Yesterday Speaker Pelosi demonstrated to the country her total lack of ability as Speaker of the House. At a critical moment prior to the vote, she decided it was time to blame the Bush administration for all of the economic woes. Instead of focusing on the importance of passing the legislation, she opted to play the blame game.
Her comments didn't kill the bill, regardless of how some Republicans feel. There were 90-some Dems who voted against it, some at the instruction of Queen Nancy because they were freshman congressmen up for re-election. That really puts the country before the party eh? Then we get to listen to Barney Funky-Frank tell us he'd speak uncharacteristically nice to the 12 Republicans who voted against it because of the Queen's utterances, when a number of his cohorts on the Ways & Means committee also voted against it.
Queen Nancy conveniently overlooked legislation proposed in 2002 to overhaul Fannie & Freddie and tighten loan requirements. It passed the House, even though Funky-Frank voted against it, but it died in the Senate at the hands of Senator Chris Dodd, a man that I have always found to be honorable.
This entire mess is the result of people acting with the best of intentions who failed to abide by the basic tenets of making loans. In their attempt to get as many Americans into their own homes as possible, the Dems decided that a down payment and proof of income and ability to pay were not essential criteria when making loans. At that point, human nature took over. Greedy bankers and other "financial geniuses" created the mortgage-backed securities that have led us to where we currently are.
Fannie & Freddie are symbolic of how a country begins it's downhill slide into socialism, and the greedy bankers are symbolic of the dark side of capitalism. At some point we are going to have to decide, as a nation, which path leads to sustaining the greatness of our nation. Do we veer left towards European-style socialism, veer right towards unrestricted capitalism, or try and find a middle path that finds a balance between the two?
The lack of leadership on both sides of the aisle has left the American citizenry not knowing what the future holds for them; not knowing what the real reasons for the crisis are; not knowing if it's a bailout or a buy-in, and not knowing what action, if any, can get us out of this mess.
As I noted early on, I am opposed to the bailout on principle, but I see no other option that will prevent a worldwide depression.
Watching Congress over the last week calls to mind Nero and his fiddling as Rome burned, except now there are hundreds of fiddlers, out of tune, out of time, and out of touch with the people they represent. If the trillion dollars of losses in the stock market we saw just yesterday doesn't get these people moving, we'd all better get back to farming and growing our own food because the Great Depression of the 21st Century will make the Great Depression of the 20th Century look like a banker's holiday.
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5 comments:
Awwww! "Nancy hurt my feelings. I'll show her, I'll throw the U S economy in the toilet."
I notice you didn't talk about Pelosi's "partisan tirade" in the post. Was that just for my benefit?
Damn, what a stupid excuse to vote against a Bill. Someone hurt my feelings - just more intellectual dishonesty from the Republicans. The GOP is a shadow of its former self.
Actually, the very first paragraph notes her "partisan tirade", and it also notes that the tirade was not the reason that the bill was voted down - the response from the people was the key reason. My only purpose for noting the speech is that she had an opportunity to display leadership and statesmanship, but instead decided to make a political speech at the expense of the American people.
Speaking of the American people, one has to wonder about their failure to comprehend the potential dangers. I'd be all for letting the chips fall where they may if not for the fact that I believe that doing nothing could lead to a worldwide depression.
Interesting film clips this morning showing Maxine Waters and Barney Frank in 2004 chiding their Rep cohorts for wanting to rein in Fannie & Freddie. Both stated that there were no problems at either of the entities. I wish I could remember the name of the Democrat Congressman that was also shown - he had the good sense to say that he wished his Democrat colleagues would just admit their contributions to the crisis, and he wished his Republican colleagues would admit that their support of banking deregulation also contributed to the crisis. He felt that there was blame enough for everyone. Geez - how about that - a Democrat Congressman and I actually agree. Damn, I wish I could remember his name - all I know is that he was black and from the South.
All the clips were on Fox News, not the Obama channels like NBC, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, et. al. If you think those guys have been "fair and balanced" you might better get your news from the Disney Channel.
I'm only mixing subjects because I know it drives you crazy and I need some company.
Yes, mixing subjects does make me crazy.
One problem I have with this whole thing (since I don't know economics) is that I have been conditioned by eight years of lies from GWB. When he talks, my sphincter contracts in preparation for another attack from the rear.
He lied about everything else, especially the big one, WMD, to make the rich richer, so why not about this?
"No time to think about it, just give me $700B. And by the way, there will be no oversight by anyone and you can't take it to court."
Cheeez, Watson.
His name is Artur Davis (D) of Alabama. If Diogenes is still looking ......
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