Democratic U.S. House candidate John Driscoll on Thursday urged his opponent, Republican U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, to continue to vote against the latest $700 billion proposed bailout of America’s financial sector.

In fact, if Rehberg holds firm, Driscoll said he’d even vote for his opponent: “If he does, I hope everybody votes for him for re-election.”

Yet Driscoll, who opposes the bailout, said he’s not encouraged by Rehberg’s signing of a letter this week that urged federal regulators to abandon “fair-value accounting” as part of their response to the financial crisis.

Rehberg joined about 60 other House members — most of whom voted against the bailout on Monday — asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to suspend the rule.

Some observers believe those who signed the letter are indicating they might vote for the bailout if they believe the accounting rule is suspended.

“I absolutely condemn that, and Montanans need to know what’s going on,” Driscoll said. “It’s just dishonest. I really hope he doesn’t go that route.”

The accounting rule, also known as “mark-to-market,” says banks must value assets at their market value. Critics say this rule is making the financial crisis worse because it forces banks and others to state huge losses on long-term assets, thus understating their true value and making it harder for banks to loan money.

Yet supporters of the current rule, including Driscoll, say it protects investors by letting them know the true value of assets in the market.

“All (easing the rule) does is pretend the crisis isn’t there,” he said. “You’ve got to protect the investors and the taxpayers. It allows (banks) to pretend they have more assets than they really have.”

As of Thursday evening, Rehberg wasn’t tipping his hand on how he might vote on the rescue package.

Driscoll, of Helena, is challenging Rehberg, who is up for a fifth term. Driscoll is running a campaign without raising or spending any money.

The former state legislator and public service commissioner said the bailout is the wrong way to go, because it locks up too much federal money and will cause inflation.

It will tie the hands of the next president and make it difficult for him to direct needed investments in public infrastructure, health care and renewable energy projects, he said.

“The biggest thing I’m concerned about is the soundness of our government, before our financial system,” he said. “This is just another in a long series of things that have happened since 9/11 where the whole reason for doing it is fear.

“We’re having our pockets picked because we’ve allowed ourselves to be scared, and we can’t afford our fears any more.”

He urged Congress to slow down and examine the options. The country already is entering a recession, and people may need to tighten their belts while the financial markets sort themselves out, Driscoll said.