Failed Barney Frank Blames Talk Radio For Bailout Failure

FARR FROM HONEST

Dems Blame Talk Radio For Fatal Political Defeat







After their politically fatal defeat in front of a nationwide audience yesterday, embattled Democratic congressmen are lashing out. In a desperate attempt to shift the blame anywhere else, some have taken to blaming talk radio and cable hosts for the high- profile failure of their bailout bill.

Leading the way is Bay State embarrassment Barney Frank, whose direct role in both the crisis (via his adamant defense of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during a period of rampant corruption) and the bailout have led to widespread public anger. He's gone straight for what he sees as the easiest public target:

So the scorecard is very clear: In 12 years of Republican rule, no bill passed to improve the regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Within four months of Democratic rule, the committee I chaired had produced a bill containing all of the increased regulatory powers the administration requested, and that became law in July. So it took the Democrats 19 months to do what the Republicans didn’t do for 12 years, and as chairman of the Financial Services Committee I was the leader in that effort.

By the way, among the more glaring stupidities in the right-wing attack was Bill O’Reilly’s asserting that I had spent all this time pounding on the table as chairman of the Financial Services Committee demanding more purchases of low-income mortgages. As I noted, I have been chairman of that committee only since January 2007, and one of the first things I did as chairman was to pass the bill that greatly increased the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac regulation.

To those who might try to argue inaccurately that this was not tough enough, the fact is that it gave the White House everything it asked for, and the organization known as FM Watch, which organized precisely to try to get changes in the regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, disbanded after our bill passed in July because we had accomplished everything they wanted.

What's especially interesting here is that Frank wrote this piece for the Boston Herald, which shows obvious concern for public perception in his (usually safe) home district. Ordinarily, Barney couldn't be bothered with lowly constituents, he's too busy running the economy from Capitol Hill.

As we've reported at the other site, however, anger is mounting as many voters at home wonder why Frank was behind what they see as a bailout of Wall Street.

Frank does have a token Republican opponent this year, a candidate who could benefit from a sizeable protest vote.

Call it being at the right place at the right time.



And on the West Coast, typically-ignored Rep Sam Farr (D-CA) is lashing out at talk radio as well, targeting Rush Limbaugh in a pathetic bid to cover up his own role in this epic political failure. From the Monterey Herald:

Farr, D-Carmel, voted for the package and blamed its rejection on Republican lawmakers who "drank the Kool-Aid" of right-wing commentators fiercely opposed to a massive government intervention into the markets.

"The big shock was the failure of the president to deliver his own party on something he said was urgent," Farr said.

Given widespread public opposition to what was widely perceived as a taxpayer-funded bailout of Wall Street, Farr said voting against the package "was the easy vote."

Farr said calls to his district offices were running heavily against the bailout since the day the White House first rolled out its proposal. The public didn't believe the administration or like the idea of bailing out Wall Street, he said.

But Farr said he also heard from local bankers who said the credit system is freezing up, making it difficult for people to get loans for cars and other items. The bill would have protected Main Street with Democratic-driven provisions for oversight, phased payments and homeowner protections, he said.

Farr, like others on both sides of the aisle, sought to pin the defeat on the other party. More than two-thirds of Republicans and 40 percent of Democrats opposed the bill.

"Moderate Republicans told me on the floor that too many of their party are too conservative, listening to Rush Limbaugh and the other talk-show hosts and drinking the Kool-Aid," he said.

At least the Herald reporter makes an honest attempt to point out that many of Farr's fellow Democrats also opposed the bill. Why couldn't Pelosi and Frank gain the confidence of their own party?

By diverting attention away to talk radio hosts, these liberal congressmen are hoping to salvage what's left of their reputations at home. Will it work? With furious voters erupting in collective anger, it seems doubtful.

Farr's traditional base of support, for example, comes from UC-Santa Cruz students and faculty. Are they for the Wall Street bailout? Not bloody likely.


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Technorati tags: talk radio bill o\'reilly rush limbaugh sam farr barney frank (d-ca) (d-ma) wall street bailout bill nancy pelosi

Farr image (top): UCSC