State Democratic Party Chairman Dennis McDonald said Thursday he was "proud" of Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg and Democrat Sen. Jon Tester for voting against a bailout package for the nation's financial industry that has now grown to more than $800 billion.

"It's not often I agree with Dennis Rehberg, but for once he got it right," McDonald said.

Rehberg is set to vote on the bill a second time Friday. He was one of 228 House members who successfully defeated the bill Monday. The Senate later revived the bill, adding tax incentives worth more than $100 billion, and passed it late Wednesday.

Jed Link, a Rehberg spokesman, said the congressman's "no" vote was not about being partisan.

"This is no time for politics," Link said.

Rehberg released a statement Thursday which did not indicate how he might vote on the revamped bailout package.

Tester was one of 25 senators in the minority to vote against the bill.

Tester said he didn't think the plan did enough to protect taxpayers or regulate the financial industry and he wasn't convinced it would avoid a coming economic slump.

McDonald also said he thought the bill, which he criticized for giving money to the top of the nation's economic ladder, instead of the bottom, would not solve the nation's economic woes.

"My own feeling is it's but a drop in the bucket to what the system needs," he said. "Having said that, I'm not exactly sure what the remedy is. But I'm very concerned that this bailout will be insignificant."

Sen. Max Baucus, Montana's senior Democrat, was one of the architects of the sweetened bailout package. He was in Missoula Thursday explaining his rationale for voting in favor of the bill.

Baucus said that while the plan isn't perfect and Montanans have a right to be angry at the greed that brought America "to the edge of a cliff," failing to act would have caused a far grimmer economic crisis. He also characterized the financial sector bailout as an "investment" for taxpayers that he believes could end up making money for the government.

Under the plan, the government will spend $700 billion buying the worthless assets of financial companies, holding on to them until the market improves and selling them.

"This really is an investment," Baucus said. "That's the nature of loans, so we can get back on our feet. I think there's a very real chance we'll come out ahead."

Aaron Murphy, a Tester spokesman in his Billings office, said the senator has been receiving a "steady stream" of phone calls, e-mails and comments thanking the senator for his "no" vote.

"They're thanking Jon for listening to their concerns and sticking to his guns," Murphy said.

In the last two weeks, he said, the senator has received thousands of comments from Montanans, the vast majority of which urged the senator to vote against the bill.

Asked what type of feedback he is receiving, Baucus said "a lot of people are still angry, and I am, too."

He added that he thinks people are coming to realize that Wall Street's woes will not stay confined, but spill over into the economy, affecting everyone.