So now they're saying Obama and the Democrats were against bills that would reform Fannie Mae and

[FVZA_Colonel]

Freddie Mac? And that Obama specifically "lobbied" against it when it was in committee?

I was discussing the financial crisis with a coworker this morning, and he brough this up as a reason why the Republicans aren't really to blame. (He reffered me to this editorial for support: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aSKSoiNbnQY0).

Would this be the bill from '05 or '06 that never made it out of committee, or is he just mistaken?

(Also, didn't Obama himself sponsor a bill that would have addressed issues like this?)

[loyalkydem]

1. what planet

was your coworker born on ?

[GarbagemanLB]

2. Wow, an op-ed by a McCain adviser? How devastating!

[FVZA_Colonel]

3. That's what I thought.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aSKSoiNbnQY0

He also happens to be the co-author of a book, published in 1999, that predicted the Dow would rise to 36,000 within 5 years.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

4. The Republicans forced the former SEC Chairman to resign because he championed regulation

William Donaldson was the SEC Chairman for the period of 2003 to 2005. He previously founded the Yale School Of Management and is a graduate of both Yale and Harvard. He left his position as the head of the SEC "to spend more time with his family" and was replaced by Christopher Cox. Mr. Donaldson was a Republican but sought to manage the SEC in a bi-partisan style and he actually allied himself with the two Democratic members of the five-member SEC board against the two Republicans. Mr. Donaldson sought to implement regulatory measures regarding hedge funds and also sought to push for the enactment of regulations whereby shareholders could have more say at Board meetings and have transparency. It seems that Mr. Donaldson ran into very heavy criticism by the Republican members of Congress and was forced from his position. Here's an article describing his difficulties:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/regulation/2005-06-01-sec-chief_x.htm

In 2007, it seems that the Bush Administration convened a study group to determine whether increased regulation of hedge funds and other exotic financial instruments was warranted. According to this article appearing in the New York Times in 2007, it appears that the Bush Administration concluded that no regulation was required, that the industry could regulate itself and that they could do so according to "non-binding principles". The article discusses the great opposition that Mr. Donaldson met with members of his own party when he pushed for increased regulation when he was the SEC Chairman.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/23/business/23hedge.html

"...Officials Reject More Oversight of Hedge Funds

By STEPHEN LABATON
Published: February 23, 2007

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 — The Bush administration said Thursday that there was no need for greater government oversight of the rapidly growing hedge fund industry and other private investment groups to protect the nation’s financial system.

Instead, the administration, in an agreement it reached with the independent regulatory agencies, announced that investors, hedge fund companies and their lenders could adequately take care of themselves by adhering to a set of nonbinding principles.

(...)

In leading a deeply divided commission to adopt those rules in the first place, its then chairman, William H. Donaldson, said that hedge funds had been central figures in a variety of market trading abuses and that registration was a modest and essential way for regulators to begin to understand them. Although he had the support of two of the four other commissioners for his efforts on hedge funds, Mr. Donaldson came under heavy criticism from Republican lawmakers and top administration officials for suggesting that regulators shine a light on what he called “a dark corner” of the market. ..."

[FVZA_Colonel]

12. Now that's interesting.

Thanks for posting that.

[Eric J in MN]

5. That Bloomberg article doesn't say what Obama supposedly did...

...to protect Fannie Mae.

[FVZA_Colonel]

6. But that doesn't matter.

These failed bills prove it's really the Democrats fault, and the Republicans are thus innocent of all guilt!

[BeatleBoot]

7. McCain's Campaign Manager Headed Up The Fannie/Freddie Lobbyist Group

Davis was the top dog at lobbying firm.

I just saw it on Keith Olbermann a bit ago.

McCain lost the campaign on September 16th.

[FVZA_Colonel]

8. But that doesn't matter to this person.

The evil Democrats killed bills in all those years, never mind that (in 05' and for most of '06) they weren't in power.

[beachmom]

9. I read that, but the writer is an idiot who wrote a book claiming

Wall Street would go even higher RIGHT BEFORE the dot com collapse. I do wish someone could research it, and find out what happened. One thing I know for sure, the Senate is a complex place, and oftentimes, many things aren't what they seem.

[FVZA_Colonel]

11. He thought it would actually go as high as 36,000 by 2004.

And he seems to completely forget who was incharge in '05 and '06.

[Bennyboy]

10. Here is my thread about this subject.....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x386723

[justgamma]

13. Wahhhh!

The Dems didn't save us from ourselves! It's their fault. Sheesh! People know that the pukes are against regulation. Good God! They've been running on deregulation for 30 effffinn' years! People cannot be that stupid!