You are digging deep Tug.
That was the congress controlled by the Republicans in 2003...
There is much blame to go around Tug. We can trade jabs with great backup all night long. Let me just say that congress was asleep at the wheel...Democrats and Republicans.
Stardate: SEPTEMBER 18, 2006
Wall Street Journal
Link.
I wouldn’t define
“digging deep†as reviewing the last three years in Congressional History. Where it’s true that we could precipitate in an all night “moderate to severe finger pointing dance†over who’s to blame for the mess, it wouldn’t solve a thing. Meanwhile, Rome goes to three alarms!
The point I’m trying to make is that this exact unproductive “blame game†activity is what Congress has been doing over the last three weeks. Assigning blame to the other respective party, then fighting over who said and who did what. In the interim, our country weeps.
Where it is true that the Republicans held majority status in the 109th Congress, they could not pass Freddie Mac / Fannie Mae reform legislation without the expressed written consent (votes) of key Democrats. Fast forward to 25 September 2008, Pelosi and Reid announce, to an eagerly awaiting world, that an agreement/solution had been reached. If the Democrats had the votes to pass their bill, why didn’t they? The reason; they couldn’t pass their bill without the expressed written consent (votes) of key Republicans.
It has been noted that John McCain rarely mentioned the “middle class†during the debates. What hasn’t risen to the surface is the fact that the “middle class†is totally absent from the purposed Democrat settlement.
With the help of McCain, the Republicans were able to slow down the rush to a quick settlement. As more details of the purposed Democrat settlement become available, it appears that the purposed Democrat bill benefits special-interest groups and political contributors over the best interest of those tasked with paying the bill!
House Minority Whip, Roy Blunt explained some of the details of the purposed Democrat settlement that the Republicans and 75% Americans want to see removed from the settlement:
TRIAL LAWYERS – Instead of investigating the scandal-plagued American trial lawyer industry, the Democratic Congress has showed it in pork, tucking special benefits into major bills to benefit the industry at the expense of American taxpayers – and the economic rescue bill has been no exception. Working drafts of the bill include so-called 'cramdown' provisions allowing bankruptcy judges to reduce mortgage principal under the guise of helping those at risk of foreclosure. If enacted into law, the provision would be a bonanza for trial lawyers and undercut the effectiveness of any economic recovery effort by making it even harder to value mortgage-backed securities.
WASHINGTON LABOR BOSSES – Washington’s powerful big labor bosses – another special-interest constituency closely aligned with the Democratic Party – also get a big handout in the working draft of the bailout bill. So-called “say on pay†or “proxy access†provisions have been added to the bill by Democrats proposing to mandate a nonbinding shareholder vote on proxy access and other issues for all companies in which the Treasury Department buys a direct stake in certain assets. The proposal can and should include restrictions on executive compensation for participating firms in a responsible manner without allowing Washington labor bosses to have an undue say on corporate governance at the expense of American workers and their prosperity.
ACORN – The draft bill includes a left-wing giveaway that would force taxpayers to bankroll a slush fund for a discredited ally of the Democratic Party. At issue is the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now – better known as ACORN – an organization fraught with controversy for, among other scandals, its fraudulent voter registration activities on behalf of Democratic candidates. Rather than returning any profits made in the long-term from the economic rescue package, Democrats want to first reward their radical allies at ACORN for their (often illegal) help in getting Democrats elected to office. Families, seniors, small businesses, and all American taxpayers deserve better.
MORTGAGE INDUSTRY BAD ACTORS – The draft of the bill includes “foreclosure mitigation†provisions that essentially establish a preference for purchasing assets with the goals of modifying or restructuring loans. House Republicans believe the goal of the rescue legislation should be to stabilize the markets and protect taxpayers – NOT to use taxpayer dollars to identify assets to purchase in order to improve loan workouts. Congress has already enacted one irresponsible housing bailout to deal with the mess created by the Democrats’ refusal to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We don’t need another.
Is it too much to ask for the American tax payers to be placed at the top of the “pay back†seniority list?
