Dodd says White House meeting was a disaster

Source: Market Watch

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sen. Chris Dodd, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said Thursday that bipartisan meeting with President Bush at the White House on the mortgage rescue plan was nothing short of a disaster. In an interview on the CNN cable news network, Dodd described a meeting in which Democrats were blindsided by a new core mortgage proposal from House Republicans, with the tacit backing of Republican presidential candidate John McCain. "I am not going to sign on to something I just saw this afternoon," he said. Dodd said Republicans and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson had to decide what they wanted to support. The whole meeting "looked like a rescue plan for John McCain," Dodd said. He said he was simply going to pretend that the meeting had never happened.

Read more: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/dodd-says-white-house-meeting/story.aspx?guid=%7BF849F192-D0CD-4456-BC50-751A5259D7F4%7D&dist=hpmp

besides the repukes would just threaten to filibuster and Nancy would "take it off the table again"...

Bush said he needed the bill. The Dems met him in a straightforward way and gave him what he said the country needed, with some restrictions that Bush can live with.

Then McCain flies into town and blows the whole thing up.

I'd say it is time for the Dems to say, "Enough. We did our part. Bush, if you want us to play ball, then you go get your own party under control."

I am one who believes there is no "credit" or "liquidity" crisis. There cannot be as long as the Fed is willing to issue credit to the banks. The fact all across this country is that banks have PLENTY of money to lend. With the economy slowing down, they have TOO MUCH money to lend.

The only crisis is that some basically corrupt Wall Street companies have gone under, and some of the worst run banks are failing. Maybe something needs to be done to shore up the remaining banks. Maybe not. If Bush honestly believes this is the only way forward, then he will have to bring along some Republicans.

By walking away from the table now, we accomplish several things, all of them good:

1) We prove whether or not we were actually facing imminent disaster. My guess is that life goes on, which proves Bush to be a liar.

2) If the system does become more precarious, we are in a position to say "We had a deal until John McCain ruined it. Get McCain out of the way and bring some Republicans along and we'll make it happen."

and that Lucy pulled the football away again. The repubs are trying to get the country mad at the Dems for going for this bailout, but it might backfire. I thought the Dems should stay away from it, but now, when the markets implodes, the Repubs are going to get even more blame.

Should I take my money out of my 401k accounts?

"Deal is off. We met the President on terms he could agree with. McCain came in here and fouled up that deal. We're not meeting again until the President gets his own people on board. We're going fishing. See you all next week. Have a pleasant weekend. Bye."

It's a f*ing setup. They sacrificed Bush for the their new stag

edit: not advice for your 401K. Good luck with that.

The Democrats need to just pass the bill with all the appropriate regulation and safeguards. They need to add EVERYTHING that they want to run on.

FOR ONCE ... let the Republican FILIBUSTER!!!! Let them take the heat for stalling a relief plan. If Paulson bitches point out that he's a walking conflict of interest. If Bush vetoes, lambast the president for stalling the relief package.

Democrats ... GROW A FUCKING PAIR!!!

Why would we want to force through a bill that is HUGELY unpopular with the public in order to save Bush's ass and then allow the Republicans to blame us for wasting money if it works or for passing a dumb bill if it doesn't work?

There is absolutely no reason for Dems to do anything at this point. Pull the rug out from under McCain. Close up shop and leave toem. That will make it clear that:

a) McCain killed this bill, for better or worse

b) There is nothing else for McCain to do in Washington, so he might as well show up at the debate.

...that can be explained in simple terms to the american people as to why it is needed, how it will work, and how they and the country will benefit,...well...we don't have shit.

Sachs, now in trouble with stock plummeting nearly 50% in past wks. Quote is from Dana Milbank in WaPo, p. A3 9/24/08.

I wonder how much Paulson is trying to get for his former company that gave him such a sweet deal. This guy needs to be questioned about his golden parachute and the situation he bailed from, right before the company tanked.

n/t

from the article..

Dodd said Republicans and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson had to decide what they wanted to support. The whole meeting "looked like a rescue plan for John McCain," Dodd said.

And then, after 8pm Eastern, it sounds like the Republicans were no-shows for the negotiations.

Last night's failure of WAMU is a perfect example of how it's supposed to work. Bad bank fails, gets bought by another; depositors lose nothing, investors lose bad bet, government out little or nothing.

FDIC works. We don't need the bailout to nowhere.

of bank risk perception (higher is riskier):



Are you arguing that NOTHING happened last week?

See also the discussion at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7192029&mesg_id=7192029 , especially post #29.

I am emailing both of my Senators (Bond & McCaskill) and Congressman (Clay) to ask them to vote against any rescue plan. If the free market is so good... let it work out it's own little issues.


:spank:

Nancy wouldn't take it off the table...unless George Bush told her to....

cried over the body of your post...

These assclowns created this mess. They don't get paid.

Ladies and gentlemen: If some Repuke throws the line that they're the financial conservatives, throw this debacle back at them.

:(

That is a hell of a lot of money. Not a golden parachute, but a diamond parachute.

Questions should be asked.

Not that he's done anything sleazy I know of; however, he is very close to this whole situation.

You're wiser than most! Almost all the news stories I read today said the Republicans are against this bailout, while the Democrats were undecided.

To a populace that is about 80% against this bailout, which party looks like 'The People's Party'?

Because a USA Today poll was linked here earlier today citing 78% for it.

Here's a couple citing majority against it, though I can't find 80% with my super quick search
http://www.latimes.com/business/investing/la-na-econpoll24-2008sep24,0,5568395.story
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/09/24/poll-two-thirds-of-voters-oppose-immediate-action-on-bailout/

...get the Dems to pass it while still maintaining plausible deniability as "fiscal conservatives" and portray GWB as the "bad apple" Lone Gunman who is responsible for the mess along with those "Tax-And-Spend Democrats".

Like someone else here said, we're Charlie Brown and Lucy just yanked away the football yet again...

:grr:

for when Bush forced a vote on the AUMF in Iraq. It too was forced on Congress right before an election in the Fall of 2002.

Make them stay in DC until next summer, if necessary. This time the Dem's can call the shots, they have the public behind them, and the leadership is Democratic, they can set the agenda.

This is far, far too important to allow Republicans to push it through so they can rush home for their vacation, and use it to slam Democrats as they campaign to keep their miserasble jobs.

This was timed to force Dems to agree quickly. As Paulson said 'a quick, clean bill'. As if he has any right to make any demands, considering his failure in all of this. Dems should call their bluff. 'You thought we'd rush something like this because of a vacation and an election? WRONG!

But I won't hold my breath, Dems' record on these situations has been dismal. If they cave this time, they are finished as a party. There will never again be a situation so favorable to finishing off the corrupt Republican Party. The public is fuming and right now they are blaming Republicans, but Dems have a habit of turning certain victory into unbelievable defeat. I hope this doesn't happen one more time.

Unfortunately, many Dems are walking right into the trap. Uggghhhh! :banghead:

The whole idea is twofold:

1. "We won't pass it unless the republicans are on board..."
2. "We only pass it with these additional conditions:..."

The conditions are poison pills for the Repugs. They will never accept them. Them Dems now are dodging a terrible bullet, and right now it looks like they are being rather smart at it.

endlessly. Frank and Dodd put a lot into it. It almost sounds like the repuke plan was done on the sly as a way to slap Dems in the face. But let's face it the Dems were transparent and the repukes as usual were not. The Dems were above board, the repukes were not. We need to stick with what the people can most tolerate. Any bailout should have the conditions that the Dems have been fighting for. So much for country first when you have repukes undermining your good faith efforts. More emails, faxes and calls tomorrow. We need to be relentless. They need to get some energy from the people and do what is right.

Let's be truthful here. The only taxpayers the Cons care about are the minority at the top.

It's a blame game. The disaster has been brewing forever, and both Repugs and Dems have known it. That's why NEITHER is really supporting the bailout. And the grass roots on both sides are thoroughly against it, for different reasons.

What you are really witnessing is the collapse of an ideology that has been taken for granted ever since the Reagan revolution. This is very significant. The bailout is a hot potato(e) (how many get this one - I am proving my age!). NOBODY wants it except the White House (Bush, Paulson et al), but since disaster really is looming, nobody wants the "credit" for killing it. Bizarre (and important) story...

If so, the Dems have been very clever in their positioning. For all the world to see, the Dems were ready to meet Bush more-or-less on his terms, after making some big improvements that just about everybody wanted to see. For the GOP to be the ones seen as killing the bill is excellent, especially when the collapse happened at the exact moment that Mighty Mouse McCain arrived on the scene to save the day.

All they need to do to finish this off is to call the bluffs of both Bush and the House Republicans. Simply walk away. "Oh, you guys don't really want the bill? Fine with us. See you next week gentlemen. Have a nice weekend."

The GOP cannot do anything about it because they don't control either house. So screw them. Let them fight it out with Bush. "Let us know when you are all ready to do something. But just be warned. If a few more days go by without the predicted meltdown happening, we are all going to be really suspicious of whether there is actually a 'crisis' in the first place. So the longer you screw around, the less you are going to get."

guess I'm an old fart!!!!

LOL!!!!!

And I don't see Dodd and Frank laying down any time soon.

The DEMs are unified on the bill they have drafted and the Republicans who still have some semblance of integrity will support it too. Dodd and Frank have worked too hard on this to not be brutally honest about how McCain and his few supporters are screwing around with the crisis.

held it back while pretending to work with the Dems in Congress just so they could derail efforts, as this appears to be. They look horrible. Why not bring the idea to the table while everyone was working on it? The two sides were supposed to collaborate. They (Cons) deliberately decieved the taxpayers. They (cons) undermined America during a crisis, so John McInsane could be staged as a 'hero' with a whole new approach.

All we heard was time was of the essence and the Cons slowed the whole thing down to prop up one man instead of doing what is best for everyone. Anyone who participates in that type of culture needs to be replaced. It is unprofessional, counter productive and wastes resources, not to mention the distrust, ill will and opposition that is created by this type of behavior.

Really disgusting. They (McCain Cons) should be voted out of office immediately. It doesn't matter what your ideology, this is unacceptable behavior and disrespectful to the American Taxpayers who pay their salaries.

who were playing this game with McCain. I really think the majority can't stand the man... maybe even less than we do.

I think Frank and Dodd are doing a great job under pressure. And I am sure not sleeping this past week makes them a bit more direct and to the point than they normally would be.

The public realize that it's a REPUBLICAN government who has proposed this bill in the first place.

They aren't going to make the distinction between the govt. and some little-known Congresscritters.

And McCain's "declaration of emergency" yesterday should erase any doubt that it's a GOP initiative, pure and simple.

AND the fact that Bush himself is pushing this so hard should OBLITERATE any talking points that this bailout is "Democrat-led".

I give the public SOME credit for at least figuring out the basics.

I think the same thing. We American's arent stupid. we just need to be reminded from time to time when these jokers try to drama it up.

Sheesh! We Progressives told our Dems we were Pissed over "Wall St. Bailout" but then that was just that "wing of the Dem Party they love to Ignore!" It's only when the "RIGHT" speaks out that "they listen." As much as I like Dodd and he did try to stop FISA on the "second go round" ...it seems he's back in the "DLC fold." :-(

When will Democrats ever wise up?

An attorney should never negotiate a settlement in the opposing attorney's office. That is just stupid. You get a neutral mediator and you hold negotiations in a neutral setting.

Besides why are Democrats bailing out the Bush administration?

The Republicans are just using this so-called "crisis" to get political miles.

This is the October surprise, and it is in reality just another lie.

Why do the Democrats think that Bush would tell the truth about this after he lied about everything else that has happened in the past 8 years?

I cannot believe what idiots "lead" our party.

Karl Rove, Rick Davis and the Republican leadership are setting us up again. They are turning a liability into an advantage for John McCain and the Republicans. I hope the Obama campaign is anticipating the Republican moves and has a knock-out response.

John McCain needed to change the direction of his campaign. What we are seeing unfold has been planned and is now being executed by the Republican leadership.

John McCain and co-conspirators are able to focus getting a “rescue agreement” negotiated around the Republican induced financial crisis. No agreement will be reached today or this weekend. People will become increasingly distressed over the possibility of a catastrophic financial collapse. The recalcitrant Republicans will be brought into an agreement along with the Democrats. That will set McCain apart from the President Bush and his administration and the Democrats will have to go along. They will be trapped like after 9/11.

The agreement will not necessarily rescue the economy, but it will change the momentum of the campaign and will really take the focus off of the issues again and put it back on the personalities. McCain will be perceived as a maverick leader who was able to bring the parties to an 11th hour agreement

Republicans screwed this economy, now we have a $700BB problem dropped 40 days before an election? After McCain has been running on how the economy is fundamentally sound?

Democrats should assume this is a political trap. Simply give Bernacke $50BB and tell him to come back in January with receipts and explain why he needs more.

Walk away from the table and tell the American people why and what you offered.

You should BLAST that solution across the internets!

Please make an OP...

I'll kick it every half hour!

:)

BTW - The $700 B figure was pulled out of someones ass - completely made up number.

WE DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH THIS WILL COST.

We have to keep repeating that and get people focused on it. When did they EVER give us the real number right out of the box?

Hardly. It's 10x more than they think they'll get and 10% of what they want. They've been working on this for months and the master plan has been in the works for nearly 30 years. Can you spell "Reaganonomics"?

They know what they want and the $700B is negotiable - simply a tactic to get the (D)s "on the hook" and committed. They're Republicon sociopaths - there is no upper limit on how much they want.

Treasury explains how it came up with $700 billion: We just wanted ‘a really large number.’

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/24/treasury-large-number/

...but you could even round it up to $70B -- a nice, even one-tenth of the total ask -- and, like you said, instruct Paulson and Bernacke to come back after the January inauguration and account for how they spent it.

Seriously, this should be an OP!

only his amount was $150B.

The repukes' response: "La, la, I can't hear you!" :eyes:

This is like staying the bank longer than 3 minutes.

supposedly holds the purse strings? :shrug:

that is part of the democrat plan, we only give you a partial amount for now, you show us it is working, then come back for more when and if you need it. The newest "proposal" from the repukes ties a capital gains cut with the deal. :puke:

They sell out toxic mortgage packages and half-built condo developments where no condos will sell, but they don't have to pay capital gains on any of it. Meanwhile, we the taxpayers have to pay AGAIN for their outstanding crony deals.

All clear to me now. :puke:

the Bush junta is doing is being managed with politics in mind.

inboxes and switchboards with this idea. Clean, simple, done. In addition to the receipts he should show what was improved and by how much by the intervention of the $50B. Prove it works Asswipes!

... as perhaps having been planned for months, to give McCain some faux crisis in which to appear Presidential. It was just speculation, but interesting.

edit: p.s. e.g. Come back to Washington, publicly oppose Bush's plan, and corral Congressional Republicans behind some other plan. It's going to be interesting to see how the media plays it.

office. Get what's left of US taxpayer money, ruin Soc. Security and Medicare totally and the "entitlements" they hate. Then buy up/expand their tropical island, oceanfront and mountainside retreats and retire in style, leaving US to fix the problems of their making since St. Ronnie and his repuke gang started this whole deregulation movement. :banghead:

And, Dodd just blew it off.

only asking for some accountability vs the ludicrous no-accountability notion that Paulson put out. There've been admissions that this particular "October surprise" has been in the works for months, so it's clear that the panic and demands for instantaneous action are totally orchestrated. And OF COURSE Paulson's initial 3 page no-accountability plan was MEANT to be denied, it being totally ludicrous - just so the idea of a $1-trillion "bailout" would be accepted as ground, the debate then turning on what kind of accountability mechanisms there'd be put in place. This is a 100% neocon plan, a neocon swindle, and the Charlie Brown analogy barely touches the entirely predictable Dem response.

Over and over again, the Dems seem oblivious to the political reality that the Republicans define -- to the point where I consider them criminally incompetent.

:hi:

There is nothing the Repigs can do to save McCain, and I don't think they really want to.

The complacency of thinking that such an idiot as Granpa McBush will never win the election is dangerous. I saw it in 2000 and 2004. The consensus of "That borderline retard will never win" didn't quite turn out like we thought(save your outrage at "retard" for a later date). Even in my state of Florida, I traveled all over the state as an inspector for FDEP and I can say that 1 out of every 100 people within FL spoke positively about Bush. I never brought up politics: I just let conversations lead where they led. These weren't CEOs or other executives. These were the people who made the plants operate, right down to who took out the trash. What I see is a huge distraction that at the most critical times redirects attention away from the rampant election fraud that has bee ignored for too long. The collapse of the empires of the rich and the collateral damage of some citizens who extended themselves beyond their ability to "cover the spread" is not the most important thing here. If we pay attention to installing the correct leaders, that will be taken care of. We can't install the correct leaders if the election process is still rigged!!!

I see another manufactured crisis that in the end will make their guy look good while distracting from the upcoming debates and elections. And in the end the Bush Admin and their rich friends get to walk off with another chunk of change.

The Charlie Brown analogy throughout this thread is spot on. Wait a little longer and we'll see how McCain holds a special meeting with those repukes that were angry yesterday and "pulls" them altogether over this special crisis and the "maverick" saves the day.

The Dems should deny them everything. Let the house of cards fall or not fall. Repubes are not to be trusted on any level. It's always politics and it's always loaded with republican self interest. The Scorpion and the frog. The Scorpion and the frog.

Nothing that genuinely addresses this issue so critically important to our country. Just a cheap political trick to get another republican elected.

If Dems get a large majority in both Houses and take the WH, there can be no bipartisanship.

Republicans are to shallow and petty to bring anything to the table that will help our country.

They will do absolutely nothing except obstruct progress.

Democrats should just tell them to sit down, be quiet, and let the adults handle everything.

That's exactly what they should do. The meeting with Bush just detracted from the process, and Obama shouldn't have agreed to it.

I am glad to call Sen. Dodd my senator! I think this whole bail out idea stinks. To create a gov. owned market place to peddle mortgage backed securities that are of questionable worth and also the derivatives which are worthless. Seems to me like the government wants to get into the Indian Casino Game. All Paulsin needs now is Jack Abramoff to advise him.

he is at one end of the table while john was at the other end

State that they will not go into recess, and that they will fight to ensure a plan on THEIR terms.

Enough is enough.

They are part of the Reich

Whether you're for or against the proposed bailout, please vote in the poll at the bottom of the linked page. The site is read daily by most of New Hampshire's Democratic party leadership and its Congressional delegation and it's a great way to let them know your feelings.

Thanks

Barney Frank's comments make absolute sense.

all debates would be cancelled? I actually think Dems should not sign the deal until after the election all the while spinning it like Bush is trying to force them to make a decision that is bad for the public. Bush + McCain = bad guys

Dems can come out strong and say they remember the last time they had to do something in a rush...the Iraq war and how that was a great success. This gives us the opportunity to point the fingers.

If he won't show up, Obama should set up a cardboard standee or take Bob Barr up on his offer to fill in, whichever he thinks would most effectively punish McSame for pulling this stunt.

Perhaps the repukes were trying to ambush him but they are only cooking their own goose, and making McSame look bad in the process. They will live to regret this strategic blunder.

McCain, Boehner, House Repugs are going to come up with a solution, etc., etc. WHERE THE HELL ARE OUR LEADERS? AREN'T THE DEMS STILL IN THE MAJORITY????? WHY DON'T WE LEAD INSTEAD OF GETTING PUSHED INTO OKING WHAT THE REPUGS COME UP WITH???? OK, BARAK, LEAD FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!!!!!

on Thom Hartmann 2 days ago, and I hope you're sitting down...

and just so you get the whole picture ...

the annual GLOBAL GDP is approx $40 trillion.

the total derivatives mess is


ONE THOUSAND TRILLION DOLLARS

So yes, the $700 billion number? pulled outta somebody's butt. and it's just the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

S&L bailout anyone?

that one thousand trillion number? I mean, is this from Wall Street or certain economists?

You could check hartman's site. All I know is I about drove off the road.

That's 4 million dollars for everybody in the USA. I know they gave out some bad loans, but I didn't get mine. :(

Helicopter Ben and Goldman Sachs Paulson are ASKAIRT out of their freakin' minds. They know the bigger mess is yet to come, when more & more of these shadow markets start to unravel.

Tip of the iceberg, indeed, so far. The worst is yet to come.
:scared:

as reported in the NYT today. The actual amount at risk is estimated to be 2.5 trillion, a huge number but still a much smaller number.

I don't know what the "total derivatives" number would be unless they are adding up the everything in the commodities market, which is a little silly.

Didn't Obama raise the same concerns?

Have there been any statement from Obama on this? I can't seem to find any.

the House Repigs Boehner want their own version, while the Dems and some repigs and Bernanke and Paulson were for the changes and conditions of what the Dems wanted, john mc insane parachutes in has not read the 3 page Bernanke and Paulson proposal, has not said what he wants, is Boehner and Repigs in the House and John McInsane playing dirty, and want their own plan to be adopted. Do I have this right?


Senator Reid said John McCain said nothing until the end of meeting. Did anyone catch Keith right now, that John McInsane is treating the American people as idiots, and just playing us.

I got the bailout blues, yeah
I got the bailout blues

Thought I was sittin’ fine,
Thought I had plenty of time,
Thought I shouldn’t .. ahem.. “whine”…

I got the bailout blues, yeah
I got the bailout blues.

I bought my house without any cash,
I was told nothin’ was gonna go crash,
I was told it’s gonna be my stash..

What a bunch of trash!

I got the bailout blues,
Oh yeah – I got the bailout blues

Hey - someone said “give me your money”
He said - "there’s nothing that’s funny,
Times are now always gonna be sunny

You’re gonna be just fine!...."

Next thing I know – they just kept asking for more more more,
That’s when things got really sore,

Oh yeah – I got the bailout blues,
Them bailout blues…..

Now these guys – their bosses bosses boss
He’s sitting on some heckuva loss

He’s blaming ME – what an Oss!

Why me? What did I do?
Man – I just wanted my home!
I just wanted my dig,
I didn’t want anythin’ big,

I paid as I should
As much as could
But things just kept on goin’ up up up

Now I hear, as I sit on the street,
With barely nothin’ on my feet
As I’m singin’ this song
Not feelin’ so strong,

That – yo – my friend's bosses bosses boss
Ain’t gonna be that rich no more
And that – to make up for his loss -
It’s MY ass they’re gonna toss!

Oh yeah – I got the bailout blues,
Them bailout blues…..

I got them bailout blues,
Oh yea, I got them bailout blues!

you mean, like the Patriot Act, along with damn near everything else Bush and the yes-men repukes shoved down the throats of America, with the threat of telling the media that you were unpatriotic if you even bothered to read the damn thing?

What, three pages, and McCain can't be bothered to read it ... and a thousand pages of Patriot Act, and they had only a few hours to even glance at it?

What is so fucking hard to understand and why won't our leaders LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE!!! We don't want a fucking BAILOUT!!!

The point of the bailout is to buy assets that are illiquid but not worthless. But regular banks hold assets like that all the time. They're called "loans."

With banks, runs occur only when depositors panic, because they fear the loan book is bad. Deposit insurance takes care of that. So why not eliminate the pointless $100,000 cap on federal deposit insurance and go take inventory? If a bank is solvent, money market funds would flow in, eliminating the need to insure those separately. If it isn't, the FDIC has the bridge bank facility to take care of that."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/24/AR2008092403033.html

Galbraith

Insane Mc Same will pay for this in the November election.

he is. It will also show Americans that this man cannot do more than one thing at a time. I want a multi tasker Obama!!!

isn't going to fix McCain's campaign or anything else. When was the last time that Chimpy actually solved anything.

They must be really desperate.

Heck, when was the first time?:shrug:

When was the last time that Chimpy actually solved anything.



Heck, when was the first time?

:rofl:

They don't bother to find solutions, just being against any idea is their claim to fame. If the Dems did the same thing, the entire Congress would be useless - which of course fits right in with their philosophy. But for them to claim that they ever do anything right is just laughable.

McC is a world-class disaster already, without even being elected.

This whole story makes me sick. So how about a timeline?

Financial crisis timeline

July 12th, 2007
"This is far and away the strongest global economy I've seen in my business lifetime."
-- Henry Paulson (US Treasury Secretary)

April 20th, 2007
"I don't see (subprime mortgage market troubles) imposing a serious problem. I think it's going to be largely contained."
-- Henry Paulson (US Treasury Secretary)

May 17th, 2007
"Given the fundamental factors in place that should support the demand for housing, we believe the effect of the troubles in the subprime sector on the broader housing market will likely be limited,"
-- Ben Bernanke (Chairman of the Federal Reserve)

August 1st, 2007
"The market has focused on this. There's a wake-up call, and there's an adjustment to this repricing of risk, but I see the underlying economy as being very healthy,"
-- Henry Paulson (US Treasury Secretary)

February 28th, 2008
"I'm seeing a series of ideas suggested involving major government intervention in the housing market, and these things are usually presented or sold as a way of helping homeowners stay in their homes. Then when you look at them more carefully what they really amount to is a bailout for financial institutions or Wall Street."
-- Henry Paulson (US Treasury Secretary)

March 16th, 2008
"We've got strong financial institutions . . . Our markets are the envy of the world. They're resilient, they're...innovative, they're flexible. I think we move very quickly to address situations in this country, and, as I said, our financial institutions are strong."
-- Henry Paulson (US Treasury Secretary)

May 7th, 2008
"The worst is likely to be behind us,"
-- Henry Paulson (US Treasury Secretary)

May 16th, 2008
"In my judgment, we are closer to the end of the market turmoil than the beginning,"
"I have great, great confidence in our capital markets and financial instituations"
-- Henry Paulson (US Treasury Secretary)

May 19th, 2008
"Our policy in this administration is that laws shouldn't bail out lenders, laws shouldn't help out speculators,"
-- George Bush

July 11th, 2008
Indymac seized by federal regulators

July 15th, 2008
"I think the system is basicaly sound, I truly do."
--George Bush

July 20th, 2008
"it's a safe banking system, a sound banking system. Our regulators are on top of it. This is a very manageable situation."
-- Henry Paulson (US Treasury Secretary)

September 7th, 2008
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac taken over by federal regulators.

September 7th, 2008
"Nothing about our actions today in any way reflects a changed view of the housing correction or of the strength of other U.S. financial institutions."
-- Henry Paulson (US Treasury Secretary)

September 15th, 2008
Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy

September 16th, 2008
Government takes over AIG (American International Group)

September 19th, 2008
Government bans short selling

September 19th, 2008
"We must now take further, decisive action to fundamentally and comprehensively address the root cause of our financial system's stresses,"
"We're talking hundreds of billions. This needs to be big enough to make a real difference and get at the heart of the problem,"
-- Henry Paulson (US Treasury Secretary)

September 20th, 2008
Bush asks congress for $700 billion to avert catastrophic, economic meltdown.

Is that original, or is there somewhere I should link to/credit when I tell others?

what scum these guys are. it is a total set up/scam.

People are angry that as their stocks plummet in value and they are fired due to upper mismanagement's shenanigans, CEOs like Paulson are getting their golden parachutes worth hundreds of millions. Meanwhile, some of BushCo's buddies are getting hurt and won't get theirs. Take the taxpayers' money and run is their motto now.

and his masters are out of the White House.

cronies with golden parachutes intact and no personal financial harm done to them at all.

Then when the economy craters anyway they will blame it all on Obama and the democratic party, guarantee!

I know of NO ONE who wants to bail these thieves out except Rush Limpballs and the rest of the nazi right.

Crash and burn you assholes and take your filthy republican party down with ya!

I hope the democratic party has the sense to see the scam the Rethugs are trying to pull on them.

you know how she plowed the FISA Bill through the House, I think she is pushing for this to be resolved watch out for her.

Why do we need to "work together?" Who cares what the fuckers who got us into this mess think?

it must be bizarre to most! hell, it's bizarre to US!

just wondering HOW, and some reactions....

dupe

left the bailout meetings. Dodd and Frank were talking to reporters that the house repubs dropped off entirely different proposal and will not work with the Paulson plan. Can't find a link yet.

Talk about grandstanding!!

"I can't go to the debate unless you pass my version of the bailout plan."

...to show what he is made of. He needs to grab control of the situation, present himself as the undisputed leader of the majority party controlling Congress and hammer out a solution, with him clearly calling the shots, no questions asked.

That is what America expects of leaders. He does that, he wins in a landslide.

Well, that's a start. If your dem colleagues had some backbone to begin with, the repigs probably would not have been so bold as to think the lot of you would go for it.

We all know the dollar's gonna TANK. At least we'd have the satisfaction of seeing them in jail.

DESTROYING MILLIONS of families....even BILLIONS of families around the world.

To hell with these psychopaths who want more money for more wars and their disgusting paramilitary police state in the US.

Subject: Here is a great solution to the economic crisis
Now..............if everyone who receives this would forward it to
their senators and congressmen with a note saying " Do This! "
can you imagine the snowball?????


Hi Everyone,

I'm against the $85,000,000,000 bailout of AIG.
Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in
a ""We Deserve It Dividend"".

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000
bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man,
woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at
adults 18 and up.

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals
$425,000.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a
"We Deserve It Dividend".

Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax
rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00
in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle
Sam. But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500 in
their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.

What would you do with $297,500 to $595,000 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved. Repay college
loans - what a great boost to new grads. Put away money for
college - it'll be there. Save in a bank - create money to loan
to entrepreneurs. Buy a new car - create jobs. Invest in the
market - capital drives growth. Pay for your parent's medical
insurance - health care improves. Enable Deadbeat Dads
to come clean - or else.

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including
the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every
other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those
serving in our Armed Forces.

If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead
of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ("vote buy") economic incentive
that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every
adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General
go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate.
Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.
Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work." But can you
imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the
$85 Billion "We Deserve It Dividend" more than I do the
geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC.

And remember, The Family plan only really costs $59.5 Billion
because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,

A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic.

Why the hell aren't you running for office somewhere?

I liked it too.

Looks like he comments every where..

Comes out to $425 dollars per person.. It sure sounded good though. I almost massed emailed that out. I doubled checked the math first thank goodness.

85,000,000,000/200,000,000=425 not 425,000

So at least you can still feel good about that.

the gov't doesn't have that money to just give. It's going to come as a loan that we (the people) will have to pay off.
So, giving us that lump sum would boil down to a loan that we have to pay to the gov't to pay us. What's the sense?

:applause:

DEMS DID THEIR TASK WELL AND PRESENTED A GOOD PLAN . . . AT THIS POINT THEY JUST NEED TO WALK OUT. THAT'S WHAT THE REPUBS DID. BESIDE, IT HAS BEEN STATED THAT THEY DON'T KNOW IF THIS BAILOUT WOULD EVEN SOLVE THE PROBLEM SO WHAT ARE WE ACTUALLY LOSING.

In the aftermath of the US Treasurys decision to seize control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, critics have hit at lax oversight of the mortgage companies. The dominant theme has been that Congress let the two government-sponsored enterprises morph into a creature that eventually threatened the US financial system. Mike Oxley will have none of it. Instead, the Ohio Republican who headed the House financial services committee until his retirement after mid-term elections last year, blames the mess on ideologues within the White House as well as Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve.

The critics have forgotten that the House passed a GSE reform bill in 2005 that could well have prevented the current crisis, says Mr Oxley, now vice-chairman of Nasdaq. He fumes about the criticism of his House colleagues. All the handwringing and bedwetting is going on without remembering how the House stepped up on this, he says. What did we get from the White House? We got a one-finger salute. The House bill, the 2005 Federal Housing Finance Reform Act, would have created a stronger regulator with new powers to increase capital at Fannie and Freddie, to limit their portfolios and to deal with the possibility of receivership.

Mr Oxley reached out to Barney Frank, then the ranking Democrat on the committee and now its chairman, to secure support on the other side of the aisle. But after winning bipartisan support in the House, where the bill passed by 331 to 90 votes, the legislation lacked a champion in the Senate and faced hostility from the Bush administration. Adamant that the only solution to the problems posed by Fannie and Freddie was their privatisation, the White House attacked the bill. Mr Greenspan also weighed in, saying that the House legislation was worse than no bill at all.

We missed a golden opportunity that would have avoided a lot of the problems were facing now, if we hadnt had such a firm ideological position at the White House and the Treasury and the Fed, Mr Oxley says.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8780c35e-7e91-11dd-b1af-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

This is a setup stage by Rove, Bush and the republicans to screw the democrats out ot this coming election no matter which decision they make. Bush has known of a problem for over a year and has known that their party was looking at a big defeat in November. Paulson was selected treasure secretary in 2006 from Goldman Sac, the major institution they wish to give our tax money to.
Paulson had make $38,000,000 million dollar income in 2005. Why would a person give up this salary to work as treasury secretary, unless some big was involved.
This stinks and is nothing but a plot to transfer more wealth to these corrupted institutions which should be on trial for their crimes.

They have loan out and spent over twice the amount of money they had. Now if You or I give someone a check in which we knowingly don't have the funds in our account we are charged , sentence and jailed...

So why are these criminals not charged for lending money they never had and knew they didn't.
Democrats which we know are stupid as h.... when it comes to making wise choices on the games Bush plays against them are going to be played big time as sucker and tax spenders. IF they signs this bill giving our tax money to these crooks all h... will break out at the polls..

This is what the republicans will attack the democrats with and see look what they have done.
The republican which are up for re-election will not sign on and be heroes to their voters.
I believe this was planned by Bush and the republicans because they needed a away to be elected in November because they have known for sometime the ways things are they would be defeated.

We Know d... well Bush has now played this political card against Obama , trying to make McCain look important and presidential material in this process which Bush just made a speech saying that this should not be political or partisan....
Bush and the republicans will sink to any low to gain , keep and have the controlling power over this country....

This may all be true.
I wouldn't put it past them.
What we need to do is keep the faith, keep on working, get the vote out on the day.
Let the people speak. I still believe MOST people will see through this b/s.

2. Have a recession/depression.
3. Have buddies buy everything on the cheap.
4. Allow recovery/positive investment

(rinse, repeat)

That's the new repuke proposal backed by McShame

I would like to know what do WE here at DU do to get our voices heard. I called my Senators & Representative but I can't say I got any assurance by any. All they said is they would pass it along to the guy!

Should we bombard Dodd & Frank about our concerns. I'm from Florida and wonder if they will even take my call. I know there are 800 numbers out there for contacting them, just don't have them on hand.

Any suggestions rather then just calling all them names?? A realist MUST see that complaining here isn't going to make the front pages of the BIG PAPERS from us.

Do WE have a plan?? Just a observance.

What exactly do we say? My thought is that they (Dems) should publicly question the repukes. This was all a stunt to prop up John McLame to make him "look" presidential. This was planned all along. The Paulson agreement was written long ago in preparation for this nonsense and waste of everyone's time. Bipartisanship is a two way street. It cannot exist until the repukes stop behaving so cynically, underhandedly and deliberately wasting resources (time and people) that need to be focused on real work. Using other Americans, whether you agree with them or not, in a set up is a despicable and unpatriotic act. This needs to be called out for what it is. Another fear mongering fake crisis from Bush, the boy who cried 'wolf'.

Watch the media salivate over McSame now. Hope they weren't in on it.

On Edit: The whole meeting "looked like a rescue plan for John McCain," Dodd said. He said he was simply going to pretend that the meeting had never happened.


I'm glad he said this to the media. I hope every late night and not so late comedian calls this out. I hope the Dems drive this point home over and over. Talk about Government waste. The repukes just wasted everyone's time in this scam. Let everyone you know, know about it. Nothing could be less presidential. This stunt had to be done because McStunt is NOT presidential at all.

That actually might get us some prime time MSM coverage----Congress bombarded with tons of letters in every office, overflowing into the hallways. :think:

Don't allow a bill to come to the floor unless every one of the Republicans are ready to sign on, every single one of them! They had an agreement and the Republican's went back on it. If they won't live up to their agreements then why talk to them any further.

I think they will be baited on this to make a hasty decision, and again the Repigs who did this will come out clean. Something is not right here at all.

Bell will ring in 1 minute!

McCain is a known gambling addict and his game is craps. He likes to roll the dice. McCain has been know to roll the dice for 14 hours straight. McCain has been known to risk and sometimes lose tens of thousands of dollars at the tables. McCain just rolled the dice with the economic future of our nation. Now McCain, in true McCain fashion, is risking losing our entire economic system for the sake of his Palin crippled campaign. McCain has one hell of a nerve even thinking "Country First" no less repeating that lie as his campaign slogan.

So what else is new ? www.wisecountyissues.com

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this whole thing has been a setup. Bush has a plan we all have to get behind and then we try to reach across party lines just at the time the repug 'miraculously' refuse something Bush is trying to push through and on McCain's 'wings' they bring out their own Non-Bush solution, because you know they all are such Mavericks now. What a bunch of balony. They must think we Americans are stupid. It's not even fit for a direct-to-dvd movie plot.

We wont let them get away with it.

when no one I know favors this bailout? Why not walk away and let the Repugs fix what they broke?
This is not good imo! The thugs will say the Dems did it when it fails!

CR