Nostalgia and Protest at Mortgage Bankers Convention

By TChris, Section Other Politics
Posted on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 10:34:03 AM EST
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You might expect a convention of mortgage bankers to be a dull affair. Not this year.

[Karl] Rove, the Republican strategist and former adviser to President Bush, was accosted onstage during a convention panel here on Tuesday morning by a protester who tried to handcuff and arrest him “for treason.” Mr. Rove tried to elbow her away before she was taken offstage.

The protester unfortunately lacked any actual arrest authority.

To be fair, it seems that mortgage bankers could party with the best of them in years past. [more ...]

“We had streakers during the 1990s, but that was a joyful, happy thing,” said [mortgage broker Gregory] Lucas, who had been coming to such events for 20 years and recalled how a group of inebriated and naked bankers had once entertained the crowd. “But now everyone is blaming us for everything.”

Ah, for those glorious days of excess and unregulated fun. The days when housing prices always grew to match the debt that keeps mortgage bankers in business. The roaring 90's were a great time to be a naked banker.

This year, there's no reason to party, no networking to be done.

“I’ve cut a lot of deals in those bars,” Mr. Lucas said, chomping on a cigar. “And there wasn’t anybody there last night.”

The only entertainment now is provided by Karl Rove as he tries to avoid a symbolic arrest.

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Nostalgia and Protest at Mortgage Bankers Convention | 12 comments (12 topical)

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Poor KKKarl... (5.00 / 1) (#3)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 11:47:51 AM EST

...first someone tries to arrest him, then he gets heckled from the audience, then he gets slammed by George Mitchell and finally laughed at.

It's almost enough to make you feel sorry for him. NOT.

I hope he's dodging citizen arrest... (none / 0) (#11)
by kdog on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 10:46:36 AM EST

for the rest of his life.

As an aside...wouldn't it be cool if we had a citizens police force to police the state's various law enforcement outfits and govt. officials. And citizen courts for trials. Upon conviction we can take turns locking up the Roves of the world in our basements. I'd volunteer to pull a shift..payback is a b*tch:)


Yep, even if he doesn't do time... (none / 0) (#12)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 11:10:31 AM EST

...karma should keep biting him in the a*s for the rest of his life.

I don't have a basement, but I'm sure I could find room in a closet for the crooks and liars.


: And unlike federal prisons.... (none / 0) (#13)
by kdog on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 11:15:27 AM EST

I'd bet you and I would actually make a concerted effort to rehabilitate Rove.
Discuss the issues of the day over the evening meal and after-dinner smoke...at the very least I think I could get him to re-think drug prohibition:)

gee, i wonder why (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by cpinva on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 12:28:02 PM EST

anyone would do that?

"But now everyone is blaming us for everything."

if these clowns had any sense of PR, or even self-preservation, if they still insisted on having this event, they'd have changed the venue to some place like omaha. instead, they slap everyone in the face by having it in san francisco.

gee, why not just go all out, and have it in the bahamas?

the overweaning arrogance of these people is just astounding.

I don't follow your logic (none / 0) (#5)
by cymro on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 02:38:09 PM EST

What's wrong with bankers meeting in San Francisco, if they are going to hold a meeting anywhere in the US? People do work in SF, you know -- it's not just a tourist resort. SF is the 14th largest city in the US (Omaha is 42nd, btw). And SF is the home of Wells Fargo, now one of the largest banks in the US, depending on how you measure. There's also a Federal Reserve Bank in SF (unlike Omaha, btw) and a branch of the NYSE.

So why should doing business in San Francisco be characterized as "a slap in the face"? I could characterize that attitude as "typical of East Coast ignorance and elitism".


East coast elitism???? (none / 0) (#6)
by CST on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 03:16:37 PM EST

The person is advocating Omaha.

Hardly the east coast.

Us east coasters have no problem with San Fran. I am told constantly that San Fran is like an east coast city on the west coast.

I always thought the coasts were lumped together in their "liberal elitism" charge. Now all of a sudden it's just the east coast? And we're ignorent too? cmon. We need to stop the location bashing already. I agree I have no problem with this being in San Fran, but you didn't have to take your frustration out on the east coast. What exactly is "typical East Coast ignorance and elitism"?


Hmmm ... (none / 0) (#8)
by cymro on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 06:33:47 PM EST

Your response is as inexplicable as the original comment, in which San Francisco was being compared to the Bahamas, in contrast to Omaha. And that argument was made by poster cpinva, who is (presumably) in VA. Which is in the East, right?

That's the poster and argument I am responding to. I don't understand the basis for your comment, under the circumstances.


Look (none / 0) (#9)
by CST on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 09:37:16 PM EST

Maybe I over-reacted, I still don't know why you had to take your frustration at one poster out on the whole east coast because they're maybe from Virginia. And I was wondering what you considered "typical east coast elitism and ignorance". Maybe it was one person's non-typical response to San Fransisco. No need to generalize. And I still don't know what you meant by that.

I was p*ssed because I am TIRED of people labeling based on geography, or political view, or whatever. Frankly, I found the other poster's comment annoying too for that reason, but you already called them out, so I'm calling you out for taking it too far.


: What frustration? (none / 0) (#10)
by cymro on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 12:46:55 AM EST

I don't know what you mean by "take my frustration out", which you have referred to twice now. What frustration? You seem to have completely misread my original post.
I hold no brief for mortgage bankers, Karl Rove, or Republicans in general. I was simply pointing out to poster cpinva that claiming that bankers meeting in SF was a "slap in the face" to anyone, and comparable to them holding a meeting in the Bahamas, was to overlook the fact that SF is actually a logical choice for such a meeting. It is a major US financial center, and certainly more so than Omaha, which was suggested as a more appropriate location.
When I wrote that I could characterize that attitude as typical of East Coast ignorance and elitism, I was referring to familiar East Coast vs West Coast stereotypes.
You may be tired of these stereotypes, but if you lived and worked in California and had to do business with colleagues in the East, you would know they exist, and really reflect widely-held attitudes. cpinva's comment struck me as an example of that, which is why I was calling it out.

From NYTimes article linked above: (none / 0) (#1)
by wurman on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 10:56:29 AM EST

Cheryl Crispen, a spokeswoman for the Mortgage Bankers Association, the convention's organizer, said she had no regrets about coming to San Francisco, a liberal city where anger about the Bush administration's financial policies is palpable.
"It was unfortunate that they chose this venue to protest whatever they chose to protest," Ms. Crispen said. "We believe in free speech, but we believe there is a right time and place for it."

Apparently the reporter did not complete the quotation which went on ". . . the right time and place is at midnight in your own living room."

I have this recurring dream in which the 300 highest level Bu$h admin. characters (from "W" down to the Deputy sub-assistant Secretary of Commerce) are herded onto a 777, flown to Schipol Airport, Netherlands, & turned over to officials of the War Crimes Tribunal from The Hague.

Film at 11.

San Fran (none / 0) (#2)
by Wile ECoyote on Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 11:15:14 AM EST

is appropriate place to hold it. Housing costs have gone through the roof there, and blacks, in particular are being pushed out. It is turning into a vanilla city.