AP IMPACT: Mortgage firm arranged stealth campaign

WASHINGTON – Freddie Mac secretly paid a Republican consulting firm $2 million to kill legislation that would have regulated and trimmed the mortgage finance giant and its sister company, Fannie Mae, three years before the government took control to prevent their collapse.

news.yahoo.com...

So The firm that has lobbyists running John McCain's campaign, that just got a 700billion dollar bail out, was paying the GOP to help them out with regulation. I know, just because McCain's campaign is being run by lobbyisits from Freddie Mac, and the Bush Administration was being paid by Freddie Mac to pass a 700billion dollar bailout plan, and... um, how are they not corrupt?

Well to be fair, they didn't get $700B ...yet. Fannie and Freddie got $100B each, before and separate from the $700B Bailout. They do qualify to sell their worthless loans to the Treasury though for another slice of the bailout pie.

It's just more of the same old BS. The republicans point the finger at the dems for killing their legislation, while taking $2M to kill their own legislation. And the guy who ran it all is still McCain's advisor. Shameless.

I can't believe it. "Obama's a terrorist!" Has hundreds of posts. The Republicans being bought by Freddie Mac to destroy regulation and then get HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS in tax money, nothing.

And as the economy collapses... Nothing. The Republicans get bought and paid for by Freddie Mac as the economy collapses around us and nothing. Obama sneezes, thousands of posts. Republicans RAPE the American People for Freddie Mac, nothing.

Apparently you didn't get them memo. You're only supposed to talk about Obama's Grandmother, Palin's clothes, or Mickey Mouse's voter registration.

McCain has accused Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama of taking advice from former executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and failing to see that the companies were heading for a meltdown.

McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, or his lobbying firm has taken more than $2 million from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac dating to 2000. In December, Freddie Mac contributed $250,000 to last month's GOP convention.

reply to post by mythatsabigprobe


Oh that's right. Now if Mickey Mouse had given 2,000,000 to the GOP then Disney got 700,000,000,000 back they'd ignore it.

And why is the news not covering this? Especially with all the focus on the economy you'd think they'd be blasting the GOP for this. I guess MSNBC and CNN aren't as "liberal" as the Republicans scream.

I read through the source trying to make sense of it. 18 senators were targeted but only 8 signed the letter. How did 8 senators block a bill that caused the whole collapse? And then you have this:

Freddie Mac's problems began when Hagel's legislation won approval from the Senate committee.

Democrats did not like the harshest provision, which would have given a new regulator a mandate to shrink Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae by forcing them to sell off part of their portfolios. That approach, the Democrats feared, would cut into the ability of low- and moderate-income families to buy houses.

Sooooo... Republicans tried to pass legislation to put more regulations on Freddie/Fannie but 8 Republican senators and the Democrats knocked it down. And you're attempting to blame the whole mess on Republicans.

In the end, there was not enough Republican support for Hagel's bill to warrant bringing it up for a vote because Democrats also opposed it and the votes of some would be needed for passage. The measure died at the end of the 109th Congress.

Please straighten me out if I have it wrong I found the article a bit confusing to follow.

reply to post by jjkenobi


There was more than one bill, and the Dems didn't get the pay off. And Barack doesn't have the Lobbyist who orchestrated the pay off running his campaign, unlike McCain.

I reread the article and I couldn't find where DCI, the company hired by Fannie Mae, paid Republicans any money. They were paid to persuade a list of Senators from specific states to vote their way. And last I checked Democrats DID get paid by Fannie/Freddie.

Update: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Invest in Lawmakers

As for having a former lobbyist working for McCain's campaign I don't like it more than anyone else and I certainly won't defend it, but I would hope you not to be naive enough to think both sides don't do it. Turning a blind eye to your own party won't help fix govt corruption.

Lobbyists on Obama’s ’08 payroll

Obama Staffer's Lobbying Work Runs Counter to Candidate's Guidelines, Ethics Watchdogs Say

reply to post by jjkenobi


First paragraph of the story. "Freddie Mac secretly paid a Republicanconsulting firm $2 million to kill legislation that would have regulated and trimmed the mortgage finance giant and its sister company, Fannie Mae, three years before the government took control to prevent their collapse."

Originally posted by GamerGal
reply to post by jjkenobi

 

First paragraph of the story. "Freddie Mac secretly paid a Republicanconsulting firm $2 million to kill legislation that would have regulated and trimmed the mortgage finance giant and its sister company, Fannie Mae, three years before the government took control to prevent their collapse."

So, what's you're point? At that time, not all Republicans in the Senate were members of the committee.

Here you go again, accusing ALL Republicans everywhere of corrupt behavior and making blanket statements. Let's take a look at a few things in your story:

Freddie Mac's payments to DCI began shortly after the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee sent Hagel's bill to the then GOP-run Senate on July 28, 2005. All GOP members of the committee supported it; all Democrats opposed it.

So what does this mean? Does this mean the Democrats on the committee opposed it because it was the right thing to do? Hardly! Remember it was Bill Clinton himself that loosened the regulations on Freddie/Fannie in the first place. In the story it even says:

Before 2004, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were Democratic strongholds. After 2004, Republicans ran their political operations.

It's more likely the Democrats opposed it because, as you said, a Republican consulting firm was hired.

But let's address the entire context of the story. They basically convinced a group of Senators on a Committee to Lobby against legislation on their behalf. Is that illegal? No. Is it unscrupulous, given that America was in a housing boom that would later become a bursting bubble that would give way to our current economic crisis? Yes, it was.

But let me ask you this. Prior to 2004, when Fannie/Freddie was "A Democratic" Stronghold, why didn't the Democrats do anything to stop the housing boom from happening if they were so concerned about American well-being?

The answer is, because there was nothing in it for them. This is typical of politics. Haven't you figured that out by now? Politicians are corrupt, including Senator Barack Obama!

Oh, and this, right from your own story:

Obama has received $120,349 in political donations from employees of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae; McCain $21,550.

In December, Freddie Mac contributed $250,000 to last month's GOP convention.

They gave $250K to the Convention, not to McCain. There's a big difference.

[edit on 28-10-2008 by sos37]

Your source, Yahoo news, is a completely Obama-biased source. Of course they would criticize McCain and the Republicans and make poor wittle Obama the victim. It simply isn't true no matter how much one wants to believe it.

Barney Franks, Franklin Raines, etc... hands in the Freddie Mac/Fanny Mae pie. Look 'em up.

reply to post by Seeker Mom


Yahoo is liberal? That's your only defense against Freddie mac buying the GOP? Then getting hundreds of billions back?

Originally posted by GamerGal
reply to post by Seeker Mom

 

Yahoo is liberal? That's your only defense against Freddie mac buying the GOP? Then getting hundreds of billions back?

DISINFORMATION!!!

They did not buy THE GOP they paid a Republican Consulting firm which was backed by certain members of a Senatorial Committee. That is hardly the ENTIRE GOP.

You really aren't able to separate 'some' from 'all' are you? Is that a learning disability? I mean seriously - it is in almost EVERY one of your posts, the way you make blanket statements based on the actions of a few.

"Freddie Mac secretly paid a Republican consulting firm $2 million"

2million. Then got hundreds of billions back. Can you imagine that kind of return? If you pay off the GOP with 200 dollars you'd get over 2 million dollars back! And what? McCain STOPPED his campaign to give money to Freddie Mac. Bush screamed about how the country would collapse unless we gave money to Freddie Mac. They bought the GOP, and the GOP returned the investment.

McCain claims he will do what he can for the American people. Hey, how about instead of giving hundreds of billions to the guys who bought you and run your campaign... you give the money to us? Joe The Plumber could pay off his house AND buy his own business and still have 699,999,970,000 dollars left!