Bachmann Blames President Clinton, ‘Blacks,’ And ‘Other Minorities’ For Current Financial Crisis
Bachmann Blames President Clinton, ‘Blacks,’ And ‘Other Minorities’ For Current Financial Crisis
Yesterday in a House hearing on the financial crisis, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) spoke on what caused the situation. To make her point, she read from an article called “How A Clinton-Era Rule Rewrite Made Subprime Crisis Inevitable,” written by Terry Jones in the right-wing publication Investor’s Business Daily.
The article criticizes the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) for pushing “Fannie and Freddie to aggressively lend to minority communities.” Jones goes on to say that Clinton was misguided to push “homeownership as a way to open the door for blacks and other minorities to enter the middle class.”
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) sharply criticized Bachmann and other conservatives who have been trying to pin the economic crisis on minorities:
I personally am not going to just sit by and let people trash programs that helped folks get into housing who have been struggling to get in.
Fannie and Freddie — I don’t think are failed models. CRA certainly isn’t a failed program. These are important and good programs and should be protected. And If you want to find blame somewhere, let’s look at Gramm-Leach-Bliley. Let’s look at the very deregulation that so many people called for and clamor for and now we see what deregulation, lack of corporate responsibility put together with flat declining wages for the American people will bring about. It’s brought about this.
Watch it:
Blaming the CRA is one of conservatives’ favorite talking points and has been peddled by Charles Krauthammer, Fox News, FreeRepublic.com, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, and the National Review.
But as the Center for American Progress’s Robert Gordon noted in the American Prospect, lenders did not approve bad loans to comply with CRA; they did so to make money: 1) Subprime loans intensified “at the very time when activity under CRA had slowed and the law had weakened,” 2) CRA doesn’t even apply to many of the loans behind the mortgage meltdown, and 3) The “lenders subject to CRA have engaged in less, not more, of the most dangerous lending.”
Transcript:
ELLISON: One of the things that I am concerned about is that housing financing efforts that have resulted in giving moderate to low-income people opportunities to be able to get into housing have come under attack this last week and been blamed for being the problem. I want to very soundly reject that idea. I plan on asking you about that, Mr. Director. I was hoping to ask about that yesterday, but I didn’t get a chance to.
I even heard things like the Community Reinvestment Act is the cause of this current crisis, even though the Community Reinvestment Act applies only to commercial banks. It does not apply to mortgage originators, who were the ones who originated the overwhelming number of these subprime loans. The fact is, CRAs probably reduced the impact of this problem because they limited the ability for a subprime loan to be issued through banks because they were regulated.
Also today we’ve heard quite of bit of criticism of the Fannie and Freddie model. I want to remind my friends that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were pretty late to the game of accepting, as part of their assets, these more illiquid — what we’re calling illiquid assets today. The subprime — the subprime model, which has been going on for a number of years, but Fannie and Freddie really, really added this as part of there business in 2005, 2006, 2007, which is late in the game.
And so I just want to make it clear that part of what I want to make sure to do is to protect programs for low- and moderate-income people to be able to gain housing. I personally am not going to just sit by and let people trash programs that helped folks get into housing who have been struggling to get in.
Fannie and Freddie — I don’t think are failed models. CRA certainly isn’t a failed program. These are important and good programs and should be protected. And If you want to find blame somewhere, let’s look at Gramm-Leach-Bliley. Let’s look at the very deregulation that so many people called for and clamor for and now we see what deregulation, lack of corporate responsibility put together with flat declining wages for the American people will bring about. It’s brought about this. So I look forward to the debate.
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Ignorant racist cow.
The closer we get to election day, the uglier the racism.
September 26th, 2008 at 7:49 pmHow might one account for the utterly despicable minority homeownership rate? It’s below 40% in Minnesota, the rash of foreclosures in our hardest hit areas were rentals – creating sort of a double whammy when the sheriff came knocking.
I wish I lived in her district. We have a fairly strong progressive movement, so hopefully her first will be her last.
September 26th, 2008 at 7:50 pmAre Minnesota voters THAT stoo-pid? She looks a lot like Flailin’s long lost twin.
September 26th, 2008 at 7:52 pmI say this sometimes, but I’m just waiting for private student loans to be the next one on the list. Things have been shitty and as such as college gets more expensive, more loans are needed and less parents are able to cosign.
Many places won’t even consolidate the things any more. Sallie Mae put a hold on that and actually has the nerve to tell you on the phone that it’s not is not good for students to consolidate econmically based on the current rates. So getting 7% instead of 10 to 18+ is bad? Come on lol.
Companies like that have been pushing deregulation in that market heavily. They’ve removed basic bankruptcy protections entirely. They’ve managed to get things federally guaranteed. In fact, Sallie Mae is one of the companies that can’t legally be “shorted” in this situation and as such they’ve been trying to get in on the bail out too.
It’s just as predatory as this housing stuff, easily. They want you to default because they get their money anyway (if nothing else, if you default the Dept. of Education will help them take money from your bank) and in the process they can get your assets. It’s totally designed for this at this point and it’s disgusting.
I’m scared for all of the people out there who won’t even be able to get past this to begin with… they’ll never even be able to be taken advantage of by a mortgage company because they’ve already been ruined by a student loan one.
It’s fun.
September 26th, 2008 at 7:55 pmI hear Ms. Bachmann will be sitting with the KKK at tonight’s debate.
PEACE
September 26th, 2008 at 7:57 pmIf it’s not Clinton’s fault, you can be sure then that it’s Carter’s.
September 26th, 2008 at 7:57 pmIs she going to be one of the KKK at the debate this evening???
September 26th, 2008 at 7:58 pmWhat? We have to get back to the cultural issues somehow!
September 26th, 2008 at 8:00 pmAnyone know where I can find the link to the video of Bush touting his “Ownership Society” and how proud he is that home ownership is at it’s highest levels…
September 26th, 2008 at 8:00 pmGOOD NEWS!
Ted Kennedy has been released from the hospital. Per Keith, he suffered a minor seizure, and wanted to return home to watch the debate!
Yea Teddy!
PEACE
September 26th, 2008 at 8:03 pmGreat news about Ted. Thanks spencers mom!
September 26th, 2008 at 8:06 pmThis bimbo’s ignorance and bias knows no bounds. I am a Minnesotan but fortunate to not live in her district — they must be mortified at this over-botoxed, over-Zantaxed cow!
I am sure she is getting anxious to return home and defend her seat in November. I truly hope that her opponent, Elwyn Tinklenberg, is taking notes every time the bimbo opens her pie hole. She’s giving him all the ammunition that he should need.
She rode into office last time around on a wave of evangelical fundie voters. I should think that even they are disappointed in the result.
September 26th, 2008 at 8:06 pmStill obsessed with blaming Clinton?
You’d think 8 years of would have given Pres Bush more than enough time to change the rules back, if they were so bad.
You’d think that the Republicans -who held the majority in Congress all those years- would have changed the rules if they were so bad.
I guess the reichwingers’ defence is now to claim incompetence. Or should I say “admit”?
September 26th, 2008 at 8:07 pm#12, Tom, Gawd, I hope she loses her re-election bid and that McCain loses the Presidential. I wouldn’t be able to stand watching her fawn all over McCain at his first SOTU address (should he live that long).
September 26th, 2008 at 8:08 pm“Community Reinvestment Act applies only to commercial banks. It does not apply to mortgage originators, who were the ones who originated the overwhelming number of these subprime loans.”
September 26th, 2008 at 8:12 pm-Keith Ellison
BURNT!
Addendum — it occurs to me that airheads like Bachmann are unaware that the consumer has carried GDumbya’s failed economy through his first and now his second recession. Of course, there is a credit crunch. Of course, it is hitting the mortgage industry.
The consumer has been tapping his/her largest source of capital by refinancing his/her house. At the same time, home values have decreased and the financial sector has over-leveraged and bundled its mortgage-backed assets to the hilt. It has sold and resold these assets with everyone taking a commission along the way. Is it any wonder why we’re in the mess we’re in? No.
Is it the fault of low-income and/or minority home-owners? No.
September 26th, 2008 at 8:14 pmZooey,
September 26th, 2008 at 8:14 pmYou can’t blame the beast for having been raised in a barn…
“Community Reinvestment Act applies only to commercial banks. It does not apply to mortgage originators, who were the ones who originated the overwhelming number of these subprime loans.”
Bingo! And only 25 percent of CRA-related mortgages were originated by commercial banks.
September 26th, 2008 at 8:16 pmThe combover racist.
Fiscal Conservative
September 26th, 2008 at 8:24 pmOh wrong one.
September 26th, 2008 at 8:24 pmladies and gentlemen,
the empress.
*
September 26th, 2008 at 8:26 pmI swear Bachmann needs to be put away. That woman is a lunatic fringe. Won’t comment on her retarded comment. Enough said.
September 26th, 2008 at 8:31 pmMay God descend upon us today and dry up the infested gene pool from which all these Rethuglicans sprung. This Country, from Day One, has encouraged those not lucky enough to book passage on the Mayflower to join us in our bountiful land. This recent gambit reminds me of the old Twilight Zone episode of “To Serve Man” (Don’t go. It’s a cookbook). Bachman, Baby, we ain’t gonna eat them turds, we gotta live with them because they are more than us!
September 26th, 2008 at 8:34 pmsik psycho beeyatch. not long for public office. a general shame to the Republic.
Outlaw the GOP
September 26th, 2008 at 8:35 pmAbout the WaMu update, did anyone else hear today on Randi Rhodes about the severance package the 17 day-old CEO of WaMu got? I believe it was 20Mil for 17 days, guaranteed!
September 26th, 2008 at 8:35 pmIgnorant, bat sh*t crazy, racist and female. It’s a wonder that McCain didn’t pick her as his running mate.
-AF
September 26th, 2008 at 8:39 pmAndrew Sullivan Is A Fraud
Max-1 Says:
Zooey,
You can’t blame the beast for having been raised in a barn…
September 26th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Barn yard animals are smarter than Bachmann. :D
September 26th, 2008 at 8:40 pmCongrats , Minnesota
You managed to elect someone racist AND impossibly stupid.
Way to go……………
September 26th, 2008 at 8:45 pmThank heaven all those minorites and welfare mothers had the foresight to buy $100,000 credit default swaps last summer. Wall Street investors are betting their brethren can’t pay back those loans. It now costs $790,000 for the same coverage. That’s a $690,000 gain for those po’ folks.
Yes, indeedy. Welfare mothers ganged up on Lehman, Goldman and Morgan. The damage they can do with a Caddy and a big screen TV!
September 26th, 2008 at 11:19 pmIt’s a script, a bad one act play with the same lines every election cycle. When you got no ideas….
September 26th, 2008 at 11:22 pmI’ve said it before and I’ll say it often:
Ms. Palin/Bachmann, to any objective observer, is fundamentally: dishonest, ignorant, dogmatic, vindictive,reckless, partisan, primitive, delusional, aggressive and incurious. All of these traits are well documented, her public record reads like a bad fantasy novel, and any one of those is disqualifying in my estimation.
September 26th, 2008 at 11:23 pmtinklinberg is preacher, can’t be quiet as kkkrazy as bachlin.
September 27th, 2008 at 12:42 ami had no idea this area has so many morans……..
TP, SOMEBODY, ya need to find the audio (or transcript) of the speech duby gave in 02, DIRECTING freddie and fannie to get people into NEW homes, and not just starter homes, mcmansions…
September 27th, 2008 at 12:56 am“there’s no reason you have to settle for a crappy house…” or some such message… it was rather offensive, in hindsight…
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, she is quite possibly the stupidest person on the face of the Earth.
September 27th, 2008 at 2:47 amMcCain came across mean and arrogant. McCain all but said “boy, you don’t belong here”. His contempt for Obama was so obvious.
September 27th, 2008 at 8:56 amMore proof of my thesis that there is something seriously wrong with any female who is a stident reichwingnut extremist. Look at Lauar Ingrhamn, mAnn Coulter, Micelly Malkin, Sarah Palin, et al. They were either abused as a young age or dropped on their heads at an early age, or not potty trained properly.
September 27th, 2008 at 10:20 amHow interesting!
A few days ago my very republican sister was telling me that it was Clinton and the minorites fault along with Jesse Jackson and his organization who intimidates ??
Of course my sisters idol is Michelle Bachmann so now I know where she gets her information from!
September 27th, 2008 at 12:41 pmKaty @ 33 said “TP, SOMEBODY, ya need to find the audio (or transcript) of the speech duby gave in 02, DIRECTING freddie and fannie to get people into NEW homes, and not just starter homes, mcmansions…”
Here you go…
September 27th, 2008 at 2:22 pmhttp://forums.speedguide.net/showthread.php?t=245513
Are Minnesota voters THAT stoo-pid? She looks a lot like Flailin’s long lost twin.
That’s not far off the mark, she’s quite a religious zealot and a strict Bush acolyte, to a sickening degree.
She represents a prosperous suburban/exurban republican district. It saddens me that she represents any part of my state at all.
September 27th, 2008 at 6:13 pmMichele Bachmann was wrong. It wasn’t the minorities! It was the poor people!!
Sorry, I have to mess with you liberals–it’s too much fun.
September 27th, 2008 at 9:59 pmNeverthoughtinyour life. You arent annoying anyone. You are just parading your ignorance around and getting pity from us moron. Here is a little cyberpat on your head. You can go play with the other special children now.
September 28th, 2008 at 2:41 pmThat’s mighty white of her.
-AF
September 28th, 2008 at 6:39 pmAndrew Sullivan Is A Fraud
What a racist bigot. What a loser. Glad she’s not representing my state. …. Shades of Anita Bryant. tsk tsk
October 1st, 2008 at 3:49 pmsohbetSallie Mae put a hold on that and actually has the nerve to tell you on the phone that it’s not is not good for students to consolidate econmically based on the current rates. So getting 7% instead of 10 to 18+ is bad? Come on lol.
April 26th, 2009 at 12:48 pmcetCompanies like that have been pushing deregulation in that market heavily. They’ve removed Bedava mp3 indirbasic bankruptcy protections entirely. They’ve managed to get things federally guaranteed.