It just occurred to me - Jane Hamsher teaming up with the right-wing is not surprising

[HughMoran]

There have been multiple threads discussed here recently where the opposition to HCR has aligned with the right-wing position (mandates/constitutionality, killbill (part II), Obama is a socialist-fascist, attacking Progressives who support The Bill, etc...). If groups with generally disparate political views agree on a particular topic, why not team up to defeat the common enemy?




This post is sardonic (disdainfully or skeptically humorous) BTW.

[TwilightGardener]

1. I like how Jane defends her Norquist collaboration against Rahm--

"This Freddie/Fannie deal isn't going to kill itself!" (to paraphrase). Yeah, she's putting on her cape and joining forces with an architect of the Republican party to go after the REAL enemies of America! Thank God!

[natrat]

9. rahm is as sub human as you can get, utter filth-your one line hit is out of context

It’s a pretty sad day when political elites like Rahm Emanuel have their misdeeds shielded by obfuscation like this, but I’m happy to have a discussion about what Rahm did at Fannie and Freddie – and what he has done since that time.

Jed Lewison says that the allegation “that Emmanuel and the White House are not only covering up past corrupt practices but are also creating an $800 billion slush fund with which they can carry out even more corruption — is reminiscent of the fanciful allegations that Bill Clinton killed Vince Foster and Ron Brown.”

He dismisses any inquiry into Fannie/Freddie malfeasance because — well, Republicans are racists:

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are key elements in the right-wing narrative about the recession. Their script goes something like this: ACORN, Fannie, and Freddie worked with the Democratic Congress to pressure banks to lend to “risky” borrowers, using the Community Reinvestment Act as their leverage. This storyline is totally false, but wingers love it because it not only absolves the financial and real estate industries of responsibility for the financial crisis, but it puts the blame squarely on the backs of blacks and Latinos. Absent evidence, lending credibility to the this right-wing shibboleth is a great disservice.

Rather than parrot right-wing myths that have nothing to do with the question at hand, let’s look at the evidence. The fact that the White House is contemplating doubling the limit of their commitment to Fannie/Freddie to $800 billion (even though they’ve only used $112 billion) was reported by that famous right-wing rag the New York Times on December 16:

Now, according to people close to the talks, officials are discussing the possibility of increasing that commitment, possibly to $400 billion for each company, by year-end, after which the Treasury would need Congressional approval to extend it. Company and government officials declined to comment.”

This is somehow meaningless because Michelle Malkin hates ACORN.

The fact that Rahm Emanuel was on the board of Fannie and Freddie from 2000-2001 when executives laid out their plans to deceive shareholers so they could pad their bonuses was reported by Hot Air the Chicago Tribune:

On Emanuel’s watch, the board was told by executives of a plan to use accounting tricks to mislead shareholders about outsize profits the government-chartered firm was then reaping from risky investments. The goal was to push earnings onto the books in future years, ensuring that Freddie Mac would appear profitable on paper for years to come and helping maximize annual bonuses for company brass.

Maybe Vince Foster wrote the report by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), the oversight board for Fannie/Freddie, which “provided evidence that non-executive members of the Board were aware, and supportive of, management in this regard, including the use of derivatives to improperly manage the earnings of Freddie Mac.”

Rahm claims he just “doesn’t remember” what happened during that time, but the White House turned down the Tribune’s FOIA request for the board minutes and correspondence from the time Rahm was there. They claimed it was “commercial information,” even though at the time of the request Freddie was wholly owned by the federal government.


more

http://firedoglake.com/2009/12/24/so-you-want-to-defend-rahm-on-fanniefreddie/

[niceypoo]

2. I dont even know who Jane Hamsher is

Nor do I care.

I avoid this type of sidebar drama.

[DavidDvorkin]

3. If I'm remembering correctly, Hamsher started going round the bend

toward the end of primary season. Her Obama hatred caused me to stop reading Firedoglake then.

[ClarkUSA]

4. The Rabid Hamster is a very bitter sore loser who hates Obama as much as any teabagger.

So, having so much in common with them, it's not surprising she was on Faux News shilling for her "Kill the Bill" petition (R.I.P.),
is fellating Grover Norquist and issuing a political fatwa against Bernie Sanders. Of course, her devotees and apologists are as
bitter as she is. Good thing they're all miserable failures at being Failers.

Happy Holidays, Hugh!

:toast:

[firedupdem]

7. Didn't she join the teabaggers? I think she's officially a proud

member now.

[ClarkUSA]

21. 'Nuff said. She's playing on the same team with teabaggers and Grover Norquist.

Forget her Eternally Bitter attention whoring and the hypocritical assholes who are her devotees.


I want to wish you a very Happy Holiday, firedupdem.

:toast:

[HughMoran]

19. Enjoy the Holiday

:toast:

[ipaint]

5. Treasury Okays Unlimited Slush Fund For Fannie, Freddie

Treasury Okays Unlimited Slush Fund For Fannie, Freddie
By: Jane Hamsher Thursday December 24, 2009 4:00 pm


Forget raising the cap to $800 billion for Fannie/Freddie. They announce (on Christmas eve no less) that the slush fund for picking up toxic mortgage is unlimited:

Treasury uncaps credit line for Fannie, Freddie

The Obama administration pledged on Thursday to back beleaguered mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, no matter how big their losses may be in the next three years.

It also jettisoned a demand that the two companies cut the size of their mortgage-related investment portfolios next year, allowing them to provide even more support in the near term for a housing market recovering from its worst slump in decades.

As Ian Welsh notes, now that the Fed might actually be audited, what better place to stash all those toxic assets than at Fannie and Freddie, where there is no independent auditor since they sacked their own Inspector General?

http://firedoglake.com/2009/12/24/treasury-okays-unlimited-slush-fund-for-fannie-freddie/#comments




Treasury uncaps credit line for Fannie, Freddie


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration pledged on Thursday to back beleaguered mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae <FNM.N> and Freddie Mac <FRE.N> no matter how big their losses may be in the next three years.

It also jettisoned a demand that the two companies cut the size of their mortgage-related investment portfolios next year, allowing them to provide even more support in the near term for a housing market recovering from its worst slump in decades.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/24/AR2009122402367.html


Seems being unquestioningly on the president's side is getting pretty right wing these days. This amounts to a 3 year backdoor, unlimited extention of tarp. Nor exactly progressive.

[HughMoran]

6. Am I to assume that you're supporting what Jane 'teabag' Hamsher is doing?

Teaming up with Grover Norquist? Appearing on "Fox & Friends"? Looking to 'take out' Bernie Sanders because he voted for the HCR bill?

[ipaint]

10. I don't give a shit what you assume.

I'm concerned with policy, your obsession with personality is meaningless.


Carry on.

[HughMoran]

12. SO you post some off-topic bullshit, then flame me for asking you what you're getting at?

:crazy:

[natrat]

14. you talking point pushers ignore that many have been on panels with norquist

but you of course are silent until it becomes expedient to blabber your news handed down to you from above. Of course the guy is a scumbag, but he has had similar perspectives as liberals on some issues.

[high density]

17. What are you guys talking about?

Red herrings galore.

[burning rain]

16. What a cute picture!

Oy, Jane's let her anger get the better of her, and there's a lot of theatricality and self-promotion in her performance on health care. While I detest the bill's crony capitalism, including, especially, absence of a public option, I won't join the Kill-the-Bill crew.

[jeanpalmer]

8. They're the only ones lending

3% down, bad credit history no problem. Is it any wonder large numbers of their new loans are going toes up? And we will pick up the tab. When will this madness end?

Thanks Jane for bringing this to our attention.

[high density]

20. So Fannie and Freddie are writing mortgages directly now?

That's news to the rest of us.

[high density]

13. Right wing? WTF do you expect them to say about Fannie and Freddie?

Obama could have said let them fail and we'd be right back where we were in October 2008 if not worse. I know some parts of DU are just hoping for massive economic failure, but that's not in anybody's interest since we're all going to be screwed if that happens. This is all about calming nerves and keeping recovery on track.

[HughMoran]

15. Yep.

The one you're talking to says:

"I'm uninsured over 10 years. Kill it.

The only thing that will bring real reform is the collapse of the for profit system. We're almost there."

[high density]

18. ahhh

So basically the idea is to kill everything so we have nothing... Great idea. That will be really easy to rebound from, I'm sure. All the hospitals and doctors offices shut down leads to great healthcare.

Maybe they'd ultimately be better off moving to Denmark or Sweden instead of expecting the USA to transform into something it will never be.

[high density]

11. who cares what this person says?

This is just another blog I never would've heard about had it not been for some anti-Obama DUers using GDP as their own personal firedoglake mirror RSS feed.

I mean the same crowd posted Krugman Krugman Krugman Krugman Krugman Krugman last summer. Now it's Hamsher Hamsher Hamsher Hamsher Hamsher Hamsher Hamsher. Give it the fuck up. We don't need giant dumpsters full of turds fork-lifted over to this forum.