Surprised no one thought of this sooner: The Republican Party is scrambling to put together an alternative to Senate Democrats’ financial-regulation bill in case—as looks increasingly likely—bipartisan talks fail to produce a compromise. The deadline is 5 p.m.: that’s when Democrats have scheduled a vote, which Republicans have so far said they’ll filibuster. In their alternative, Republicans will try to close loopholes they claim will allow for future taxpayer bailouts and also add new language to address Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
