huge, sweeping disaster. Whatever mechanisms exist in Congress to respond to crises simply don’t work. Awesome!

UPDATE III: Jesus Christ. This is getting even more inspid than I could ever imagine in my most horrific nightmares. Minority Leader John Boehner is trying to lay this at Pelosi’s feet because she damaged the GOP’s ego. This is the fucking stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.

Beutler says the Democrats should throw caution to the wind, craft a left-wing wing bill and ram it through Congress without even trying to get the Republicans on board. But Senate Democrats in particular are so damn timid that we already know how even floating this would work out.

UPDATE IV: Via Ana Marie Cox, here’s video of Pelosi’s mean, partisan speech that made the Republicans so sad:

This is what they’re killing the bailout over?