What are they saying about threats of martial law if congress votes against bailouts?
I have heard bits and pieces but not enough to follow it.

Who is saying that ? Weiner(aka Savage) Nation ?

During a radio interview,Sen. Jim Inhofe made are reference to a conference call that Senators had with Hank Paulson prior to their vote on the TARP II bailout .He claimed that influenced the votes of some representatives who voted against TARP I . Evidently Paulson invoked the image of civil unrest if the bailout was not passed and we plunged into a 30s era depression .If this is true then it was pure demagogery .
After it Congressman Brad Sherman gave a speech on the House floor : “Many of us were told in private conversations that if we voted against this bill on Monday that the sky would fall, the market would drop two or three thousand points the first day, another couple of thousand the second day, and a few members were even told that there would be martial law in America if we voted no.”

Bill Moyers Journal . Watch & Listen | PBS (http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/09122008/watch.html)

Here it is YouTube - We Are Under Martial Law! As Declared By The Speaker Last Night! Rep Burgess (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7B4laX1E70)

Yes, to scare the people, we have to be victims worried about our safety to allow the government to save us.

So they go bankrupt, they file chapter 11 and reorganise, break the union and come back stronger than before.

Saph

I knew about his comments and decided not to add it to my response because it was an irrelevant rant against an internal Congressional maneuver where certain rules and procedures of Congress were suspended by its leaders so that the bill could be passed quickly.

In an age of YouTube these clowns should be a little more careful about what they say.

Sherman's address on the floor is more relevant to your question.

Digg - Rep. Brad Sherman - Congress told Martial Law if vote is NO (http://digg.com/business_finance/Rep_Brad_Sherman_Congress_told_Martial_Law_if_vote _is_NO)