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It's No Accident -- Why Goldman's Suddenly Getting Grilled
FOXNews ^ | April 27, 2010 | Andrea Tantaros - FOXNews.com

Posted on 04/27/2010 6:36:42 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach

Presidents are always in need of enemies. Obama has the Tea Party movement, and Wall Street – and he is using Wall Street, namely Goldman, as a paper tiger to help build support for financial reform.

While they still have total control of Washington, the Obama administration and congressional Democrats have been working feverishly to pass a financial regulatory reform bill that would give the federal government expanded powers over Wall Street. At the same time, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched an investigation into Goldman Sachs and one of its vice presidents for defrauding investors by misstating and omitting key facts about a financial product tied to subprime mortgages just as the U.S. housing market was beginning to falter. Most recently, in an outrageous abuse of power, Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) released internal e-mails from Goldman employees, the same week Goldman execs are slated to testify on Capitol Hill, and on the same week that Democrats make their final push to pass the financial reform bill.
If you think there are coincidences in Washington when it comes to timing, think again.

Presidents are always in need of enemies. Bill Clinton had “the vast right wing conspiracy.” Obama has the Tea Party movement, and Wall Street – and he is using Wall Street, namely Goldman, as a paper tiger to help build support for financial reform. It should be noted that though both Republicans and Democrats have taken money from the firm, Obama is the highest recipient of Goldman donations by almost $1 million. By taking their money with one hand, and spanking them with the other, Obama is sending a message to other Wall Street firms that they better line up behind his reform or else .....

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


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: finacial; financialreform; goldman; senatehearings; wallstreet
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1 posted on 04/27/2010 6:36:43 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

The GS boys think they’re so clever, but GS gave BO’s campaign a million dollars, proving they were really, really stupid.


2 posted on 04/27/2010 6:39:43 PM PDT by kittymyrib
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

I think the Republicans better be very careful. Things may not go as well for them in November as they think.


3 posted on 04/27/2010 6:45:19 PM PDT by kezzek
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

The show is just that, a show. Publicly, G/S is to seem castigated, scathingly. The purpose is to establish precedent, with the biggest tuna of the sea, of CIVIL fraud with a fine, rather than CRIMINAL fraud with accountability.

Today, Goldmans’ CEO pledged cooperation with financial reform...you bet, again, nothing serious in the reform to really accomplish reform in a way that would change significantly the status-quo with unregulated and unaccounted credit derivatives or the creation of more of the same. Geithner is pressing the Europeans and IMF for financial reform that would not expose true market values of credit derivatives to begin solving the problem in any meaningful way. Both parties are in with Goldman, and, at the moment, the Dems dominate.

Has anyone heard of any feature in the “reform” bill that will encourage middle class, small business creation and job creation? I have heard only of additional financial and regulatory hoops that would punishingly raise the bar for the creation of new small businesses as an effective disincentive for same.


4 posted on 04/27/2010 6:47:23 PM PDT by givemELL (Does Taiwan eet the Criteria to Qualify as an "Overseas Territory of the United States"? by Richar)
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To: kezzek
Did you know 4 of Goldman's 5 in-house lobbyists are former Dem Staffers? The 5th is a Hillary donor.

GM is still government-owned, and also still has outstanding bailout loans from Uncle Sam.
5 posted on 04/27/2010 6:49:45 PM PDT by Minus_The_Bear
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To: kittymyrib

I wonder how big the collective dem bowel movement would be if GS turned off the money spigot for just one election?

I have no love for GS but I have less for the dems. I do love to see them eat each other though.


6 posted on 04/27/2010 6:50:10 PM PDT by Dutch Boy
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To: kezzek

Perhaps they should tell the truth about Clinton, Dodd , Barney Frank, Franklin Raines etc and leth the Glenn Beck expose on Greenhouse bu***it between GE, the obama streethug team, Soros and other assorted pos’s fly!


7 posted on 04/27/2010 6:50:16 PM PDT by acapesket
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To: kittymyrib
No it does not prove anything. Goldman is in bed with uhbama. You had better believe that ol uhbama owns STOCK in the company ol GOLDMAN bought up 10$ of, the CARBON big boy, that, golly, gee whiz, GOT ITS PATENT APPROVED THE DAY AFTER OUR STUPID NATION VOTED IN THE CONGRESS and SENATE and UHBAMA. Funny that one. And the two main players just happen to be al gore and goldman with uhbama running close behind and ALL THREE WILL REAP MILLIONS IF NOT BILLIONS if CAP AND TRADE IS PASSED.

You see it is all a game....Goldman is HAPPY to let uhbama make up the big bad wall street guys because the future benies are HUGE!!! Goldman gave millions to uhbama and they will ALWAYS be ready to give him whatever he needs...there is a big, big game going on and Glenn Beck has named the players and it is corrupt and convoluted enough to make your gut wrench.

Is there something just flat out evil about democrats?

8 posted on 04/27/2010 6:51:41 PM PDT by Republic (Stop the horrific liberals from spending ONE MORE DIME before they destroy our nation.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

November 2nd, the US Congress will be getting grilled over their votes on DeathCare and their intended destruction of the US economy and our freedom.


9 posted on 04/27/2010 6:52:47 PM PDT by ExTexasRedhead (Clean the RAT/RINO Sewer in 2010 and 2012)
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To: givemELL

Well, you have a point, but many in the so-called “conservative” media go dumb as an ox when their business cult fantasies about Goldman, etc. are threatened.

They imagine fantasies where it is all an Obama “trick” that years from now with nationalize everything. They did the same utter stupidity with health insurance reform. Rush Limbaugh appears to be the, ahem, “brains” of this type of delusional thinking. They will call Obama a liar on anything, unless he seems in league with the business interests they idolize.

Greenspan could blubber on and on and on how he now had the hallelujah moment their shared ideology was absolute BS, but they won’t learn.

The best reason the Big 5 banks want this bill is because it institutionalizes “too big to fail.” As of now, “too big to fail” is a self-serving bailout philosophy, not hard law. Passing it makes the myth of saving Citibank for the greater good in the past a seeming reality.


10 posted on 04/27/2010 6:54:27 PM PDT by Shermy
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To: Shermy

Yes, your comments are good. DOES not “TOO BIG TO FAIL” seem to be instantly morphing to “TOO BIG FOR JAIL”!!?


11 posted on 04/27/2010 7:00:07 PM PDT by givemELL (Does Taiwan eet the Criteria to Qualify as an "Overseas Territory of the United States"? by Richar)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
It was as if everyone at Goldman had been coached by the lawyers to shut up. The result was that they all became stiff. awkward, and ultimately, unable to defend themselves and their firm in the court of public opinion. it was a disasterous strategy. The only person with any animation was the CFO, who seemed not to have received the memo.

Listening to Blankfien was like going through several layers of disbelief. At the outset he seemed like a complete doofus; not only completely lacking in self-confidence, but also, yes, stupid. He let Levin walk all over him. He could simply have said: “Not so, Senator. Half the time we were long. Net net we lost money on residential mortgages. What's the problem?” Instead he was left saying it was okay to bet against your client's investment: a completely indefensible position.

Then I began to think that this was a setup. Under Coburn's questioning, Blankfien starts talking about quality time he is spending at the White House. He avoids criticism of Fannie and Freddie. He doesn't necessarily have a problem with the Fed taking over banks like his. Now he's sounding like a New York Jewish liberal Democrat, a businessman with a dose of self-hate. So perhaps this is the deal. He knows that the Dems need a scapegoat and that he has been designated. He is taking one for the team, knowing that, in the end, his man Obama will go easy on him. But no, that couldn't be. The damage that Levin is doing to Goldman's business interests is too great a sacrifice for any CEO to invoke upon his company.

In the end, I concluded that Blankfien was just being his weak, insecure, egghead self. This was not the persona that I had expected from a former, very successful, trader. Perhaps some people find his stuttering mannerisms to be endearing. It is a sad image for me in this post-modern government-dominated era: a liberal, socially insecure Wall Street CEO slithering around D.C. from the White House to the Treasury to the FDIC, thinking that the key to success is through government influence. The tragedy is that he is right.

12 posted on 04/27/2010 7:01:35 PM PDT by Praxeologue (io)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Why is the story that Glenn Beck detailed yesterday not plastered all over every front page in America??

Obama/Gore/Goldman Sachs are getting ready to impose a $10 TRILLION dollar climate tax on America through the Chicago Climate Exhange (CCX) and Cap&Tax.

Goldman, Gore and others in Obummers admin are potentially going to reap 100’s of billions of dollars in profits on this scheme.

They are happily playing their part as the pinata so that the Dems can use them to push through financial reform... then Goldman gets to benefit from Cap and Tax.

It’s all a game... and American citizens will be the losing team.

Watch this clip from Beck yesterday. (If you are truly limited on time, forward to 14 minutes, although 7:45 - 8:40 is very important too):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQitjq2CXS0

It ends before he unveils the “middle” guy who facilitated the funding/founding of the Chicago Climate Exchange.

Gee, who could be from Chicago AND heavily involved with Goldman Sachs?? Hint, he also goes by the name Barry.

Don’t fall for this circus. It’s all just a show.


13 posted on 04/27/2010 7:18:59 PM PDT by Painesright
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Just a reminder from obama’s March 2008 speech about ‘reform’...
I keep trying to tell myself this isn’t a manufactured crisis, but this sh*t keeps turning up.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/us/politics/27text-obama.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all


14 posted on 04/27/2010 7:20:40 PM PDT by griswold3
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To: givemELL

This GS stuff is a dog and pony show for the masses. GS knows it and Congress knows it. GS actually broke no laws and the SEC charges against them are civil, punishable only by a fine. I would bet it winds up to be about $50 mil.

Fodder for the clueless.


15 posted on 04/27/2010 7:50:29 PM PDT by sheana
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To: musicman

BFLR


16 posted on 04/27/2010 8:07:02 PM PDT by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Of course it’s not an accident. They are all in this together to steal more money and bring America down.


17 posted on 04/27/2010 8:23:10 PM PDT by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote; then find me a real conservative to vote for)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

It’s a show trial, just like the old Stalinist days.


18 posted on 04/27/2010 8:23:11 PM PDT by redpoll
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To: musicman

I believe in the free market and wallstreet. But GS is so in the tank for Obama and the Dems they are no longer part of the Free Market system. They want the game settled in their favor. I want to hear some real testimony explaining why derivatives are critical for the market. Derivatives caught the mispriced housing market before anyone else did. GS did not need to tell the buyers anything about if they were long or short. Its a market. GS as the market maker should treat everyone the same. The instrument was being held by their proprietary trading arm. There should be a firewall between the proprietary trading desk and the market maker function. Buyer beware. Personally I would ignore a broker who told me something about the security and their position. Why would I spend $1B based on a sales guys opinion.


19 posted on 04/27/2010 8:23:16 PM PDT by 4yourcountry (http://www.twitter.com/4yourcountry)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Glenn Beck covered this starting Monday. He’s connecting a lot more dots on his chalkboard. Keeps looking at the red phone, but so far, no calls from the Zer0.


20 posted on 04/27/2010 8:29:55 PM PDT by AFreeBird
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