Monday, September 22, 2008

Faith in the Media Lost: Bailout Another Example of Favoritism

Many people have always associated Wall Street with the Republican Party. This has happened for the most part because Republicans have always sought a free market system and always have placed business as a focal point to the Party platform, but if Wall Street is as connected to the GOP as people would like to believe than the Media is certainly as connected to the Democrats.

Its times like this financial crisis, many Americans are looking to the media to provide unbiased information or a sense of direction as to how to navigate the waters. During these times, not unlike 9/11, Americans put their politics on the shelf and focus on whats best not only for themselves but also the country. Why can't the media in this nation do the same?

Simple. They have a vested interest not unlike our politicians in Washington.

There is this notion that the mortgage companies are whom we should be directing the blame for the crisis and the mainstream media has taken up the torch of that bandwagon instead of attempting to analyze the crisis from the basis of cause and effect. While many Americans simply want to know whether their money and retirement money is safe and how the bailouts are going to impact them and their families, there are also those of us who understand that we are being outright lied to by the pundits and the media.

If this crisis has made us understand one undeniable prospect its that we should have zero faith in our media. The media has become nothing more that organizations "shilling" for political agendas. There is little desire on behalf of the media to actually review records and hold accountable those politicians they invite to appear on their programs who outright lie to the American people. There is littel desire for truth, but simply truths through peferred lenses.

Case in point. That this whole crisis in mortgage-backed securities has somehow been an apparent surprise to those who sat on the very committees whose function it is to perform oversight and that it is George Bush policy which is the culprit.

It baffles me how the media can interview the head of the Banking Committee and not even challenge him, in this case Sen. Christopher Dodd, with regard to the function of the committee and what it knew and when it knew it. Dodd has continually misled the American people as to his own situation regarding preffered loans and further what Congress knew for the better part of a week and is simply allowed to voice talking points that provide him and his associates cover in the calm before the storm regarding the bailout agenda.

If there are two leaders that should be called to resign from office for breaking the trust of the American people it is Christopher Dodd and Barney Frank. Now I realize both these men are Democrats and this call is not meant to be partisan and would be called for had the Republicans been the majority, but the fact remains the Congress is controlled by the Democrats since 2006 and they control the committees and there is an issue of accountability that must be exercised here. Congress has been party to this crisis as much as the private/public sector and eeds to be held accountable.

For these men to go on television and attempt to deflect responsibility to the GOP or John McCain in some form of another crys of a lack of not only transparency of the facts but also follow-up by the media. These gentleman have sat on these committees for years and have known exactly the issues befronting both the investment banks and the mortgage giants in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Could it be that all the money and contributions made by the folks on Wall Street, from Deleware's credit card industry, and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to Dodd , Frank, and others may have at some point called their integrity and objectivity into question?

Why is it left to the GOP to raise such issues and not the media which is supposed to be objective? Why has the media outlets provided both Party's an outlet not to hold to task but to promote talking points? Why has the media refused to look at the Congressional record? Why does MSNBC refuse to acknowledge both Mccain attempts in 2005 for oversight and George Bush's as well his first term. I can see how MSNBC might have missed it given Bush sought such measures some 17 times from Congress.

Are there no more Tim Russerts left? Has the loss of Tim Russert taken our media into a rhelm of marginalism? Has it left the NBC news division with little remnants of its former self as it allows its MSNBC unit to usurb its historical journalistic integrity?

No idea this crisis could happen?

Well, in 2000 it was LA Rep. Richard Baker on the bankinhg subcommittee that challenged the likes of Franklin Raines and the mortgage behemouths Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Baker called for increased oversight Baker even went as far as to say it was his belief that Raines misled Congress in his testimony before Congress and Baker also pushed for the resignations for the regulators who job it was to oversee the government service enterprises.

Bakers objections and call to arms was ignored by the Chairman. In fact, Barney Franks stated that the speculation of an impending crisis was "overblown".

"OVERBLOWN"!!! really ?

Franks later would say that in terms of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, "there would be no Federal liability whatsoever" and Franks also said he did not "regard Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as problematic".

"PROBLEMATIC!"!! really?

In 2005, by the way one federal regulator in Armando Falcon Jr. resigned and another stated that these companies should be "scaled back".

Instead of focusing on the facts and history as a means of addressing this crisis and how it came about, the media simply is out to shift blame to of all people Sen. John Mccain. They would like America to believe that this crisis is merely the offspring of poor economic policy of the GOP according to Obama and not the work of long standing politicians from both Parties whom have personally benefited from the lobbying groups representing these companies.

By now we all are aware that Christopher Dodd and Barack Obama sit 1, 2 on the list for contributions made from Fannie and Freddie. We know that Obama has within his advisors those who benefited directly from this crisis or argueably were to cause of it and one actually ran Obama's VP search committee. And yet, Obama goes on the offensive against McCain thathe somehow is the problem.

Ugh? Okay. You make that leap than you might want to look to your VP Obama. Biden supported the legislation that Bill Clinton passed in the 90's that was the true deregulation mechanism that the media keeps trying to pin on Bush. Bush tried numorous times in his first term to get Fannie and Freddie checked. Lest we forget these mortgage companies are not exactly bastions of GOP-friendly people, but rather ex-partisans from the Clinton adminstration and those supporting Al Gore in 2000 over Bush. Bush would have no interest in propping them up as MSNBC likes to project routinely in its rhetoric.

The Congressional record points to the fact that it was Republicans in the House like Baker that routinely spoke out against this and forshadowed this crisis and it was "Barney's Rubble" in Congress that lock step shut those voicing opposition down.

Was this crisis truly a "deregulation" issue?

While I am sure that more will be falling out to address this point, I feel that the information we have now points more to poor lending practices and poor borrowing than anyhting else.

Exactly who was it who promoted the easing of credit standards and loan practices? Ugh? Well it was not Republicans but Barney Frank. It was a political attempt to drive up home ownership through easing the underlying qualifing at the same time have more capital and liquidity brought into the market to make the loans happen.

Are we to believe that from the time Bill Clinton passed his legislation that no one running the Banking and Commerce Committees in Washington were aware of ANY potential issues with this agenda?

Instead, Dodd and Frank seek to pass the buck of accountability to Wall Street and others and shift any blame from themselves and the media simply just goes right along with it.

I would hope that when this is said and done we get some real Congressional oversight not on Wall Street but on Congress itself. Obama claims he was the proponent of Ethics reform? Well lets see him hold to task his fellow Democrats in Congress who are cutting and running before the American people.

If Barack Obama cannot do that than he has no business being President of this great nation.

If he wants to convince independents that he is a serious candidate then he needs to take a stand on this on behalf of the American people.

Democrats had beter hope Obama wins in November because should McCain win the election I would expect him to "make so people famous" in Washington.

Starting with the nice loans Christopher Dodd got and the Congressional malpractice by "Barney's Rubble".

How stupid is the American electorate? Watch these folks will get elected by their constituents again and will still back and wonder why Washington is broken.

Term limits folks. Term limits is the only thing that can challenge such insidership.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Alter-
The Contemporary Conservative has the goods on the Top 50 wealthiest Congressman in a recent post.

It so happens that if the GOP is supposed to be the Party of the rich and the Dems are supposed to be for the littel guy why is it 6 of the top 10 are Democrats, including the Top 2.

Truth hurts, but then Democrats are far less concerned about facts when they are not geared against Republicans.

Anonymous said...

The way in which these politicians have handled themselves in this is shameful.

You would think that there would be those seeking out the real story behind all of this, but I guess only if its Republicans behind it does to rate as news.

The media spent more time investigating Sen. Craig and his exploits than they will Franks or Dodd. Its just so obviously biased as they sit there and give them a pass in all this.

If Dodd was a Republican everytime he came on MSNBC he would be blottered on the screen with the something like "Dodd-Got Preferred Loans with Low Interest rates and Terms from Financial Insitution XYZ". You know similar to the large cap letters on the screen saying "Curently Under Investigation by State of Alaska" for Gov Palin that MSNBC ran the first 48 hours she was picked to be the VP.

Anonymous said...

The record people is clear.

Sen. McCain co-sponsored S.190 in Congress in 2005 that identified this exact crisis in the mortgage-backed securities illustrated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

This came after Frankin Raines was grilled by regulators for the books loaded with some 335 Billion in securities and virtaully created the situation where they "became" the market for these instruments and not Wall Street.

The record is clear. Democrats along party-line voting blocked the reform bill in committee and these same politicians now should be held accountable.

However, realizing that this crisis needs to be addressed you can bet they will be so concerned with debating the Paulson/Treasury plan that will never hold hearings about their own unethical practices in Congress. The reason being the record proves it was Democrats and since they control Congress there will of course be no hearings.

Anonymous said...

Todays hearing is such smoke and mirrors. They do not want to give a blank check to someone else and fail to see that have been using a blank check of ours for years. They want a second chance for oversight given the obvious blundering they have undertaken on the way up and now they want us to trust them all the way down as well.

I say give the Treasury the money. I trust those guys more than this Congress.

The points directed at Dodd and Frank are dead to rights. Inronic that Dodd sits as Chairman of the banking hearing today as well as passes off such sactimonious bullshit in his opening statement.

Hows about an apology Mr. Dodd? You were the one behind the blockage in 2005 and 2006 for any reform and the cronnies in the liberal media grant you the keys of acceptance when your as big a part of the problem as the bankers are.

Its the responsibility of Congress to set the rules of the game and then they want to blame the players for finding ways within the game to profit. Shocking (snark).

I think you may be on to something regarding term limits. It may be the only thing to change the political system.

Anonymous said...

Fox News showed this morning the comments made by Barney Frank about the issues and how there "would be no bailout" as well as John McCain's remarks before the Senate in 2005 regarding Fannie and Freddie.

Appears to me Barack Obama's campaign continues to be misleading at every step about McCain. McCain in video is seen calling for reform of the mortgage business long before Obama ever sent a letter to Nasdaq regarding the matter.