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June 18, 2008
Bailing Out a Friend
Remember in 2006, when the Democrats urged voters to end the "culture of corruption?" Turns out they only wanted a turn at the trough.
Countrywide Financial Corp.'s "friends of Angelo" program provided sweetheart loans to key banking players in Washington, D.C. They included former Fannie Mae chief executive Jim Johnson, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D., N.D.) and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.).So Senator Dodd, a former presidential candidate, is asking us - the taxpayer - to bail out the same company that gave him preferential treatment for a loan.The growing scandal surrounding the "friends of Angelo" loans (so-called by company employees, referring to Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo) should serve as a political wake-up call. Yet the Senate appears intent on pushing forward legislation, co-authored by Sen. Dodd, that would bail out the worst actors in the subprime mortgage banking industry.
Jim DeMint has rightly asked Harry Reid to delay the bill until an investigation can be completed. Reid's response will show whether the Democrats were as serious about ending corruption as they were about ending earmarks or lowering gas prices.
There has been some unintentional hilarity that's resulted from the revelation of the sweet deals some members of Congress received from Countrywide. Specifically, this commentary by CNN's Roland Martin, which sets a new level of shameless spin. His thesis - 'hey, don't we all want to be treated like VIPs?' ignores the fact that there are actual laws forbidding members of Congress to take the sorts of favors Dodd and Conrad received. Read it and behold just how in the tank this guy is for the Democrats.
I'm sure Martin was just as blase about the 'culture of corruption' in the GOP.
Posted by slublog at June 18, 2008 10:23 PM
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Comments
The only way to change anything is by making your voice heard. If no one steps up to the call and tells senators what they want, why shouldn't they vote the way they wish? Call the Senators and ask them to oppose this, "Dodd/Countrywide" Housing Bailout Bill. If it passes, you have yourself to blame:
http://www.freedomworks.org/newsroom/press_template.php?press_id=2569
Posted by: Michael at June 19, 2008 04:27 PM