Just A Reminder: Bush and The GOP Have Been In Charge For 8 Years

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Elections 2008
Posted on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 02:29:09 PM EST
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I took a peek at Blogometer and I see the Right is trying to pin the economic troubles we have on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Now, the argument is hogwash on an intellectual level and I'll go through why tomorrow. But for the purposes of this election, it is incredible hogwash. Why? Because George Bush became President in 2001. Why? Because Republicans controlled the Congress from 1995 to 2007.

If Fannie and Freddie were the problem, why in the hell didn't the Republicans fix it from 1994 until now? Barack Obama showed up in Washington, DC in 2005. Fannie and Freddie have been around for 40 years. What the hell was the Republican Party doing during its 12 years of dominance of the Congress and 8 years of dominance of the White House? If Fannie and Freddie were the problem, why didn't the Republicans fix it? Maybe we can ask Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager, who made millions as a Fannie and Freddie lobbyist.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

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Just A Reminder: Bush and The GOP Have Been In Charge For 8 Years | 26 comments (26 topical)

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Amazingly (5.00 / 3) (#11)
by Steve M on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 03:23:01 PM EST

there was apparently NO POSSIBLE WAY to regulate the out-of-control mortgage lending market other than going after Fannie and Freddie. Poor Republicans, completely helpless.

I was listening to satellite radio all day (5.00 / 1) (#14)
by Militarytracy on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 03:47:53 PM EST

the CNN channel. Dubya came on and said this all started with Fannie and Freddie and now it is taking everyone else down because everyone has become so entangled on Wall Street. Then he went on to say it is hard to explain how everyone became so entangled with each other. What an idiot, or maybe jacka$$, or maybe both. After eight years I still can't tell.

You do have to wonder about... (5.00 / 2) (#15)
by Salo on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 03:57:38 PM EST

...the sanity of a nation that pools its equity risks into two Quango's called Fannie and Freddie.

besides that, yeah what exactly were the GOp doing for 8 years when they had all the levers of power at their disposal?

Looting, raping and pillaging. That's what. It's what they always do. The left builds up a bit of national wealth (see the late 1940s, early 1960s and 1990s) and the Right proceeds to asset strip that wealth (see the early 1970s, the 1980s and the 2000s) Many important Dems were turning a blind eye worshiping at the Adam Smith Altar though. Yeah those Banking committee Senators...

Obama/McCain, 2 round (5.00 / 1) (#20)
by wantnowar on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 05:25:14 PM EST

We wish Senator Obama good luck. We are sure that in tonight's debate against McCain he will demonstrate again his intellectual strength over the senile, tired, narrow minded opponent McCain, who should look after his grand children instead of harassing the world with his shabby polemics, demagogy and empty phraseology. Neither he nor his running mate Palin live by their own professed ethos. McCain is not qualified to be president, and in picking Palin he shows that he has little respect for the presidency.

Most of the European people are convinced that McCain's only aim is to continue Bush's destructive politics which has ruined the US economy and caused inconceivable sufferings in many countries.

It would be a pity if American people voted for a politics of destruction instead of progress and high human endeavour - such as PEACE. It would be a pity if American people opted for stagnation, economic ruin and backwardness.

Numerous polls conducted in many European countries revealed a majority of almost 90% who appreciates and supports Obama's politics. The rest of the world needs to regain confidence in a great country such as the US.
We hope that God will deliver America from the evil and the harm that Bush has inflicted not only upon America but also upon other countries.

Bigger hogwash ... (5.00 / 1) (#21)
by Robot Porter on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 05:37:55 PM EST

is when they attack the American public for creating this crisis by buying homes they couldn't afford.

This is hogwash on its face.

But even if it were true, and it really isn't, the worst you can say about such people is that they made the same bet that the "smartest" guys in banking and on Wall Street made.

They assumed home values would continue to rise.

: and they bought into (none / 0) (#23)
by of1000Kings on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 06:03:17 PM EST

the culture they were raised in...
being a consumer is being patriotic...
we are all equal in this country, well accept for the fact that those born into the social elite can have entitlement whereas those born into poverty cannot...

60 votes in the Senate (1.00 / 1) (#1)
by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 02:32:24 PM EST

Lie are not an argument (5.00 / 2) (#2)
by Big Tent Democrat on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 02:35:40 PM EST

Your rebuttal is also hogwash. NO fix of Fannie or Freddie was EVER filibustered.

EVER. Republicans were pigs in trough.

Try another one.


LOL (5.00 / 0) (#4)
by MS39047 on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 02:44:35 PM EST

BTD - I rarely post on here but faithfully read everything you write. Don't always agree with it all but enjoy the view anyway. I LOVED that line - "Republicans were pigs in a trough."


: Agreeing (none / 0) (#7)
by MS39047 on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 02:50:29 PM EST

In case it wasn't clear; I was agreeing with the pig in a trough comment.

Were? n/t (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by LarryInNYC on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 02:59:12 PM EST

Fannie, Freddie, Georgie, and Johny. (none / 0) (#3)
by LarryInNYC on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 02:40:01 PM EST

Just sayin'.

: Wasn't that a folk rock ... (none / 0) (#22)
by Robot Porter on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 05:41:22 PM EST

act from the sixties?
;)

UH OH (none / 0) (#5)
by Faust on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 02:45:46 PM EST

BTD makin' lots of sense. Hide the kids.

Nobody (none / 0) (#6)
by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 02:50:15 PM EST

Nobody likes to be tagged a racist

: Not even actual racists (5.00 / 0) (#8)
by Big Tent Democrat on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 02:54:26 PM EST

repulicans in charge last 8 years (none / 0) (#10)
by bobbski on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 03:22:08 PM EST

When did Pelosi and Reid change parties?

When were they in charge? (5.00 / 0) (#12)
by CST on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 03:34:39 PM EST

Having a majority in the house and senate doesn't mean much when you don't have a president too, or a veto-proof majority, and when the senate republicans filibuster more than any other congress in history.

Sorry, but it's not "in charge" unless you can actually get an agenda passed. Which the Dems clearly cannot.


: power (none / 0) (#26)
by bobbski on Wed Oct 08, 2008 at 10:27:36 AM EST

Sorry, but it's not "in charge" unless you can actually get an agenda passed. Which the Dems clearly cannot. -- CST
What makes you think that is going to change?
Really, while repubs are clueless, so are dems. Pelosi & Reid sorry excuse for leaders.
America is in trouble when the best the dominate political parties can do is McStain and Nobama.
We are truly screwed... no matter who wins in November.
BTW, repubs filibuster because they can... dems don´t because they don´t have the discipline, leaders or the balls to face the political consequences.

The had 6-8 years of monopoly (5.00 / 1) (#16)
by Salo on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 03:59:41 PM EST

really, they did. A dread duck Clinton and effective power 'til November at least.


Dominance? (none / 0) (#13)
by coast on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 03:42:06 PM EST

I would not call a 30 or less vote margin dominance considering the average margin during the previous 40 years of a democratic controlled congress the was more than 70+ seats. But you are correct that the Republicans in office during this period did change from what they had presented themselves to be.

Ok I'm a Democrat, but since the Republicans (none / 0) (#17)
by thereyougo on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 04:38:16 PM EST

had the majority, they have redefined lawmaking.

Look at Ted Stevens, he doesn't think he did anything wrong in taking thousands of dollars from friends who fixed his house. He is one of the oldest members of Congress, who I believe has been there way too long and has crossed the line, he no longer sees RIGHT or WRONG !

2 words to remedy Congress: TERM LIMITS ! time to limit their caustic influence; its damn near taking the nation down. By the looks of it, thanks to bad lobbying this country has been taken on the brink of insolvency, by those that are supposed to watch over to protect the People.

Greed has overtaken this nation. And poor leadership isn't saving it.

The Democrats have the classic case of Stockholm syndrome it seems because in many cases gave up too much to the theive Republicans.

: Agreed (none / 0) (#18)
by coast on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 04:51:51 PM EST

but good luck seeing it done. I give it about as good a chance as the revenue code being simplified.

: We have some extra ones. . . (none / 0) (#19)
by LarryInNYC on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 05:05:58 PM EST

2 words to remedy Congress: TERM LIMITS !
here in New York we apparently won't be needing much longer. Congress could have them cheap. . .

They Idolize Milton Friedman (none / 0) (#24)
by cpa1 on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 07:25:06 PM EST

Who thinks anything a business does is Ok as long as it is unencumbered by the government because eventually it will catch up to them. He wasn't worried about Enron because he said if left alone the market would take care of that company and its administration.

That stupid old man, who I think is dead now-no loss, never saw any of this coming and didn't care and he thought we should just keep schtuping the pockets of the wealthy.

It is time to set the tax structure back to a fair structure with a top tax bracket of 60% with maximum rate of 45% on earned income like salaries. There should be many more brackets. Hedge Fund Managers should be taxed like everyone else, not at 15%. Dividends should be taxed at 60% too and capital gains needs to go back to 28%. We should bring back the ITC (Investment Tax Credit) and Income Averaging for those taxpayers who hit it big for one or two years but normally earns much less. And of course, the Alt Min should be abolished for incomes under $250,000 and then graduate it in. Finally, dividends should be subject to FICA as the represent profits from hiring illegals or barely legal and they put them to work part time and we the middle and upper middle classes have to pay their medical insurance Soc Sec and Medicare.

ya (none / 0) (#25)
by connecticut yankee on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 08:34:50 PM EST

If the problem was simply F&F, it would have been over with a single bailout weeks ago.

The republican talking points on this are just dumb. Easy KO'd.