McCain Tries To Blame Financial Crisis On Democratic Takeover Of Congress In 2007
McCain Tries To Blame Financial Crisis On Democratic Takeover Of Congress In 2007
In April, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) claimed that “you could make an argument that there’s been great progress economically” since President Bush took office. He then revised that argument in August, releasing an ad that declared “we’re worse off than we were four years ago.”
Now McCain is revising his timeline again. In an interview with right-wing radio host Michael Medved this past Friday, McCain agreed with Medved’s assertion that “the economy was really progressing pretty well under most of President Bush’s term” before Democrats took control of Congress in January 2007:
MEDVED: Let me ask you one other thing senator, which again, I think is on the minds of lots and lots of our listeners. The economy was really progressing pretty well under most of President Bush’s term. Then the Democrats took over in Congress in 2007 and now we’re in this horrible crisis. Coincidence?
MCCAIN: No, it isn’t.
McCain went on to place the blame for the financial crisis on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, claiming that Democrats “were willing co-conspirators with this game of three-card monty that went on and then it collapsed.” Listen to it here:
Medved and McCain’s claim that “the economy was progressing really well” before Democrats took control of Congress is laughable. As Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Christian Weller’s economic snapshot from December 2006 shows, the economy was already in rough shape:
Famly Debt Was Rising: By September 2006, household debt rose to an unprecedented 130.9% of disposable income. From March 2001 to September 2006, personal debt relative to disposable income grew each quarter by 1.6 percentage points—almost five times faster than in the 1990s. In the second quarter of 2006, families had to spend 14.4% of their disposable income to service their debt—the largest share since 1980.
The Housing Market Had Slowed: The supply of homes for sale each month averaged 6.9 months of supply for the six months ending in October 2006—the largest supply since 1991.
Savings Had Plummeted: The personal saving rate of -1.3% in the third quarter of 2006 marked the sixth quarter in a row with a negative personal saving rate.
As for McCain’s claim that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the central cause of the current economic crisis, McClatchy thoroughly debunked it over the weekend, writing that “private sector loans, not Fannie or Freddie, triggered crisis.” McClatchy notes that the “weakening of underwriting standards for U.S. subprime mortgages” began in late 2004 while Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate.
Transcript:
MEDVED: Let me ask you one other thing senator, which again, I think is on the minds of lots and lots of our listeners. The economy was really progressing pretty well under most of President Bush’s term. Then the Democrats took over in Congress in 2007 and now we’re in this horrible crisis. Coincidence?MCCAIN: No, it isn’t. Although, as you know, and you and I have had this discussion in the past, the Bush administration let these spending bills be signed and him not doing what Ronald Reagan used to do and that is veto them, make them famous, and fight against it. But also, more interestingly, 2006, there was a group of us, as a result of an investigation, and I think it was the Inspector General, that said, look, this Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are completely out of control, if we don’t do something about it, we’re going to have an incredible financial crisis. And we sent a letter about it. We introduced legislation to rein them in and Senator Obama at the time said that these subprime loans were, quote, “a good idea.” And the Democrats in Congress were specifically talking about, the ones who got all the money, were defending, defending, and saying we can’t re-regulations on Fannie and Freddie and were actually encouraging, as you know, people to borrow money that they couldn’t pay back. A fundamental of economics, so they were willing co-conspirators with this game of three-card monty that went on and then it collapsed, you know.
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He’s a lying, steaming sack of sh!t, but in 3 weeks it really won’t matter what McStain says.
He is becoming increasingly irrelevant with each passing day, and I’m noticing that, at least here in PA, the Independents and Undecideds are moving towards Obama. The way I’m interpreting it is people not wanting to support a clear loser at this late stage.
PEACE
October 14th, 2008 at 7:36 pmBut the right wingers claim this is the do-nothing congress. If that is true, then the Democrats changed nothing and it was the Republican policies that continued and cause the problem. No, wait, now the right wingers claim the Democrats DID do something. But, yes, no, yes, ahh, there’s an economic problem? My friends, my lawn mower is low on gas but I can’t remember which house the mower is. Wait do-nothing, no did-something, AHHHH, where are my talking points… (Whew, that was difficult – how does McCain do it?)
October 14th, 2008 at 7:37 pmFollow the money.
October 14th, 2008 at 7:39 pmThe money is int he hands of the THEIVES who stole it.
How hard is that?
I really don;t think I can take much more of this insanity, stupidity and bold faced lying by McCain and enablers. Jeebus H Christ and a bag of chip!!!
October 14th, 2008 at 7:40 pmMcCain Tries To Blame Financial Crisis On Democratic Takeover Of Congress In 2007
– - Yep, and the man that falls off a building from the 100th floor is pretty much ok for 99 floors.
October 14th, 2008 at 7:40 pmMcCain is irrelevant and er…erratic.
October 14th, 2008 at 7:42 pm3 more weeks…..3 more weeks…….3 more weeks
October 14th, 2008 at 7:54 pmSo jonhny McMavrick which bills passed by the democrats
October 14th, 2008 at 7:58 pmduring that time caused the problem?????
Why not blame Bill Clinton and that Obama knows Bill???
Ask people who are unemployed and those who lost their homes when this started. Now I know Bush/Cheney gave out the bull but now McCain is doing the same thing. Fact both Democrats and Republicans are responsible for this mess. Speaker Pelosi took office and got her pay off as her huband got a big US contract from the White House as she took the Impeachment of Bush and Cheney off the table. Diane Feinstein’s husband got his big US contract by pushing for Bush’s choice for Attorney General Michael Mukasey to get in office to continue the crimes.
October 14th, 2008 at 7:59 pmRun John run. Watch John run from all accountability and responsibility. Don’t stop John. Keep running, keep running. Then John said, “It’s your entire fault, Sarah. You trollop. You c*nt.”
October 14th, 2008 at 8:00 pmMcCain to his manager:
October 14th, 2008 at 8:09 pm“Can we blame this whole mess of bad economy on Al Sharpton?” !!
“Gotta find me somebody…soon”.
Michael Medved should go back to reviewing movies and being a third rate Rober Ebert wannabe. Loser.
October 14th, 2008 at 8:14 pmWho will John blame for this?
Poll: Obama Opens 14-Point Lead On McCain
CBS News/New York Times Survey Shows Major Swing Among Independents, Suggests McCain’s Strategy May Be Hurting Him
Oct. 14, 2008
(CBS) Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is entering the third and final presidential debate Wednesday with a wide lead over Republican rival John McCain nationally, a new CBS News/New York Times poll shows.
The Obama-Biden ticket now leads the McCain-Palin ticket 53 percent to 39 percent among likely voters, a 14-point margin. One week ago, prior to the Town Hall debate that uncommitted voters saw as a win for Obama, that margin was just three points.
Among independents who are likely voters – a group that has swung back and forth between McCain and Obama over the course of the campaign – the Democratic ticket now leads by 18 points. McCain led among independents last week.
McCain’s campaign strategy may be hurting hurt him: Twenty-one percent of voters say their opinion of the Republican has changed for the worse in the last few weeks. The top two reasons cited for the change of heart are McCain’s attacks on Obama and his choice of Sarah Palin as running mate. [...]
He’s learning how to make Loser Casserole, the hard way.
October 14th, 2008 at 8:15 pmLurker, you’re right, no bills were passed by Dems concerning this. Thus, the blame would come under the Treasury Dept. The bad mortgages didn’t cause this big of a problem—it was what the banks did with the mortgages. Lack of government regulation meant banks were selling worthless insurance on the bad debts. The problem wasn’t limited to Freddie and Fannie as Republicans like to say, either.
October 14th, 2008 at 8:15 pmKeith,
Right on..
October 14th, 2008 at 8:21 pmA world-wide financial crisis came from one party’s control of our Congress for fifteen months? Who’d they bomb? What?
October 14th, 2008 at 8:21 pmAlot of listeners are wondering if its the democrats fault? Waiting for some sort of rebel guest to prove it worng?
Only the truly blind and stupid, i.e. Bush’s base of 23%ers, seems to be swallowing this particular lie.
October 14th, 2008 at 8:28 pmYou really have to look at the big picture. The negative savings percentage was a big warning sign. That meant in basic terms that people were no longer saving for a rainy day. Wages were not keeping pace with inflation, so as a country we essentially all had a pay cut on average. The Fed Reserve, in order to keep the housing boom going, kept lowering interest rates. This led to even higher inflation, which meant everything from food to gas was more expensive. In other words, the dollar losing value and the out of control gas prices in particular created a “rainy day” that people had no money saved to handle. That meant many could no longer make their mortgage payments. We also were not creating new jobs to make up for the people struggling, so people could not even find a second or third job in order to pay the rising bills. Add to that health care premiums and prices going through the roof, and you have another reason people could no longer afford their mortgage payments. Also add all of our reckless deficit spending in the federal budget, and the price of waging endless war in Iraq, and it only made the situation worse.
Democrats were warning us of the tough times we’re now facing. John Kerry was warning about the negative savings percentage. He even brought it up in the Bush-Kerry debates. Kerry warned about the lack of job creation. He warned about out of control medical costs. Republicans simply put their heads in the sand and cried “liberal media is lying”, and pretended the problems were not there.
October 14th, 2008 at 8:35 pmMcCain and his ilk are beyond pathetic. I had some respect for this man especially after the drubbing he took in 2000. But now the maverick is just another fear monger trying anything he can to get to the White House. Of course the wing nuts were hoping he would do this but it’s a little late. It has already been debunked and the only ones who will believe him are his truly deranged followers.
October 14th, 2008 at 8:46 pmCappy McPoopyhead is a very funny mon…
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October 14th, 2008 at 8:46 pmPaul Krugman was warning of a financial crisis at least two years ago.
October 14th, 2008 at 8:47 pmsee, this is clear evidence of why government-by-Republicans never works. When a crisis like this hits, they’re not even remotely interested in true causes. All they’re interested in is how they can blame it on Democrats.
Another bit of evidence: Sarah Palin, when asked about global warming said, “it kinda doesn’t matter at this point, as we debate what caused it. The point is: it’s real; we need to do something about it.”
How does she propose to “do something about it” if she doesn’t know the cause?
Government-by-Republicans.
October 14th, 2008 at 8:49 pmZero credibility.
Zero Honor.
Zero truth.
McZero.
October 14th, 2008 at 8:56 pmShouldn’t insanity be a disability that prevents someone from taking the oath of POTUS?
October 14th, 2008 at 8:58 pmStraight Talkin’ Jay-Walkin’ Johnny McOpportunist tries another shortcut.
October 14th, 2008 at 8:58 pmOh, well, if he said it on Michael Medved’s show, this will turn the election around!
October 14th, 2008 at 9:00 pmExcellent (if sarcastic) point, gum. McSame has twisted the focus of his campaign towards the wingnuts, so that maybe they’ll like him, and in so doing has lost whatever grip he had on moderates.
“The base” just isn’t going to get it done anymore for the GOP.
October 14th, 2008 at 9:06 pmKrugman on Hardball August 9, 2005:
October 14th, 2008 at 9:08 pm“we`ve got a real-estate-driven economy right now. It is all — you know, if you ask, where`s the growth coming from, the answer is, the bubble did it. And if the bubble bursts, it actually — as I said in “The Times,” it sort of deflates slowly. But then we are in a lot of trouble, all of us.”
Keith Says:
Paul Krugman was warning of a financial crisis at least two years ago.
Which is one reason he was recently recognized as someone who knows a thing or two about economics.
October 14th, 2008 at 9:08 pmralph the wonder llama Says:
“The base” just isn’t going to get it done anymore for the GOP.
____________
I’ve pointed this out before, and it’s worth saying again…
The name “al-Qai’da” translates, literally, as “the base”…
Hmmm… makes ya think, doesn’t it…??
October 14th, 2008 at 9:22 pmTHE REPUBLICAN DAILY SCHEDULE:
1. Get up.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:10 pm2. Pee.
3. Screw things up.
4. Blame the Democrats.
You can’t spin this.
You can’t tell people that what’s been happening to them hasn’t been happening to them.
They know pretty much why and they know pretty much who.
And that’s greed and you.
And they would very much like to see you admit that. You’d get a big boost in the polls if you admitted it was that blind whatever-Lola-wants approach to business administered by your party. Admit it and say we’re adults, we’ll take responsibility and fix it.
Because there’s one thing everybody knows deep down is that if you can’t admit the truth, you can’t fix anything.
The difference between McCain and Obama is the difference between ‘it’s not my fault!’ and ‘I think we can fix it this way.” The first is the office politician who brown noses the boss and repeats gossip that everybody hates, and the other is the leader.
John–guys–the American people are not interested in this crap. They need saving. They want to hear what you’re going to do to save them.
Barack Obama may be an elitist. He may be a secret Muslim, he may consort with wild lefties and be too skinny. But he’s going to be the next president and you’re not.
Because he’s holding a fire extinguisher.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:10 pmDr. Hussein Matt Says:
Perry logan Says:
THE REPUBLICAN DAILY SCHEDULE:
1. Get up.
2. Pee.
3. Screw things up.
4. Blame the Democrats.
Corrected:
1. Get up.
2. Pee on a same-sex prostitute
3. Screw things up.
4. Blame the Democrats.
5. Pee on a same-sex prostitute
Naaah… yer both wrong…
THIS is the real GOOPer Daily Schedule…
1. Wake up and decide to stay in bed.
2. Go ahead and pee anyways.
3. Go ahead and take a crap anyways.
4. Decide to stay in bed all day.
5. Blame Democrats.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:32 pmyeah McCan’t, and the democrats have a “majority” in the easily fillibusterable senate because of who? the “democrat” who spoke against his party at your convention.. yeah.. great majority..
October 14th, 2008 at 10:54 pmmcchimpy, your bff chimpy signs off on bills so don’t blame the Dem Congress.
mcchimpy blames Fannie, Freddie because he’s against the middle class and the poor He’s filthy rich and so are his slimy dripping rich repug buds.
I hope mcchimpy argues that lying point during the debate tomorrow. Sen. Obama will tell the truth about the greedy repus.
mcchimpy can’t possibly name an idiot crook paulson or a self-named the “man” dumbo greenspan or the rest of their predator pals they roll with.
I bet the whole scam was 20+ people deep. Since they got the “dream” money they wanted we are going to get screwed twice.
The economy started to tank when chimpy stole both the elections.
Next chimpy was lying when he said the economy is strong, he actually had that smug smirk on that face of his. When in fact the bottom was coming out.
The poor, the disable and the sick always feel the hurt first. The economic downturn only counts when white people start feeling the crunch.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:56 pmmccain said he didn’t know much about economics. this just proves it.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:58 pmSKdeA Says:
Follow the money.
The money is int he hands of the THEIVES who stole it.
How hard is that?
I agree. repugs stole our money and paulson and the rest of the crooks get to do it again.
Where did the $849B come from?
October 14th, 2008 at 11:02 pmBarack Obama may be an elitist. He may be a secret Muslim, he may consort Barack Obama may be an elitist. He may be a secret Muslim, he may consort with wild lefties and be too skinny. But he’s going to be the next president and you’re not.
You forgot to mention that he doesn’t sweat.
October 14th, 2008 at 11:13 pmThis New World Order of the Bush clan spells disaster for us
October 13, 2008
Alex Jones talked to economist F. William Engdahl today about the so-called bailout which is being staffed with former people from Goldman Sachs, one of the organizations that urged Bill Clinton and Congress to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 which then allowed the banks to go on a rampage securitizing anything that moved leading to the still evolving global economic collapse we are now all facing.
October 14th, 2008 at 11:55 pmFour letters explain why America is broke:
I R A Q
October 15th, 2008 at 2:26 am
..Paul Krugman Sept. 11, 2003:
“There is no economic policy. That’s really important to say. The general modus operandi of the Bushies is that they don’t make policies to deal with problems. They use problems to justify things they wanted to do anyway. So there is no policy to deal with the lack of jobs. There really isn’t even a policy to deal with terrorism. It’s all about how can we spin what’s happening out there to do what we want to do.
Now if you ask what do the people who keep pushing for one tax cut after another want to accomplish, the answer is they are basically aiming to create a fiscal crisis which will provide the environment in which they can basically eliminate the welfare state.”
October 15th, 2008 at 4:43 amAnother of his fundamentals of the economy is strong moment.
October 15th, 2008 at 8:41 amIt is unbelievable to me how most everyone in the nation thinks the economic crisis had nothing to do with Bush’s economic policies, $4/gas, rising food prices, and $11 billion/month spent in Iraq and how the crisis has everything to do with Clinton trying to put people who shouldn’t be in a house, in one.
Well, OBVIOUSLY they were paying the payments just fine until the Bush recession set in!
October 15th, 2008 at 11:54 amObviously, the answer is more taxcuts for the rich and deregulation.
Anyone remember the last time a Republican took responsibility for anything?
October 15th, 2008 at 12:17 pmBedava Porno izle,
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March 31st, 2009 at 10:21 am