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Post by jbr on Mar 24, 2009 14:34:48 GMT -8
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Post by seeingeyelobster on Mar 24, 2009 20:22:27 GMT -8
I don't suppose that you could actually explain how Barney Frank, as a member of the minority Party from 1995-2006, was responsible for the financial mess that we find ourselves in? By the way, there is no way that Barney Frank will not be re-elected. He pays very close attention to his constituent's views. |
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Post by amyinpa on Mar 24, 2009 20:55:28 GMT -8
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Post by Maxf1ex on Mar 25, 2009 2:19:12 GMT -8
I don't suppose that you could actually explain how Barney Frank, as a member of the minority Party from 1995-2006, was responsible for the financial mess that we find ourselves in? By the way, there is no way that Barney Frank will not be re-elected. He pays very close attention to his constituent's views. One of the thinks about Bush which bother me, was the way he was willing to work with (cave in, some would say) to the opposing parties wishes. There was many a time I would have support a veto if he had done so. But no, he wimp out. Oh granted, I understand why he did so. And in some cases I can even agree with his reasons for doing so, even when I do not agree with his reasons. As for Barney Frank, At least the Massachusetts Democrat is consistent. His record is close to perfect as a stalwart opponent of reforming the two companies, going back more than a decade. The first concerted push to rein in Fan and Fred in Congress came as far back as 1992, and Mr. Frank was right there, standing athwart. But things really picked up this decade, and Barney was there at every turn. Let's roll the audiotape: Since the link can say it so much better them I, please feel free to click on it. (Different link, same type of information on the promble) The pressure to make more loans to minorities (read: to borrowers with weak credit histories) became relentless. Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act, empowering regulators to punish banks that failed to "meet the credit needs" of "low-income, minority, and distressed neighborhoods." |
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Post by seeingeyelobster on Mar 25, 2009 5:24:08 GMT -8
These are great talking points, but what anyone fails to point out is that the Republicans were in charge in 2004, and they could have acted, but they didn't. Barney Frank was powerless to thwart any actions that Republicans wanted to enact. As a member of the minority, he had no voice or say in what legislation went forward. The Republicans controlled the agenda. They could have done anything they wanted to regulate Fan and Fred, but they chose not to act. Do you think that Barney Frank was in a position of power to thwart the Republicans?
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Post by msguide on Mar 25, 2009 5:33:59 GMT -8
That still doesn't relieve Barney Frank from his responsibility. If he had taken it seriously, he could have used his senior status to exert more power. I just think he was in denial about the whole thing. That's not to say there isn't enough culpability to spread around. Everyone stands guilty of ignoring Constitutional limits on government. Now we're in a mess, and Congress has to bear the burden of it.
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Post by seeingeyelobster on Mar 25, 2009 6:23:06 GMT -8
That still doesn't relieve Barney Frank from his responsibility. If he had taken it seriously, he could have used his senior status to exert more power. I just think he was in denial about the whole thing. That's not to say there isn't enough culpability to spread around. Everyone stands guilty of ignoring Constitutional limits on government. Now we're in a mess, and Congress has to bear the burden of it. That's the whole point. Barney Frank didn't have senior status. In 2004, when then chairman of the House Banking Committee Mike Oxley (R) Ohio passed a bill in the House to regulate Fannie/Freddie, the White House killed the bill. In 2005, Bush installed his prep school pal James Lockhart to run Fannie/Freddie. He then proceeded to buy up $400 billion of risky subprime mortgages. That is what put Fannie/ Freddie into a meltdown position.Barney Frank had nothing to do with that. |
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