Barney Frank

[osu99jp]

Has anybody ever been as unaccountable as this guy????

BOSTON (AP) - Rep. Barney Frank said Monday that Republican criticism of Democrats over the nation's housing crisis is a veiled attack on the poor that's racially motivated.
The Massachusetts Democrat, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said the GOP is appealing to its base by blaming the country's mortgage foreclosure problem on efforts to expand affordable housing through the Community Reinvestment Act.

He said that blame is misplaced, because those loans are issued by regulated institutions, while far more foreclosures were triggered by high-cost loans made by unregulated entities.

"They get to take things out on poor people," Frank said at a mortgage foreclosure symposium in Boston. "Let's be honest: The fact that some of the poor people are black doesn't hurt them either, from their standpoint. This is an effort, I believe, to appeal to a kind of anger in people."

Frank also dismissed charges the Democrats failed on their own or blocked Republican efforts to rein in the mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The federal government recently took control of both entities.

House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio called Frank's remarks "a lame, desperate attempt to divert Americans' attention away from the Democratic party's obstruction of reforms that would have reined in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and helped our nation avoid this economic crisis."

"Congressman Frank should retract his ridiculous statements and start taking responsibility for the role he and other top Democrats played in putting Main Street Americans in this mess," Boehner said.

Frank said Republicans controlled Congress for 12 years and passed no regulation, while Democrats passed a Bush administration Fannie and Freddie regulation package since gaining control of the House and Senate in January 1997.

"If I could have stopped a Republican bill during the Bush years, I would have started with the war in Iraq. Then I would have gone to the Patriot Act. Then I would have gone on to the hundreds of millions in tax cuts," said Frank, to applause from the audience.

The longtime congressman is being challenged this fall by both Republican and independent candidates. He has been criticized in his liberal district for being one of the leaders of congressional efforts last week to win approval of a $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan.

[master_of_muppets]

to me, barney frank's mess is perhaps the best example of how far and deep W's poison has traveled within the GOP. his "new tone" rhetoric from 7 years ago was the first time i rolled my eyes. that mr. frank and others are getting off with minimal (if that) blame is a real shame. if he were a republican he would have been forced to resign by now.

[PokerDude]

Deny and shift responsibility, and avoid direct accountability at all costs...

Sounds like he should be working in the construction industry....that has now become the industry standard in operating procedure....

[Degobah]

Originally Posted by master_of_muppets

to me, barney frank's mess is perhaps the best example of how far and deep W's poison has traveled within the GOP. his "new tone" rhetoric from 7 years ago was the first time i rolled my eyes. that mr. frank and others are getting off with minimal (if that) blame is a real shame. if he were a republican he would have been forced to resign by now.

Barney knows not to give the guy in the stall next to his a "foot signal", and therefore has held on to his job.

[bearcat428]

i don't need to repost here what i've stated in the other thread with frank and oreilly on you tube. but that ap article should have been written two years ago when legislation (co-sponsored by mccain) was proposed to address fannie and freddie. this was franks response then too. this has been the dems marching tune for years. even clinton said the other night he wanted to do something about it but got resistance within his own party....i'm not sure i believe that, but he said it.

[bearcat428]

Originally Posted by PokerDude

Deny and shift responsibility, and avoid direct accountability at all costs...

Sounds like he should be working in the construction industry....that has now become the industry standard in operating procedure....

just depends on who you choose to work with. i don't do a lot of bidding for this reason, i use the same subs, and while they may not be the cheapest, my customers are happier and my life is easier.