The video below is presented here because I think you need to watch it. I am not saying that you need to watch it because I think it right. I am saying that you need to watch it because by the time the election comes around, millions of people will have watched it. And if the Obama campaign and the Democrats do not launch an effective counter attack to this video, those millions who view it will vote all Democrats out of office.
I can see, I think, that the video is imperfect. Nevertheless, it will be effective. It has the potential to sway hundreds of thousands of independent voters. And if an even more comprehensive case can be made that the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac debacle IS a Democratic Party creation, then the Democratic Party is doomed this fall, and maybe even for years to come ... ESPECIALLY if the bottom fully falls out of the financial markets. My sense is that the Democrats in Congress are desperate for a bailout, and the Republicans know it. It will be interesting to see the result of their debates and compromises over the next few days. (Let me state that Republicans may indeed support a massive bailout precisely because they see how dire the situation is for the nation, while the Democrats are eager to save the nation ... AND cover their own butts.)
Please, check it out. Tell me what you think. I just said aloud as I watched it that this video, if left unanswered, will be the end of the Obama campaign. And if not this video, then the arguments presented therein will be a major blow to Sen. Obama's campaign. He and the Democrats MUST respond, cogently, methodically, armed with reams of dates, facts, bills, and signatures. If they don't respond in a comprehensive way, but only in some lame YouTube rebuttal, then I believe they concede that the heart of this video's argument is true.
Perhaps I have overstated things. But it strikes me that this sort of video, at the very least, is an example of the strength of the "new media." Yes, this video may have been produced by the old media's conservative mavens. But the way this video will play online will be, in my opinion, colossal. And if not this exact video, then something quite like it may be decisive in the 2oo8 election.
Let me say it again. I have no idea whether the video is right. I do not offer it here because I think it right. I offer it because it makes sense of a very difficult situation, at least to those folks who haven't the time, or ability, to sift through the information.
Here it is:
My only caveat is that those (few?) of you who comment here must watch the whole video. It is a lazily enforced caveat, of course, but to expedite discussion and secure the highest level of intellectual integrity we can muster, I ask that you watch the video from start to finish. Pause it where necessary (I paused it at least a dozen times). Do the Google searches. Interact with it. See if it is good.
Peace.
Hat tip to Karen Luttrell.
©2008. All Rights Reserved.
7 comments:
Bill,
Chillingly partisan, I have to tell you. Both parties let the country down in a disasterous way. If you look at that list of pols who received contributions, yes Dodd and Obama are at the top, but the graphic overlay obscures the next 7 or 8 recipients, all Republicans. There is no doubt that the Community Reinvestment Act is the genesis of this problem, but that act and subsequent enforcement provisions didn't get here without a lot of Republican support.
It is really tough in this day and age to get the straight truth on any matter. Are we to believe that the country gets sold down the river on a couple of million dollars of campaign contributions, the majority on that list to Republicans, irrespective of who is at the top?
Having said all of that, McCain can make some hay on this issue and should in the next debate. He can really stress his RINO credentials. Republicanism used to be the home of Conservatism, but is really now the home of Corporatism. Democrats used to be the home of populism, but also have embraced the Corporatocracy. Both parties need to own up to their responsibilities in this crisis and we the American People need to hold them accountable. McCain is one of a few who can attack this problem with any degree of credibility.
Peace,
Chris
I've read numerous things about the current crisis and all indicate the same thing: Back in the 90's during the first Clinton term, lending regulations were enacted to facilitate home ownership for "disadvantaged" people. As a consequence to comply with the regulations, standards had to be relaxed because the federal government threatened suit against lenders who used things like "credit history" and "employment" as criteria for granting loans. As the quid for this quo, Freddie and Fannie began providing guarantees for more mortgages, and once that occurred, i.e. once the government interjected itself into the market by subsidizing/supporting the industry, we were off to the races to where we are today.
All of this was done by the Demos. Bush tried to tighten things up in 2003, I think, but was rebuffed by Congress. While both parties share the blame, most of it belongs to the Dems, as evidenced by the list of top recipients of donations from Freddie and Fannie, i.e. Chris Dodd, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, et al.
As they say, those is the facts.
Cheers.
Further to my comment is this.
Cheers.
Rand,
All of this was not done by the Demos!
Yes, the original Community Reinvestment Act occured during the Carter Administration BUT was overwhelmingly supported by Republicans. In fact, the Dems abandoned Carter on it. Subsequent rule changes enacted by the Clinton Administration sought to enhance the provisions of the CRA and encouraged more reckless lending practices with implicit guarantees of government backing.
But one of the larger levers in this current crisis occurred in 1999. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act which was introduced by the Republicans and passed overwhelmingly 90-8. Only one dissenting vote was Republican. This act allowed all sorts of mischief by allowing consolidation of financial institutions of all types, while more rigorously enforcing the CRA rating system.
While McCain did sound the alarm early on a potential melt down, much of the damage had already been done. I give him a lot of credit for his position on Fannie and Freddie in 2005, but he did support his friend Gramm on his bill in 1999.
Regards,
Chris
Chris, true enough.
I suppose I plead special knowledge representing lenders during this time and doing foreclosure and defending same for debtors.
This has been a nightmare, which many have feared would become reality for a long, long time.
Cheers.
The link did not work for me. Said no longer available.
A fix?
Dear Brady,
Greetings, my dear friend!
Personally, I do not know how to fix things, but it perhaps could be argued that the fix is indeed on.
It seems that if we go to the original link, we are told that the video has been removed because Warner Music has cited a copyright infringement. Apparently all or merely part of the film's soundtrack was lifted without permission.
Hence, I am certain that throughout YouTube you will find today that nary a video is up in which the soundtrack is borrowed without permission. Copyright infringements, one can be certain, are now being consistently and broadly enforced.
Of course, I write facetiously.
Peace,
BG
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