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Take taxpayers off hook for rot at Fannie, Freddie
Saint Petersburg Times ^ | July 24, 2008 | John McCain

Posted on 07/25/2008 2:13:24 AM PDT by gpapa

Americans should be outraged at the latest sweetheart deal in Washington. Congress will put U.S. taxpayers on the hook for potentially hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It's a tribute to what these two institutions — which most Americans have never heard of — have bought with more than $170-million worth of lobbyists in the past decade.

With combined obligations of roughly $5-trillion, the rapid failure of Fannie and Freddie would be a threat to mortgage markets and financial markets as a whole. Because of that threat, I support taking the unfortunate but necessary steps needed to keep the financial troubles at these two companies from further squeezing American families. But let us not forget that the threat that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to financial markets is a tribute to crony capitalism that reflects the power of the Washington establishment.

(Excerpt) Read more at tampabay.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: 110th; bailout; demron; fanniemae; fnm; fre; freddiemac; govwatch; mccain; mccainlist; mccaintruthfile; mcfannie; taxpayers
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1 posted on 07/25/2008 2:13:25 AM PDT by gpapa
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To: gpapa

Fannie and Freddie are bankrupt. They should be taken over by the Federal Government for zero outlay and slowly wound down. All proceeds after servicing their enormous debt load (if any) should be used to reduce the Federal deficit.


2 posted on 07/25/2008 2:27:02 AM PDT by Roy Tucker ("You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."--Ayn Rand)
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To: gpapa

McCain WROTE this? OK, I was going to vote NOTA in Nov. but I am coming around...


3 posted on 07/25/2008 2:35:34 AM PDT by wastoute
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To: gpapa

This bill hasn’t passed yet - there is still time to defeat it!

It’s in the Senate and probably will be voted on on Saturday. DeMint from SC is trying to filibuster it but can only hold out until Saturday.

Please call/fax/email your Senators and demand that they vote NO on this bill!

And call/fax/email the White House and demand that he change his mind and veto it!

Also check out the following links:
www.financialpetition.org
www.fedupusa.org

There is still time to stop this, but not much.

LQ


4 posted on 07/25/2008 2:54:58 AM PDT by LizardQueen (The world is not out to get you, except in the sense that the world is out to get everyone.)
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To: gpapa

John McCain said this ~ two years ago and is saying it again today. Frankly - I’m impressed.


5 posted on 07/25/2008 3:10:02 AM PDT by agere_contra
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To: gpapa

The scars on McCain didn’t all come from North Vietnam. He seems to have learned well from the beating by Keating. He definitely has my vote.


6 posted on 07/25/2008 3:14:38 AM PDT by nkycincinnatikid
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To: gpapa

Both parties bear much blame for this mess, but it should be noted every time the subject comes up that the people most directly responsible are Clintonista whores like Jamie Gorelick and Franklin Raines, who raked off tens of millions for themselves while taking the whole enterprise down the tubes.

All the socialist scum who rail about Enron and other corporate fiascos ought to be forced to take a hard look at what the Clintonistas did here.


7 posted on 07/25/2008 3:15:47 AM PDT by Enchante (OBAMESSIAH: "Pay no attention to that pitiful little man behind the curtain!")
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To: gpapa
I'm a little confused. Are the taxpayers "off the hook" as the title suggests or "on the hook" as the story suggests.
8 posted on 07/25/2008 3:27:59 AM PDT by raybbr (You think it's bad now - wait till the anchor babies start to vote!)
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To: gpapa
It's time to get America on the right track by creating the jobs that will build a strong foundation under our housing markets. We need to address the high cost of gasoline and other energy sources, and transform health care to be cheaper, higher quality and built around the needs of patients.

"Higher quality"? Huh? Do we have outdated, outmoded health care now? Or do we have the best in the world?

9 posted on 07/25/2008 3:30:43 AM PDT by raybbr (You think it's bad now - wait till the anchor babies start to vote!)
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To: raybbr

This from the St. Pete Times across the Bay.


10 posted on 07/25/2008 4:20:37 AM PDT by yorkie01
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To: gpapa

Nice sentiment. But BOHICA.


11 posted on 07/25/2008 4:21:06 AM PDT by Wolfie
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To: raybbr
"Higher quality"? Huh? Do we have outdated, outmoded health care now? Or do we have the best in the world?

If you need a high-end specialist, we are the best in the world, bar none.

For regular trips to the doctor and everyday sorts of issues, we suck.

12 posted on 07/25/2008 4:28:04 AM PDT by ikka
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To: Roy Tucker

Come on. These people are throwing a great big extravaganza this year for the R’s & D’s (yikes, bi-partisan) to bribe our “august” politicians. We have the best government money can buy.


13 posted on 07/25/2008 4:44:45 AM PDT by GregoryFul
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To: gpapa
Thanks for posting this; I was just trying to dig it up this morning...

"Fannie and Freddie are the poster children for a lack of transparency and accountability. Fannie Mae employees deliberately manipulated financial reports to trigger bonuses for senior executives. Freddie Mac manipulated its earnings by $5-billion. They've misled us about their accounting, and now they are endangering financial markets. More than two years ago, I said: "If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose." Fannie and Freddie's lobbyists succeeded; Congress failed to act. They've stayed in business, grown, and profited mightily by showering money on lobbyists and favors on the Washington establishment. Now the bill has come due.

"What should be done? We are stuck with the reality that they have grown so large that we must support Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through the current rough spell. But if a dime of taxpayer money ends up being directly invested, the management and the board should immediately be replaced, multimillion dollar salaries should be cut, and bonuses and other compensation should be eliminated. They should cease all lobbying activities and drop all payments to outside lobbyists. And taxpayers should be first in line for any repayments."

Bravo!

14 posted on 07/25/2008 4:56:40 AM PDT by manapua
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To: nkycincinnatikid; All
” He seems to have learned well from the beating by Keating. He definitely has my vote.”
>>>>>>>>>................
McCain writes against the bale out , but will vote for the BILL ..watch ,at best he will abstain..
IF he does will you still vote for the RINO??
McCain is the master of reaching across aisle to further government control..HE will not get my vote.
15 posted on 07/25/2008 5:17:32 AM PDT by shadowgovernment (From the Ashes of a Republican rout will raise a Conservative Party)
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To: shadowgovernment

I thought George Herbert Walker Bush was a classic Rino and a bitter heir to Reagan.. I voted for him anyway.The folks who couldn’t stomach that and became Perotistas have to answer for 8 years of Clinton, not me.


16 posted on 07/25/2008 11:43:21 AM PDT by nkycincinnatikid
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To: rabscuttle385; indylindy; calcowgirl; Ingtar; djsherin; Sunnyflorida; SoConPubbie; Sybeck1; ...
WTH? So is McCain for bailout FNM and FRE or is he for letting them fail?

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17 posted on 07/25/2008 12:43:09 PM PDT by rabscuttle385 ("When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat." Ronald Reagan)
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To: gpapa

Okay, is this going to keep the bill from passing, or is it safe now?


18 posted on 07/25/2008 12:45:33 PM PDT by dforest (I had almost forgotten that McCain is the nominee. Too bad I was reminded.)
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To: shadowgovernment; rabscuttle385; indylindy

McCain: “I support taking the unfortunate but necessary steps needed to keep the financial troubles at these two companies from further squeezing American families.”

Last month McCain made the promise to LaRaza that hispanic families would get a bail out. This is just the start. Everyone (repubs) are screaming about bailing out Fannie Mae, et al, McCain is for it, and now they praise him? I’ll never get it. I see he didn’t say anything about the millions that Fannie Mae gives to anti-American out fits like LaRaza, LuLac, Maldef, the rainbow coalition....

McCain: “La Raza runs one of the largest housing counseling programs in the country that has helped tens of thousands of Latinos become homeowners with secure mortgages. But millions of Americans have been hurt by the mortgage crisis and falling home values, and many in the Hispanic community have been especially hard hit. I want to help people who genuinely need assistance in these tough times, not speculators and lenders who contributed to this mess and didn’t follow the basics of good business practice. I am committed to making sure families who want to hold onto their home have a chance to do so. My HOME plan allows families who need help to apply — either at their local Post Office or online — for a new, guaranteed, fixed-rate, 30-year mortgage that will allow them to remain in their home, and raise their family with dignity............... One of my proudest achievements as a politician is to have won 75 percent of the Hispanic vote in Arizona in my last re-election. I believe I’m the only member of the Senate to have twice won your Congressional Leadership Award, a distinction I am also very proud of.....As a private citizen or as your President, I will never, never do anything to dishonor our obligations to them and their families or to forget what they and their ancestors have done to make this country the beautiful, bountiful, blessed place we love.

http://americassentinel.com/2008/07/15/transcript-remarks-by-john-mccain-at-the-2008-national-council-of-la-raza-convention/


19 posted on 07/25/2008 2:22:46 PM PDT by AuntB ( “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” - George Orwel)
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To: AuntB

Gag me AuntB, I wish McCain felt the same way about his fellow American citizens.

This is a really shameful election. Obama and McCain are shameful.


20 posted on 07/25/2008 2:29:42 PM PDT by dforest (I had almost forgotten that McCain is the nominee. Too bad I was reminded.)
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