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September 23, 2008

Limbaugh, Hannity: Blame Democrats For "Free Market" Failure

By Dean Powers

The Spin Twins hope the media will accept the Corrupublican Party spokesperson revision of history without a little fact-checking. They hope Democrats don't have the fortitude to call them out and set the record straight with an aggressive counter-attack. Their gamble may be working.

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In lock-step with President Bush, Republicans are clamoring for a $700 billion-bailout-scheme for the disgraceful CEOs who have flushed our 401 K's down the toilet...with no oversight.

Here's a chilling quote from Section 8 of Bush's proposal: "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency." Basically, Treasury Secretary Harry Paulson can do anything with your money, no questions asked. 

Here's House Minority Leader John Boehner (pronounced BOH-ner) falling in lock-step with the president on passing the bill with no oversight: "We don't need 535 members of Congress adding their best idea to this bill," Boehner said. "We need to keep it clean, simple, move it through the House and Senate, and get it on the president's desk."

Could you imagine giving a roofer $70,000 to shingle your roof, thanking him before the work commences and never inspecting his progress? 

The Republican-backed bailout threatens to destroy the "Idea," as Limbaugh calls it, that our lives prosper when government is small, markets are free, and welfare budgets are slashed. 

The Republican-backed, sponsored, promoted and wildly endorsed, Republican bailout could be the tombstone for an era of Republican de-regulation that has buried America in nearly $10 trillion in debt and left us with a weak dollar world-wide. 

If Democrats get tough and coordinated now, they can destroy the power of the myth that unregulated free markets will guide us to prosperity. Indeed, without government support now, we are told, we are all screwed.

Democrats can also take the opportunity to highlight the shameless hypocrisy of a political party that extols personal responsibility for everyone making less than $250,000, and government welfare for the limousine class when privileged rich kid CEO's ruin daddy's business just like President George W. Bush did at Arbusto, Spectrum 7 Energy Corp. and Harken Energy

But they better start making their case now because Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and a chorus of Republicans are painting Senators Chris Dodd, Charles Schumer, Harry Reid, Representatives Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi, and former attorney general Janet Reno as the real culprits in this mess. 

The Spin Twins are burning into the minds of their listeners the names "Franklin Raines" and "Jim Johnson." Citing a 2003 (bogus) "proposal" by President Bush to increase regulations for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Spin Twins argue that Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd led Democratic killed this proposal.

Ha! Christopher Dodd single-handedly killed a proposal. How quaint. Since when does a single member of the Senate have veto power? Huh, Hannity? You lying punk. 

Here's what Limbaugh had to say yesterday: "We are witnessing the greatest nationalization of our society since the New Deal." Ha! And it's YOUR PARTY'S FAULT, LIMBAUGH. YOUR PARTY IS AUTHORIZING IT! LOOK AT WHAT BUSH SAID. LOOK AT WHAT BOEHNER (pronounced BOH-ner) SAID!

THIS IS WHAT WE GET FOR 28 YEARS OF REPUBLICAN RULE IN WASHINGTON!!!

"Twelve new attempts at oversight were stalled by Democrats [since 2003]," Limbaugh added! By Democrats? The attempts were made by Democrats. The stalls were by the Republican dominant Congress! (More on that below.)

Limbaugh and Hannity are stressing that the politicians who have received the most from Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac are Democrats, but this ignores the fact that in 2006, when Republicans controlled Congress, the mortgage agencies spent 53 percent of their campaign contributions on Republicans.

Even accounting for the latest round of spending, the following All-Republican team placed in the top 23 recipients of campaign contributions from the mortgage giants since 1989: Representatives Roy Blunt (R-MO), Deborah Pryce (R-OH), Gary Miller (R-CA), Tom Reynolds (R-NY), Spencer Baucus (R-AL) and Tom Davis (R-VA) and Senators Robert F. Bennett (R-UT), Christopher Bond (R-MO), and Richard C. Shelby (R-AL).

"All roads lead to Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac," Limbaugh said, trying to pin every Wall Street misdeed on the Democrats for their involvement with Freddie and Fannie. Message: the WHOLE meltdown of Wall Street is Barney Frank's fault. The risky loans at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae FORCED American International Group (AIG) to make risky loans; it FORCED Merrill Lynch to make risky deals; it FORCED Bear Stearns executives to fail us; it FORCED Lehman Brothers executives to cook the books!

It’s all your fault, Barney Frank, according to Limbaugh. Everything comes back to you. This is nuts, but it's going out into the general public every day from 12-3pm Eastern. Wake up, Democrats! Time to punch back! If you don’t, these talking points are going to stick in the jaws of your would-be supporters.

The Spin Twins hope the media will accept the Corrupublican Party spokesperson revision of history without fact-checking first. They hope Democrats don't have the fortitude to call them out and set the record straight with an aggressive counter-attack. Their gamble may be working.

Here's a look at the way Democrats could punch back: In 2003, the year President Bush "proposed" (ha!) regulation for Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac, Republicans controlled the White House, the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court and the Media. Think back to that year. Republicans passed everything with haste, arguing that national security depended on it. Republicans could have passed a law banning dog ownership over the objection of every Democrat (not just Christopher Dodd and his magical pocket veto), completed their objective and maintained 80 percent approval ratings. 

Republicans controlled the committees. Here's a look at just some of the reform legislation targeting Fannie Mae that Democrats tried to pass in those dark days: H.R.2117 introduced 23 May 2003 by Rep. Pete Fortney (D-CA,13); H.R.2897 introduced on 25 July 2003 by Rep. Julia Carson (D-IN,7); S.1656, introduced 23 September 2003 by Sen Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ); H.R.3507 introduced 18 November 2003 by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA,27). All of these bills died in Republican-controlled committees. 

In fact, Democrats could not pass reform legislation for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac until they controlled Congress. It was BARNEY FRANK who introduced legislation to reform federal housing finance! And it passed! UNDER DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP!

Democratic leaders need to respond to these falsehoods as if they came from the mouth of Roy Blunt or John Boehner (pronounced BOH-ner). They are making this bailout political and Democrats cannot afford not to!

If polls begin to swing back toward McCain and in Congressional races it is because Democrats continue to ignore the lie and smear Corrupublican Company spokespeople operating 6 hours-a-day on radio.



Authors Bio:

Dean Powers lives in Castleton, VT. He has apprenticed at several newspapers including The Nation. He currently writes for OpEdNews. He can be found at facebook.com/deanppowers.


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