-By warner Todd Huston
The Wall Street Journal has an important op ed that every American should read. It is simply a reiteration of quotes from high ranking, Congressional Democrats who swore to us that there wasn’t a thing wrong with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They made these claims because the faulty rules they were pushing were little else but sweet heart deals for the special interests, lobbyists and NGOs that donated huge cash to their campaign coffers. This was graft, pure and simple, and, to use a favorite Democrat expression, those chickens are coming home to roost.
Aside from the WSJ, the rest of the media have seriously neglected the truth in this case. This economic mess can be laid squarely at the feet of the Democratic Party.
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What They Said About Fan and Fred
House Financial Services Committee hearing, Sept. 10, 2003:
Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.): I worry, frankly, that there’s a tension here. The more people, in my judgment, exaggerate a threat of safety and soundness, the more people conjure up the possibility of serious financial losses to the Treasury, which I do not see. I think we see entities that are fundamentally sound financially and withstand some of the disaster scenarios. . . .
Secretary Martinez, if it ain’t broke, why do you want to fix it? Have the GSEs [government-sponsored enterprises] ever missed their housing goals?
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House Financial Services Committee hearing, Sept. 25, 2003:
Rep. Frank: I do think I do not want the same kind of focus on safety and soundness that we have in OCC [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency] and OTS [Office of Thrift Supervision]. I want to roll the dice a little bit more in this situation towards subsidized housing. . Continue reading “Democrats Insisted Fannie and Freddie Were Juuust Fine…”