Congressional Black Caucus Rejects Bailout, Obama?

More than half of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including some of Barack Obama’s stanchest supporters, voted against today’s House bailout bill.  Jesse Jackson Jr. and Bobby Rush, both of Illinois, were among the 21 members of the group who said no, according to The Daily Voice:

CBC members voting against the bailout plan (21): G.K. Butterfield, Andre Carson (IN), William Clay (MO), Emanuel Cleaver (MO), John Conyers (MI), Elijah Cummings (MD), Donna Edwards (MD), Al Green, Jesse Jackson Jr. (IL), Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX), William Jefferson (LA), Hank Johnson (GA), Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI), Barbara Lee (CA), John Lewis (GA), Donald Payne (NJ), Bobby Rush (IL), David Scott (GA), Robert Scott (VA), Bennie Thompson and Diane Watson (CA).

CBC members voting for the bailout plan (18): Sanford Bishop (GA), Corrine Brown (FL), Yvette Clark (NY), James Clyburn (SC), Artur Davis (AL), Danny Davis (IL), Keith Ellison (MN), Chaka Fattah (PA), Alcee Hastings (FL), Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX), Kendrick Meek (FL), Gregory Meeks (NY), Gwendolynne Moore (WI), Charles Rangel (NY), Laura Richardson (CA), Edolphus Towns (NY), Maxine Waters (CA) and Mel Watt (NC).

Obama, though reported to be only tepidly supporting the bailout, claimed credit for all the improvements that he believed should have made it acceptable.  During an appearance on CBS’s Face The Nation, Obama touted his contribution :

In response to Thursday’s meeting at the White House, attended by both Obama and McCain, at which the tentative brokered agreement was upset by House Republicans, prompting further tense negotiations, Schieffer asked Obama if McCain should get any credit for helping to get the bailout package settled.

“No,” Obama said. “Look, here are the facts: For two weeks, I was on the phone every day with Secretary Paulson and the congressional leaders, making sure that the principles that have ultimately been adopted were incorporated into the bill. None [of the amendments in the package] were in the president’s provision. They are identical to the things I called for the day that Secretary Paulson released his package. That, I think, is an indication of the degree to which, when it comes to protecting taxpayers, I was pushing very hard and involved in shaping those provisions.

Though Barack Obama is a member of the caucus and even received it’s Harold Washington/Phoenix award Sept. 27, with much hugs and love, he has had a bit of a rocky history with the group.  During the primaries, roughly between one third and one half of the caucus membership sided with Obama’s rival, Hillary Clinton, and in a caucus meeting after she suspended her campaign, tempers flared.

Sources at the meeting said that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, a Clinton supporter, expressed the desire that Obama and his campaign would reach out the millions of women still aggrieved about what happened in the campaign and still disappointed that Clinton lost.

Obama agreed that a lot of work needs to be done to heal the Democratic Party, and that he hoped the Clinton supporters in the room would help as much as possible.

According to Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., Obama then said, “However, I need to make a decision in the next few months as to how I manage that since I’m running against John McCain, which takes a lot of time. If women take a moment to realize that on every issue important to women, John McCain is not in their corner, that would help them get over it.”

Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., a longtime Clinton supporter, did not like those last three words — “Get over it.” She found them dismissive, off-putting.

“Don’t use that terminology,” Watson told Obama.

Since the voting pattern today does not coincide with Clinton support, it seems that opposition to Obama by fellow black Congressmen and women simply does not reflect the expectation of racial unanimity Obama’s campaign forces on the larger electorate.  Unlike the majority of the black community, it seems Obama’s co-workers reserve the right to vote conscience over race.

                                                                     

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

What Do We Need A Bailout For?

Bloomberg.com is reporting that the Federal Reserve is pumping billions into the “global financial system:”

The Federal Reserve will pump an additional $630 billion into the global financial system, flooding banks with cash to alleviate the worst banking crisis since the Great Depression.

The Fed increased its existing currency swaps with foreign central banks by $330 billion to $620 billion to make more dollars available worldwide. The Term Auction Facility, the Fed’s emergency loan program, will expand by $300 billion to $450 billion. The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan are among the participating authorities.

AP-Yahoo News says that the move came before the House voted down the bailout bill:

The Fed action came hours before the House defeated a $700 billion financial bailout plan, ignoring urgent pleas by Bush and Bernanke to move swiftly.

snip

By pledging to provide “a very large” cash infusion, the Fed hopes the actions will “reassure financial market participants.”

Sept. 24, the House approved a 630 billion dollar spending bill according to OhMyGov.com:

Yesterday, the house passed an Omnibus Bill that would give the Pentagon its biggest budget ever.   Media attention on the massive Wall Street bailout has allowed the omnibus spending bill to move through Congress with relatively little scrutiny.  The spending bill, which passed 370-58, was fueled by a need to keep the government running past the Oct. 1 start of the new budget year. Passage also was greased by 2,322 pet projects totaling $6.6 billion.

The bill calls for $488 billion for the Pentagon and another $40 billion for the Department of Homeland Security. The bill wraps together a record Pentagon budget with increased funding for Gulf Coast hurricane relief, provides a multi-billion dollar bailout to US auto manufacturers, and increased health care funding for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

In a major victory for Republicans, Democrats capitulated and agreed to lift the offshore drilling ban. The legislation, which the Senate is expected to approve and send to President Bush for his signature, is flying under the political radar compared with the White House’s contentious plan to bail out Wall Street.

The administration also succeeded in blocking Democrats’ efforts to extend unemployment insurance, increase food stamp payments and help states deal with shortfalls in their Medicaid budgets.

WTF?  The Orlando Business Journal says gas prices (remember those?) are going…down?

Even with supply problems in areas of Georgia, Tennessee and the western half of the Carolinas, motorists are likely to see retail gas prices inch down a bit this week, AAA said Monday.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the refineries along the upper Texas Gulf Coast and western Louisiana that were most affected by hurricanes Gustav and Ike are in varying stages of operation. Four refineries remain off-line due to no power; five are in the process of restarting; and nine others have begun production at reduced capacity.

snip

“There is still a lot of uncertainty in the market with the U.S. government’s $700 billion bailout situation unresolved. Nevertheless, it is likely retail gasoline prices will drop this week,” Bly said.

Randy Bly is the director of community relations for AAA Auto Club South.

It’s a good thing I don’t really have any commentary to offer about what this all means to the bailout or the election, ’cause I gotta rush out and get measured for my tinfoil hat.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

Antichrist Obama Looking For A Rape Victim

Oh, man, I kid you not.  These two stories were featured on BuzzTracker, and anti-Obamabot that I am, I just had to pass them along.  First, The Charlotte Observer reports that Fort Mill, S.C. mayor Danny Funderburk let his curiosity about Obama’s potential Antichrist status compel him to pass along a scurrilous email:

Fort Mill Mayor Danny Funderburk says he was “just curious” when he forwarded a chain e-mail suggesting Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama is the biblical antichrist. “I was just curious if there was any validity to it,” Funderburk said in a telephone interview. “I was trying to get documentation if there was any scripture to back it up.”

snip

When asked if he believed Obama was the antichrist, Funderburk replied, “I’ve got absolutely no way of knowing that.”

Can’t be too careful, eh, Dan-O?  Moving quickly on, Politico is claiming that Camp O went out looking for a rape victim, any rape victim, to appear in an unspecified ad:

Barack Obama’s campaign earlier this month sought to find a rape victim to appear in a campaign commercial, according to an e-mail obtained by Politico.

Kiersten Steward, director of public policy at the Family Violence Prevention Fund, served as a conduit between the campaign and victims and women’s advocates.

“Obviously, this is a big ask and I haven’t seen a script but presumably it will be a brief ‘this is what happened to me, we need someone who will fight for women like me, these are the guys to do it,’” Steward wrote in a Sept. 15 e-mail. ”Again, that’s just my assumption, given how these things
usually go.”

Mikele Shelton-Knight, who declined to appear in the ad, speculated that it might have something to do with Sara Palin and rape kit charges:

And though she never was told about the nature of the commercial, Shelton-Knight said she thought that the focus of the ad may be about the practice in Wasilla, Alaska, to charge rape victims to pay for their own exams.

The law was on the books when Sarah Palin became mayor of the small city, and it’s unclear whether she supported it or opposed it during her tenure.

But Shelton-Knight said Palin should not be criticized for having governed a city with such a law as they were quite common until recent years.

Alaska didn’t pass a bill until 2000 requiring state and local law endorcement to pay for the exams.  And Shelton-Knight said it wasn’t until lobbying by her and others that Virginia last year put the financial burden on localities.  Many states still charge victims for the cost of the exam.

Well, I guess if you were a senator from a state that charged for rape kits and were looking for a victim to exploit in an ad claiming your opponent was guilty of the heinous crime of doing the same thing, you would qualify as the Antichrist.  But since “Antichrist” literally means “not Christ,” I’d say we all fit the description.  Gotta lotta problems with Obi-WanNaBePresident, but his being a demon is not one of them.  His all-too human flaws are more than enough, thank you.

But, Lord, how many times and ways can you victimize a rape victim for fun and profit?  Hire an actress, run a disclaimer.  Take the high road for once.

Oughta be a law.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

The Speech That Killed The Bill

According to House Republicans, this is the reason many of them voted “no” on the bailout bill.  Sounds like a giant middle finger salute to me.  Way to go Nancy!  Way to go, guys!  Who pisses next?

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

Bailout Bill Fails

Looks like the House of Representatives has rejected the bailout bill, according to MarketWatch:

The U.S. dollar pared its gains Monday after reports that the U.S. House of Representatives surprisingly voted against a proposal to prop up financial institutions being dragged down by losses on non-performing debt.

CNN Money reports:

What was supposed to be a 15-minute vote stretched past the half-hour mark as leadership scrambled for support. Investors who had been counting on the rescue plan sent the Dow Jones industrial average down as much as 700 points while watching the measure come up short of the necessary support, before rebounding slightly. The key stock reading was down more than 500 points.

The measure needs 218 votes for passage. Democrats voted 141 to 94 in favor of the plan, while Republicans voted 65 to 133 against. That left the measure with 206 votes for and 227 against.

AP-Yahoo News says Republicans are placing the blame on Nancy Pelosi:

Several Republican aides said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had torpedoed any spirit of bipartisanship that surrounded the bill with her scathing speech near the close of the debate that blamed Bush’s policies for the economic turmoil.

Without mentioning her by name, Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., No. 3 Republican, said: “The partisan tone at the end of the debate today I think did impact the votes on our side.”

snip

“We could have gotten there today had it not been for the partisan speech that the speaker gave on the floor of the House,” House Minority Leader John Boehner said. Pelosi’s words, the Ohio Republican said, “poisoned our conference, caused a number of members that we thought we could get, to go south.”

Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., the whip, estimated that Pelosi’s speech changed the minds of a dozen Republicans who might otherwise have supported the plan.

Barney Frank, however, disagrees:

“Well if that stopped people from voting, then shame on them,” he said. “If people’s feelings were hurt because of a speech and that led them to vote differently than what they thought the national interest (requires), then they really don’t belong here. They’re not tough enough.”

But hey, ol’ Barn’s got his own credibility issues:

Here, Henry Paulson, on 60 Minutes, seems to prove my point that they should have seen this coming.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

Credit Con and Bailout Bull

Yeah, what he said!  Dennis, that’s exactly what we want to know.  Why are we jumping on this before anything has really happened, other than some predatory financial…well, predators have made a bunch of predatory moves?  Smells like a con job to me.  Not even a good one, like the modified pyramid scheme the bankers and Wall Street guys are pulling, where “confidence“  is being bandied about as the whole reason we have to rescue a deliberately exploited system, like “confidence” is not what “con” is short for.  And, yeah, it’s a pyramid scheme.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission website:

In the classic “pyramid” scheme, participants attempt to make money solely by recruiting new participants into the program. The hallmark of these schemes is the promise of sky-high returns in a short period of time for doing nothing other than handing over your money and getting others to do the same.

Why does the current mess qualify?  Because it’s based on credit, not real estate or any other tangible product.  Not only that, it’s credit often-times extended based on nothing other than “good faith,” if that.  We’re being told that because a bunch of bankers loaned money to people they shouldn’t have, if Wall Street doesn’t get all our money, right now, they won’t loan each other any more.  Not only is it a pyramid scheme, it’s extortion, Blazing Saddles-style.  Congress’ manufactured hysteria is a con, too, only more juvenile.   They’re worse than a teenager who runs over the neighbor’s cat in the family car and uses it as an excuse to badger his parents for one of his own.  It’s more like a prom date whining, “Ooo, ooo, it really hurts!  Ya gotta kiss it, or it’ll fall off!”  Just like I’d say to that prom date, I say, “Sounds painful, but what’s it got to do with me?”  From today’s Washington Post:

“A vote for this bill is a vote to prevent economic damage to you and your community” by stabilizing financial markets and renewing the flow of credit, Bush said, attempting to undercut arguments that the proposed legislation bolsters Wall Street at taxpayers’ expense. “This is a bold bill that will keep the crisis in our financial system from spreading through our economy.”

And while we’re pacing to and fro, fretting and debating the merits of using taxpayer money to bail out the people who issued bad loans at inflated prices to taxpayers, we’re not supposed to pay attention to the people behind the curtain doing this:

The legislation comes amid great upheaval in the nation’s financial system. On Monday morning, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which insures deposits at failed banks, arranged for the sale of the banking assets of Wachovia (WB, Fortune 500), the nation’s No. 4 bank holding company, to Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) for $2.2 billion in stock.

That follows three weeks of other shocks: the Treasury Department’s seizure of mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500); Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy filing; rival Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500) purchase by Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500).

In addition, the Fed bailed out insurance giant American International Group (AIG, Fortune 500), loaning it $85 billion in return for a nearly 80% stake. while Washington Mutual (WM, Fortune 500), the nation’s largest savings and loan, became the largest bank failure in history. 

See my post below for info on some of the people on Barack Obama’s financial team who are chin-deep in this bs on the profit side.  And, then, just for fun, compare which of these companies gave oodles of dough to Barack Obama and/or John McCain.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal