Politics | February 14, 2009 | 49 comments

A DEMOCRAT SCHMUCK

source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123457562896186709.html

Image
akamaial
A classic example of the sterling leadership qualities of the liberal elite.
  1. groups:
    Politics
  2. tags:
    Politics,  Economy,  Economic,  transparency,  3 more
  3.     
    |

49 comments // A DEMOCRAT SCHMUCK

  • sickinjersey
  • fun_size
    • 0
      fun_size  

    • Wow. I love how not a single one of you actually took the time to listen to Brendan's comments. He put up valid arguments using facts and logic and your responses to those arguments were laughable. Not a single one of you addressed the fact that the source of the article is from a reputable site. Not a single one of you even tried to argue against the GOP blocking Barney's attempts at greater regulation.

      Its funny you can actually see the bias at work. No need to hear the truth when your mind is already made up huh?

      How about this. The economic downfall is the fault of every stupid American who decided that he needed a brand new house while making $35,000 a year. Its the fault of every person who decided to refinance their mortgage every few years to get some spending money in their hands so they could go on vacation or buy a new car or renovate that home that they dont own.

      Yes it was the banks faults too for allowing people to take out loans with NO chance at them being able to pay them back. In fact they even encouraged people to take risky loans. That still doesnt change the fact that ignorance of how things work is not an excuse for being a dumbass.

    • 3 years ago
  • clownpuncher
  • fun_size
  • sickinjersey
    • 0
      sickinjersey  

    • they qoute goldman sachs ceo? are you kidding me.this writer should be shot. typical spin in the plainest of view. these banks where telling people they could afford shit that they could not afford. i saw it with my own eye's. mortgage lenders where on auto pilot at home base, no oversight in the field. uh they banked all of our money to people that lied cheated and stole .lender lendie alike. but the lenders where supposed to be the responsible one's right. or maybe they should just unlock the banks and let people have at it, and then blame these people who the locks where made for.

    • 3 years ago
  • nursediesel
    • 0
      nursediesel  

    • First of all this financial downturn started back with President Jimmy Carter, his administrtion and the dem. run congrees forced financial institutions to loan money to people for larger than they could possibly afford and never ever pay back loans; so everyone could 'own" a home. This got deeper and deeper because of not wanting to discriminate against low income and under achieving people. So instead of encouraging people to buy homes they might be able to afford they were encouraged to buy bigger, out of their price range.
      When this bill came up for reconsider, President Clinton, not wanting to look mean, added more insult to the whole of the problem and it took on a miserable size. Then Greenspan kept fooling around with the percentage rates. Eventually the bubble had to burst.
      As for the last two years; congress has been under Democrat control, not republican control. Repulicans
      had a very small number in majority for only 2 to 4 years and many of those repulicans were by name only. For the most part congress has been under democrat contol for over 50 years.
      And Mr. Franks is a car speeding through the night without the headlights on.

    • 3 years ago
  • akamaial
  • nursediesel
    • 0
      nursediesel  

    • This man is one of the clowns responsible for the financial downfall of our country, when warned of it's coming said there's nothing wrong and nothing bads gonna happen. duh! then they put him and the other inept idiots in control of which they screwwd up. Kinda like the inmates in control of the insane asylum. LMAO

    • 3 years ago
  • clownpuncher
    • 0
      clownpuncher  
    • nursediesel:

      @Brenda...now there is a far left radical liberal socialist trying to tell you what to watch. Dont watch Fox, it will make you dumb, dont listen to Rush, he only has 20 million fans....the far left are such pieces of trash, if I hurt your feelings Brenda, tough shit.

    • 3 years ago
  • clownpuncher
  • Scarabus
    • 0
      Scarabus  

    • There has always been a dramatic difference between the news and reporting side of the WSJ, and the editorial writers. The former among the best in the business, the latter among the silliest. They habitually ignore facts being reported by their own news department. Don't yet know what the full extent of Murdoch's influence will lead to. Obviously the editorialists are still apologists for the greedy plutocracy. Hope the reporters are allowed to stay independent and true to the ethics of journalism.

    • 3 years ago
  • clownpuncher
    • 0
      clownpuncher  

    • Just for kicks I decided to watch MSNBC for 5 minutes. Chris Matthews was speaking his usual far left liberal trash. Is it me or does it seem like while he is talking he is just moments away from shitting his pants.

    • 3 years ago
  • unimatrix0
    • 0
      unimatrix0  

    • The thread has deteriorated into an ad hominem with a current of homophobia. The stench is noxious.

      The poverty of the case against Frank is all too apparent.

    • 3 years ago
  • barbara3d
  • unimatrix0
  • barbara3d
  • courage
    • 0
      courage  

    • wasnt he a pimp?hes perfect for the democrat party we got pimps,rapist,klansmen,tax cheats and murderers oh dont forget a spy named Sandy Berger who stole documents from the 911 commision then destroyed them to protect the clintons

    • 3 years ago
  • barbara3d
  • sirach481
    • 0
      sirach481  

    • Mr Mumbles, the one who in 2005 said there was nothing wrong with Fannie Mae, so don't try to fix what ain't broke. The one who didn't know there was a male prostitution ring operating out of his basement. He's an inept, lying, homosexual.

    • 3 years ago
  • loftyer
  • 2hellnwait
  • 2hellnwait
  • 2hellnwait
  • unimatrix0
  • barbara3d
    • 0
      barbara3d  
    • 2hellnwait:

      The fact is Barney and Dodd both knew months before that Frannie and Freddie were failing. That is common knowlege as are the emails they sent each other about getting their bonuses.

      Both got YOUR money and a lot of it. Brendan doesn't like to answer with valid facts, just name calling.

    • 3 years ago
  • fun_size
  • McCainiac
    • 0
      McCainiac  

    • Barney gave the thumbs up to Fannie and Freddie while they were busting our economy. Just looking at the guy makes me think of everything wrong with our country. I can't understand how he got voted back in. The same thing happens in Chicago. If the machine wants someone in, they're in. Rahm Emmanuel will get things working the Chicago Way in government. He's already starting by taking the census away from the Commerce Dept. and having the White House take it over.

    • 3 years ago
  • akamaial
  • akamaial
    • 0
      akamaial [removed]  
    • akamaial:

      Actually, Blarney was the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee since 2003, then Chaired since 2007. He vehemently denied early on that there were any problems within Fannie and Freddie, but forget that, you probably like him for his support of medical marijuana...

    • 3 years ago
  • akamaial
  • Kylsport
    • 0
      Kylsport  
    • akamaial:

      I am gay and I think he is a deceptive politician. Who cares because I am not a liberal socialist, but a conservative democrat and Gay and conservative don't mix right? How can I be a bigot. They claim to celebrate diversity, yet I have yet to see any diversity of thought.

    • 3 years ago
  • moarzors
    • 0
      moarzors  

    • we didn't regulate the mortgage bubble, and the private sector WAS making bad loans too. they are both at fault.

      I think the congress operates kinda like a really bad T.V. news station with sensationalist stories, both dems and repubs are making a show out of all this (like they always do to get votes); HOW is a CEO going to going to keep a company afloat if he has to worry about the clowns in the congress criticizing, their every move? ex:buying a cooperate jet. (we are +10 trillion in debt and the president has several airliners, limos. we are +10 trillion in debt and we are fighting a losing war.)

    • 3 years ago
  • Brendan_M
    • Brendan_M  
    • This comment was removed as a violation of community guidelines.
  • akamaial
    • 0
      akamaial [removed]  
    • Brendan_M:

      Brendan_M, you know I'm conservative, as I've seen you frequently express your latte' liberal perspective, and I see your views no more valid than the apparent disdain that you hold for mine. But since you are such an superior intellectual giant, I leave you to hold and maintain that illusion.

    • 3 years ago
  • mik661
    • 0
      mik661  
    • Brendan_M:

      Then if you are so conservative you should explain why you are blaming Frank for not regulating enough when it was the Bush administration that was going to court to prevent the states from doing exactly that. 8 years of a Republican president and all you can do is blame one Democrat congressman. Or are you one of those conservatives who disown Bush but still voted for him? How about Bush urging us to just keep spending money after 911? Bush was the one who pushed hardest for home ownership to be increased. Maybe the real issue is all those conservative hands off free market gurus who let the financial industry self destruct from their own greed. Then Bush's brain trust took two trillion dollars and pissed it away on banks who wont lend anything. They should have let everyone of them fail and sort our the pieces when it was over. Give the bailout to the banks and insurance companies still standing. At least then we would not still be asking how to value all the junk assets these masters of the universe shat out in their wake.

    • 3 years ago
  • 2hellnwait
  • akamaial
  • Kylsport
    • 0
      Kylsport  
    • Brendan_M:

      Barney Frank is a good sugar daddy for the young thirty-something surfer dude he was able to ensnare. If he didn't have the money or position (aka perceived power) he had, he couldn't be able to get the beef he has in his hand.

    • 3 years ago
  • unimatrix0
  • barbara3d
    • 0
      barbara3d  
    • Brendan_M:

      -- In 2007, Freddie Mac Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Syron pocketed nearly $19.8 million in compensation last year, while the company's stock lost half its value in 2007.
      -- In 2007, subprime mortgages triggered the current financial market crisis. Foreclosures in the subprime housing market (i.e., mortgage holders with poor credit ratings) is the direct result of 12 years of government policy that has forced banks to make bad loans to un-creditworthy borrowers.
      -- In March 2008, both companies were given permission to add $200 billion into the mortgage market.
      n In July 2008, Congress authorized the Treasury Department to provide equity to Fannie and Freddie.
      -- In August 2008, shares of FNM and FRE plummeted amid rumors that the two companies may need to be rescued by the government. Stocks rebounded after the Treasury denied it planned to provide capital to the companies.
      -- In September 2008, both Fannie and Freddie were taken over by the government with top management dismissed.
      Recipients of Fannie and Freddie Campaign Contributions, 1989 to 2008. (Note: Barack Obama is the number two recipient at $126,349, but was only been in the Senate for the last three years. The only names not on this list are Sarah Palin's and Bill Shuster's.)
      Christopher Dodd, D, $165,400; Barack Obama, D, $126,349; Robert Bennett, R, $107,999; Spencer Bachus, R, $103,300; Roy Blunt, R, $96,950; Paul Kanjorski, D, $96,000; Christopher Bond, R, $95,400; Richard Shelby, R, $80,000; Jack Reed, D, $78,250; Harry Reid, D, $77,000; and Hillary Clinton, D, $76,050.
      This list continues, listing 353 names. Including Barney Frank.Total contributions to Congress was $4,844,572.
      Solutions:
      1. GSE executives and senior staff should be prosecuted for fraud in order to get larger bonuses?
      2. GSEs should be barred from lobbying the congress?
      3. GSEs should be barred from making political contributions?
      ------------

    • 3 years ago
  • Ihatethemall
  • akamaial
  • mik661
    • 0
      mik661  

    • Corporate BS and propaganda. My bank is BB&T. I have several loans from them and they are rock solid. They operate under the same rules and regulations as all the losers standing in line crying for hand outs. They faced the same alleged "pressure" from Frank and friends to loan, loan loan. It seems that regardless of what may be claimed, no bank was ever forced to make sub prime or risky loans such as pick a pay. They had solid loan practices in practice then and now. They are proof positive that a financial institution could thrive with out resorting to shady sub prime practices. Now, if you want to claim Frank was against tightening up rules for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as to the risk they were taking on, I would agree with you. However, if you actually follow the recent management choices and direction taken at both organizations you will see that they were more than willing to buy up high risk loans all on their own. If you want to point the finger at some one for failing to regulate, go no further than the Bush administration going to federal court to overturn every single state law enacted to regulate predatory or high risk loan practices.

    • 3 years ago
  • moarzors
    • 0
      moarzors  
    • mik661:

      bb&T might get into trouble, since the majority of their investments are in commercial real estate, once businesses start to fall bb&t will fall with all the other banks

    • 3 years ago
  • mik661
    • 0
      mik661  
    • mik661:

      Their foreclosure rates are some of the best right now. Unlike most of these other banks they still have a lot of room to absorb those that go underwater.

    • 3 years ago
  • moarzors
  • mik661
  • jahbini
    • 0
      jahbini  

    • My only opinion of him is from his inability to relate to Stephen Colbert.

      I can't say I'd give him the Colbert Bump.

      However, just to be fair to you AkamaiAl, Just what do you object to, specifically, and why?

    • 3 years ago
  • akamaial
  • unimatrix0
  • akamaial
    • 0
      akamaial [removed]  
    • unimatrix0:

      Did you read these articles? If you did and you feel otherwise, then, my take on your current response fits the description of one who sees and hears selectively. Are your one who benefited from his deception and poor judgment?

    • 3 years ago
  • unimatrix0
  • Kylsport
    • 0
      Kylsport  
    • unimatrix0:

      Barney Frank was on the finance oversight committee that was warned of potential failure of Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac by Senator McCain. He said everything was peachy and now he is one in many who are hypocritically putting blame on the capitalist bankers who were forced to implement these socialist policies of providing loans to those who never should have never been given loans. It is apparent on your response that you are ignorant and have not researched this information.

    • 3 years ago
  • unimatrix0
    • 0
      unimatrix0  
    • unimatrix0:

      It is rather boorish when Republicans try to shift blame for their failed policies. The blame goes to the Republicans who insisted on deregulation to the point of self destruction.

    • 3 years ago
  • akamaial
    • 0
      akamaial [removed]  
    • unimatrix0:

      Yes, unimatrix, on that I'll agree.. the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act rescinding the Glass-Steagall Act was a major GOP fuck-up, as well as the 1994 Riegle-Neal Act (don't know who to fault on that one) but it shouldn't have been done in my opinion.

    • 3 years ago
  • Maggiekortchmar
  • clownpuncher
  • 2hellnwait
more from Politics:
from the community

top videos