Texas CHL Blog

posted by Charles L. Cotton on Sep 30

The so-called “Wall Street Bailout Bill” is the hottest topic to hit the airways and Internet in a long time. Regardless of where one stands on the government bailout, the facts are clear as to how this gigantic problem arose. It started with President Jimmy Carter who wanted to generate “affordable housing” and the creation of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to accomplish that goal. While that effort “helped to make affordable housing available,” the seeds of disaster were not truly planted until President Bill Clinton instructed his Treasury Secretary to amend the underwriting rules for loan approvals. This revision lowered the requirements for getting a home mortgage and allowed hundreds of thousands of people to purchase a home they truly could not afford.  (Chick here for a 1999 New York Times article giving a short summary.)

No one can be certain when we passed the point of no return and how late disaster could have been avoided. However, since 2001, the Bush Administration has been warning of serious financial problems looming within Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. These warnings were in 2001, 2003, and 2005. In 2005, Senator John McCain supported “The Housing Enterprise Regulatory Act of 2005.” This bill was strongly opposed by Democrats, many of whom now try to point the finger at the Bush Administration and the Republicans in Washington.

By now you are probably checking the web address to make sure you are really on the TexasCHLblog and wondering why an article on the Wall Street Bailout is posted here. Politics and the 2008 Presidential Election is why this article was written. Senator Barack Obama, Congressman Barney Frank, Senator Charles “Chuck” Schumer and many others in the Democratic Party leadership are desperately trying to avoid taking the blame for the financial crisis they have created. Rather, they are blaming President Bush and every other Republican they can slander and they are trying to make it and issue against Senator McCain in the election.  Here is a clip from an interview with Senator Schumer:

Senator Schumer knows his statement was false, he was part of the Democratic blockade of this legislation. But Schumer isn’t the only leading Democrat to lie about Senator McCain’s attempts to pass legislation to regulate Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Look at what Barack Obama is saying:

One of the most vocal Bush/Republican bashers seen on television in recent days is Congressman Barney Frank. However, Mr. Frank must have forgotten that YouTube has published his many public speeches and comments supporting expansion of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and opposing regulation of those entities. So too has Senator Chuck Schumer. To listen to what they said when opposing the efforts of the Republicans and Senator John McCain to pass “The Housing Enterprise Regulatory Act of 2005,” please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP3vBqfag7A (YouTube has disabled embedding of the video at the poster’s request.)

But Democratic Representative Barney Frank and Senator Schumer are not the only Democrats to have opposed any oversight of Freddie Mac and/or Fannie Mae.  Look at  the efforts of other lesser known Democrats to bury a scathing report by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight presented during a 2004 hearing to investigate Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae “questionable” accounting practices.  Pay particular attention to the salaries and bonuses paid to senior Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae officers.  And now the Democrats screem of over-paid executives in other companies.  Their hypocracy knows no bounds!

The final video in this article is Democratic Speaker of the House, Nancy Polosi’s speech on the House Floor just before the Wall Street Bailout failed on Friday, September 19, 2008.  As Speaker of the House, she blatantly lied about the history of Republican attempts to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  She summarily credited the failure of these entities and the resulting financial crisis on “eight years of failed economic policies” of the Bush Administration and the Republicans.  That’s a lie Nancy and you know it.

So whether you support or oppose the “bailout,” it’s clear how we came to be standing on the brink of a financial crisis, whether great or small. It’s also clear who repeatedly sounded the alarm and tried to regulate Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to avoid a meltdown of the U.S. financial markets. It’s also clear that Barack Obama and other Democrats are lying about Senator McCain’s position on this issue and his attempts to bring these giants under control.

Choosing to lie about an issue or one’s opponent when there is no proof to the contrary is a test of one’s integrity. Choosing to lie when there is documentary and video evidence to the contrary is a test of one’s stupidity!

Chas.