Posted on 10/02/2008 9:21:40 AM PDT by BarnhartBlog
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison,
I have called your office, the office of Senator John Cornyn and Senator John McCain. I am a lifelong Republican, a McCain Victory 08 Blogger and have my own blog and Internet talk radio program.
After your vote last night, I will never support you for elected office, I will instead support any other Republican opposing you who disagrees with what you did. You voted for a huge piece of pork last night that is totally unnecessary.
We need to repeal Sarbanes Oxley, Mark-to-Market rules, cut capital gains and immediately investigate and prosecute anyone involved in this economic scandal to include anyone on Capitol Hill involved no matter who they are.
Sadly, you and others like you have hijacked the Republican party, completely abandoned the Reagan doctrine, and ignored the legacy Reagan handed the American people.
Personally, I wished that Jim DeMint was my Senator and that he was the nominee of our party. He was one of 15 Republicans and 10 democrats who stood up for what is right for America and not for himself in the way of pork barrel earmarks.
McCain, like you, has proven himself to be wrong and out of touch with true conservatives, but sadly he is the only hope we have of defeating Obama... voting against Obama is my pleasure,
Sadly, after last night’s events, voting for McCain will be done VERY RELUCTANTLY!
What you voted for was a disgrace you should be ashamed of yourself.
You have lost my trust and my support - PERIOD!
It appears as though our party needs to immediately begin rebuilding itself with the 15 Senators and 133 Representatives that voted against the bailout.
John Barnhart - Georgetown, Texas
Good job. I’m pretty disgusted with Cornyn and Hutchison myself. I am trying to call to talk to someone but they’re not answering at Cornyn’s office. They never do. Had to send them a fax before the vote.
At least my rep (John Carter) was a solid “NO” vote... so far, anyway.
http://tracking.technomania.com/cgi-bin/track.cgi?11-14269-492904-66100
The Senate just voted on the bailout, and I voted no.
After spending time in Oklahoma meeting with my constituents, local business leaders, and elected officials, I could not, in good conscience, vote to approve a massive taxpayer-funded rescue plan that was so hastily crafted.
Too little time was allowed for reading and comprehension of this bill. Insufficient time was allowed for proper discussion and debate on a bill with a $700 billion price tag. $700 billion dollars of your taxpayer money.
Certainly our nation faces a financial markets crisis that requires action. Unfortunately, it remains unclear if this bill is the right action. I believe it is much more important to get it right than to rush it through.
My vote tonight was against the Paulson plan, not against taking extraordinary action to provide necessary confidence to financial markets. The plan before us would have bureaucrats in Washington attempt to do what the experts on Wall Street can’t do - value troubled assets.
From the very beginning, it was the Paulson plan or no plan. It is Congress’s duty to examine its options, deliberate, come to a decision that has the support of America, and act. I regret we were not allowed to do that.
Sincerely,
Jim Inhofe
Amen!!
You can’t say it any better than this.
The senate is still acting like the same senate that allowed this situation to develop.
This bill does nothing to cure the underlying causes of the financial turmoil.
As long as they continue to act as the same old senate, the mess will get worse until the financial system collapses.
Credit markets are frozen ...it had to be done.
Someone made an analogy to an auto accident....we have to clean it up and move it off the freeway so “traffic” can start agian....then we have to prosecute whomever caused it.
MY WIFE AND I HAVE VIEWED YOU AS A RINO (REPUBLICAN IN NAME ONLY) FOR MANY YEARS NOW. WE HAVE ALSO REALIZED FOR MANY YEARS NOW, THAT REPUBLICAN IS NOT SYNONYMOUS WITH CONSERVATIVE. YOUR VOTE IN FAVOR OF THIS BAIL OUT HAS CONFRIMED OUR OPINIONS OF YOU. WE CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO SUPPORT SOCIALIST REPUBLICANS LIKE YOURSELF ANY LONGER.YOU AND THE REST OF THE SUPPORTERS OF THE BAIL OUT ARE COMPLETELY OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY, AND HAVE SOUGHT TO DESTROY THIS COUNTRY.
REST ASSURED YOU NEED NOT EXPECT US TO VOTE FOR YOU AND YOUR KIND, FOR WHATEVER POLITICAL OFFICE YOU MAY SEEK IN THE FUTURE. EXPECT US TO WORK EXTRA HARD TO UNSEAT YOU AND YOUR ILK AT EVERY TURN.
I sent a similar note to Kit Bond. I even sent one to Claire MaCaskill, letting her know that I will be stumping for a Democrat (her opponent in the primaries) for the first time in my life when she comes up for re-election.
A copy of the bailout plan is available online in a .pdf file for all to see. It is about 450 pages long. I suspect there are all kinds of provisions in that plan that the Democrats are trying to sneak in that are unrelated to the financial crisis. For example, “Carbon Audits”. The plan authorizes the expenditure of money for a 2 year study of tax credits related to the environmental impact by burning various forms of fuel. How does that get us solvent again? This proposed plan is so complex that it seems impossible that it was crafted in a week; no, I suspect they have worked on it for MONTHS and waited for the economy to tank before springing this monstrousity on us.
That isn't true at all. Just look at the deals Buffet is putting together.
Someone made an analogy to an auto accident....we have to clean it up and move it off the freeway so “traffic” can start agian....then we have to prosecute whomever caused it.
A better analogy would be a 4 way intersection with no stop signs. If you don't put in the stop signs it won't do any good to clean up the wrecks. Taking our time and doing it right will save lives.
It’s quite a bit more complex than that...the mark-to-market rules, the run on money markets...the arbitrary selection of which corporation to “save”...all an all...part of governments role is to maintian the monetary system.
I’m with you...I HATE it...but we ARE at a point where it must be done......or we’ll have a depression....which will cost us all a LOT more than this bill calls for.
Buffit is not representative of the general market. Bonds are.....and they are frozen.
Hate it as much as you do...but the monitary system is in collapse and this infusion will cost us less that waiting for it to get worse.
Cornyn and Hutchison definitely need to be voted out. They would walk through fire for W, and he is no conservative. Jeb Hensarling definitely has a good chance of moving up to the Senate, but of course, that’s where conservatives go to die, so I have mixed feelings about that.
Sorry, but that's one of my grammar pet peeves. Since you're talking about people, and not things, you use "who."
Barnheartblog.... Excellent post
The solution is worse than the cure in this case. If the dead wood isn't cleared out, by way of bankruptcy and changing regulations then the situation will just be worse later on. The Government has been stepping in, Fannie and Freddy are perfect examples, but it has accomplished nothing, the situation just kept getting worse. This bailout will do nothing except prolong the agony.
The bailout will just allow the lenders to go on making loans as if nothing had happened, except now they know that if they make a bad loan the government will buy it from them at the full price. That is insane. We will see hyper inflation if that is allowed to happen.
Remember your econ 101, it is the lending of money that expands the money supply.
“Good job. I’m pretty disgusted with Cornyn and Hutchison myself. I am trying to call to talk to someone but they’re not answering at Cornyn’s office. They never do. Had to send them a fax before the vote.”
This is the first time John has disappointed me with his position on a major issue. Hutchison, not so much...
Colonel, USAFR
>> This is the first time John has disappointed me with his position on a major issue
I agree. Makes it all the more puzzling.
Which firm are you shilling for today, Happy? I can’t keep track.
You inspired me to write a letter myself:
I wish to express to you my profound disappointment regarding your vote on the economic bailout bill. Your actions and those of Senator Cornyn demonstrate that you have no faith whatsoever in the ability of the market to survive this perceived meltdown. At least not without your guidance, which sorry to say, amounts to nothing more than meddling. I say “perceived” since there is not a clear consensus that a $700,000,000.00 gift, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayers, will do anything whatsoever to correct the actual root cause of the financial predicament in which we find ourselves. A predicament, by the way, that was fomented by members of the U.S. Senate as well as the House of Representatives and their cohorts at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
You wish to assure us that your hand was forced, that you had to do something to avert complete disaster. And yet, in the face of overwhelming evidence of malfeasance, you did nothing to prevent this from happening. It is clear from researching the archive files of the main stream media that the fundamental cause of this meltdown has been known for some time, as far back as 1999 at least. This financial predicament was one that the Congress had many opportunities to stave off. So after all this time, your best solution is to fire up the printing presses and perpetrate yet another example of the “long train of abuses and usurpations” against the citizenry? This is totally unacceptable.
Let me remind you that the bulk of this plan is the same as that objected to by hundreds of economists across the country. Your colleague Senator Shelby was against this abominable plan from the beginning and it pains me to see that neither you nor Senator Cornyn had the courage to believe that he was correct. The sad fact is that this situation has been created through the corruptive influence of agents of the United States government. No amount of additional governmental intervention is going to fix it.
Rest assured, the market will clean itself out and will stabilize eventually. Unfortunately, it will stabilize itself at a level that is more in line with its true value, which in my opinion will be significantly lower that what we have seen in the financial markets in recent years. People will loose money; some may loose everything but the shirt off their backs. But the harsh reality is this: if that is what the market requires to purge itself of this monstrous financial burden, then that is what it will do. All your fiddling will accomplish is to push this self-correction onto the shoulders of our future generations.
You can expect no support from me whatsoever in light of your vote on the bailout bill. As far as I concernced, the actions of the Senate this week constitute an unprecedented affront to the citizens of the United States of America. I look forward to giving my best effort in making sure that you are not able to retain your Senate seat, nor successfully campaign for any other political office.
Wow! That is excellent. MUCH more diplomatic than mine. (hence, more effective, no doubt).
FRegards.
newbie.....and a troll....
...oh by the way, I’ll bet you meant to reply to “BarnhartBlog” (John Barnhart) and not to me.
I didn’t mean to imply his letter was mine.
I meant that BOTH of your letters are excellent and both are very diplomatic. Unlike mine.
Sorry if I confused.
I am not a troll!
Did you also get one of these?
October 1, 2008
Dear ,
Tonight, the United States Senate will vote on The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The bill is designed to immediately address the web of complex and broken financial relationships that are choking the economic system, and avoid a systemic financial collapse that would devastate the economy and have severe consequences for all Americans.
My office has fielded thousands of calls on this subject this week. I appreciate so many taking the time and effort to share their thoughts with me on such an important subject. I know many of you are extremely upset about the idea of the government doing any type of bail out for Wall Street, and I completely agree with you. I also regret that the Administration mishandled early communications on this plan, seeming to focus on a bailout of finance industry firms instead of concentrating on the need to protect the interests of Main Street. It is difficult to consider approving any proposal after this uneven performance.
If we do nothing, however, the potential consequences are dire. My concern is not with the Wall Street financier who gambled and lost. It’s with the 60-year-old worker nearing retirement and seeing his savings disappear, and the small business owner who cannot make payroll because his credit line has been frozen, and the untold numbers of employees who could find themselves unemployed.
None of these people should pay for the greed and irresponsibility of a few unethical or greedy individuals. Wall Street needs to be held accountable. I was among those who sought an investigation of the housing finance system two years ago, without success. I renewed that call this week, along with a demand for a criminal investigation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If there was illegal conduct, it should be pursued.
Before I go to vote, I wanted make certain you know that the bill before us is far different from the three-page “take it or leave it” version that the Treasury Secretary handed us ten days ago. It has been improved from the original proposal.
The proposed legislation contains substantially more oversight. Instead of a blank check, with unlimited discretion for the Treasury Secretary, the bill sets up a comprehensive system of review aimed at preventing further abuses. It sets up procedures for the government – and taxpayers – to recoup a good portion or even all of the expended funds, through warrants and other instruments. If the plan is approved and works as expected, it is now highly likely that the impact will be considerably less than the original price tag.
The bill also deletes most of the more egregious special interest provisions, such as the proposal for profit sharing with left-wing advocacy groups such as ACORN.
It also includes multiple taxpayer protections. It prohibits unjust enrichment by barring a participating institution from selling an asset to the Treasury for more than was paid for it. It also includes strict restrictions on executive pay for affected companies, making the golden parachute for executives of distressed firms a thing of the past. It also requires profits from the transactions be used to pay down our national debt, and not to fund pet projects or to expand the size of the federal government.
The bill also brings some much needed transparency to our government by requiring the Treasury Department to publicly disclose the details of all of their program transactions in monthly reports. Treasury would also be required to issue supplemental reports when it makes a $50 billion commitment to purchase troubled assets. These reports must detail each of the agreements made, any insurance contracts and the nature of the assets purchased and projected costs and liabilities.
As an added benefit for Texas, the bill now includes badly-needed funding for areas hit by Hurricane Ike, plus extension of the tax deductability of sales taxes, and renewable energy credits that represent sound public policy.
Tonight’s vote is not the end of the process, but the beginning. Congress needs to continue to work together on bipartisan reforms to make certain this inexcusable meltdown never occurs again. There is serious debate over who is to blame for this – and there are many candidates, in New York, Washington and elsewhere — but there should be no argument about responsibility if reforms aren’t enacted forthwith. Congress has an obligation to put partisan politics aside and work together in the best interest of the American people.
Sincerely,
Senator Cornyn’s signature
John Cornyn
United State Senator
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=azi5ZFVQ4iic&refer=home
Silly and snooty response...please read and get back to me.
Shilling for us....would like to keep the economy intact.
It looks like you’re just like me — replying to posts that bother you instead of ignoring them.
Listen large happy,
I’m not impressed by your continued shilling.
Bloomberg has a vested interest in seeing this mess pass the House.
And I’m not impressed with your economic knowledge.
It’s easy to sit around and run your angry mouth....
Less easy to discuss it intellegently.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=avS.pmN7Enlc&refer=home
It’s easy to sit around and run your angry mouth....
Less easy to discuss it intellegently.
I received my bachelor's in economics from Harvard in 2002. I received my law degree from the same institution in 2005.
Would you like to run YOUR "angry" mouth some more?
P.S.- If you insist on running your "angry" mouth at me, perhaps you should learn to spell. Then maybe we would have the opportunity discuss things more intelligently.
I’m SURE we’re ALL very impressed. But so far, not about your economic knowledge.
But don't worry, I'll still try to discuss it with you. It's really very simple, large. You can trace the source of the problem back to the Community Investment Act. With Fannie and Freddie willing to assume the risks of mortgages that other banks would bail on, this created huge liabilities NOT ONLY for the companies, but for the TAXPAYER as well. These companies (the companies that you would like to bail out so they can continue on their merry way with these pathetic practices) assumed more risk than any prudent company ever should. So why did they? Because they knew that these risky endeavors offered VASTLY higher ROIs (return on investments, large Happy) than similar ventures, and because they also knew that if these investments went belly up, good ol' Uncle Sam would be there to make it all better.
You want the other answer too, kiddo?
Here it is. Let them fail. They deserve to fail. They will be replaced in time by other, more prudent financial institutions.
m-m-m...We’re not discussing either the cause nor whom to blame...
We’re discussing an attempt to un-freeze global credit markets.
This bill (imperfect as it is)...is a start. It raises FDIC coverage...reduces AMT (which frequently hits small businesses)and keeps some important tax benefits in place. It treats the distressed mortgages as they were treated with Resolution Trust...during the Savings and Loan problem.
As written, it will cost most Americans very little.
I’ll trust the recommendations of Romney and Forbes and go with it.
Goverments role is to stablaize the economy and the monetary system....punishment to the perps...comes after that.
You have a lot more faith in the system correcting itself than I do. I would estimate the chances of Clinton and members of Congress paying fines and spending time in jail at less than zero.
I would expect that they would even get re elected by even larger margins for fixing the system. Can anyone spell Hyperinflation?
only when someone acts as a school teacher to an adult who made an error. I wonder, have you ever improperly spelled something, or used a ... nevermind... of course you haven’t.. (hope contractions are ok for you)
Taxpayers have had to pay for enough liberal boondoggles over the years. Time to put the proverbial foot down. NO TO THE BAILOUT!
yeah...I sadley agree.....
I agree on the liberal boondogels...but also see the economic need for this bill. It will pay for itself and will pass today.
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