Lou Dobbs Blames Financial Crisis On Left Wing Groups Like ACORN and the CRA
By Nicole Belle Monday Sep 29, 2008 3:15pm 
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Download | play (h/t Heather)
In times of unrest, it's amazing how quickly some people will go to finding some way to scapegoat the least powerful among us. One of the themes reverberating around right wing world is that ACORN and the Community Reinvestment Act are to blame for the sub-prime mess, as this segment on Lou Dobbs echoes here.
It goes back to something known as the Community Reinvestment Act that passed in 1977. The law ordered banks to make loans to low and moderate income people. The Consumer Rights League says ACORN stepped in and used that law to pressure banks to lend to sub prime borrowers, even those who couldn't demonstrate the capability to pay back the loan.
Catch all the barely hidden subtext? It's all these "community organizers" (hmmm....remind me, whose resume has been scoffed at for being a community organizer?) FORCING these poor, hapless banks to lend money to these shiftless low and medium income people, and worse, illegal aliens (Dobbs' personal scapegoat for all things wrong with America). How dare these leftist grassroots groups (tied to the Democratic Party, naturally) cause the ruin of the American financial system with their demands?
It's easy to see how this would appeal to right wingers like Dobbs, Malkin and Savage . Too bad it's not true:
The Community Reinvestment Act caused financial institutions to lend to people who weren't credit worthy. This is crap. The CRA was signed into law in 1977 -- over 20 years before the current crisis. The second problem with this theory is the CRA only applies to banks and thrifts. Most of the mortgage lending during the last boom came from -- mortgage lenders who aren't regulated by CRA. I explained this all in more detail here.
The CRA tried to force banks to keep from redlining neighborhoods to keep minorities out...something I'm sure gets right wingers up in arms. And the charge that ACORN was to personally benefit from the bailout? Lies. It was stricken from the bill the Republicans sabotaged yesterday, as this side-by-side comparison of the various bills shows. Admittedly, ACORN has its problems (though related to voter registration and not home mortgages), but as Rep. Keith Ellison says:
The president told the nation that the crisis is due to "the irresponsible actions of some jeopardizing the financial security of all." There are even lies circulating that blame minorities for the crisis through the Community Reinvestment Act. This is factually wrong -- and repugnantly bigoted. In fact, the root cause of the failures today is the ideological rigidity of the Bush administration, and its conservative friends in Congress and on Wall Street who oppose regulation, oversight and corporate accountability. For eight long years their mantra has been "regulation and oversight is bad" and "the free market is good."
But now, when their policies have failed and the chickens have come home to roost, taxpayers are asked to help them out. We have little choice. We cannot let Wall Street fail, because if we do, Main Street fails as well.
Transcripts below the fold
Well one of the groups at the center of this financial crisis is a so-called community activist group known as ACORN. In point of fact, ACORN is a left wing special interest group now under investigation for embezzlement, voter fraud and providing mortgages to illegal aliens among other things.
The group ACORN lobbied Congress for years to allow more of those risky mortgages that in part led to this crisis. And now, ACORN stands to reap hundreds of millions of dollars from a government bailout of Wall Street. Lisa Sylvester has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (INAUDIBLE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now rallied in front of the Miami Federal Reserve Bank. The group is pointing fingers at Wall Street for causing the financial meltdown. But critics say this community activist group shares the blame.
TOM DILORENZO, ECONOMICS PROF., LOYOLA COLLEGE: They've always lobbied Congress to do everything they could to make more and more or force banks to make more and more loans to low and moderate income people, which is a very noble-sounding goal. But unfortunately they have contributed to the financial ruination of thousands of low income families.
SYLVESTER: It goes back to something known as the Community Reinvestment Act that passed in 1977. The law ordered banks to make loans to low and moderate income people. The Consumer Rights League says ACORN stepped in and used that law to pressure banks to lend to sub prime borrowers, even those who couldn't demonstrate the capability to pay back the loan.
JAMES TERRY, CONSUMER RIGHTS LEAGUE: Back in the early '90s they would stage protests at banks that, you know, they sued them for red lining. They (INAUDIBLE) engaged them in legal action.
SYLVESTER: Enter deregulation in the '90's then Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began purchasing these mortgages and selling them to private investors. And the sub prime market took off. Former Clinton administration official Franklin Raines, who ran Fannie Mae amassed $90 million in six year he ran Fannie. Homeownership was up which pleased groups like ACORN and Wall Street made a ton of money until home prices started falling. But ACORN says it's not to blame. It's all about greed.
AUSTIN KING, ACORN: When you look at all the bad sub prime loans that were made in the last five years, three out of four of them were made by institutions that are not governed by the CRA, so there's no way you can blame the CRA on 75 percent of the sub prime loans that were made in the last five years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER: And ACORN which calls itself the nation's largest grassroots organization of low and moderate income families, has come under fire for other issues. At least five states have opened investigations into its voter registration drive. And ACORN employees have been convicted of voter fraud. Still, this group, as you mentioned, stood to benefit from the bailout deal and part of any profit realized from the sale of troubled assets were to go into a fund and that money would be distributed to low income housing advocacy groups including ACORN, Lou.
DOBBS: Now think about this, in the midst of this -- you know everyone talking about a clean bill and the Democratic leadership, let's be clear. This is a straightforward deal for ACORN and other groups, left wing groups, set up by the Democratic leadership of Congress. They're not interested in the bailout per se. They want to spread this out and many people believe that this bailout in part is dear to the Democratic leadership because they want to advance a social agenda here as much as much as an economic bailout of Wall Street.
SYLVESTER: Yeah, Lou, in fact what they did is in prior legislation they actually created these two funds. And now essentially what thy were going to do is try to use this bailout to fund and put money in those funds in order to benefit groups like ACORN and in order to advance some other causes as you mentioned including their voter registration drive, Lou.
DOBBS: It's -- this is pitiful in the fact that, of course, this Congress is fully supportive of this nonsense is all the more disgusting, so voters right now, all of us as citizens have a lot to be disgusted with on Capitol Hill. Thank you very much, Lisa -- Lisa Sylvester reporting.
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Fuck Lou Dobbs. Good job calling him out on this though :)
cnn stole that story from fox! i surfed by fox earlier and -they- had that 'story' floating.
fishing for racists, whatta life you live lou...
What was that about Dobbs not being a racist, again?
Part of me thinks that deep down Lou Dobbs is afraid of his own desires. He probably secretly lusts after Mexican women like Larry Craig longs for faceless dick. It's all a show, he's just doing what Mom and Pop Dobbs ingrained in his little Lou mind years ago. I feel sorry for him sometimes.
For eight long years their mantra has been “regulation and oversight is bad” and “the free market is good.”
unfortunately, this has been the case for between four and five TIMES that long.
But still Inquiring Minds want to know: where's St. Barry?
katie @ 4:
Isn't Lou Dobbs married to a hispanic lady?
I am frankly surprised he gets away with all that constant bullshit about them "brown" people coming over to terrorize them white folks, knowing he has to go home to a latino woman. And if there is a group of women you don't want to fuck with... it is a pissed off Hispanic chick. Maybe the one he married has massive amounts of self hate?
The Huffington Post had an excellent post that rebuts this BS!
Dobbs is showing his true colors in perpetuating this crap. Any credibility that the man had has disappeared.
The right wing noise machine is in its last throes.
The CRA has been around over 30 years. I am surprised that FDR is not being blames.
Tyler Durden @ 6:
Well that sure does explain a lot. I think the situation you posit (the self-hating Hispanic lady) makes a lot of sense. Either that or they're hard-core into S&M (Lou being the sub) and he has to even it all out in public.
What a joke "Mr. Independent" is, everyone knows you are a right wingnut. Just cancel your show already!
Tyler Durden @ 6:
I'll bet Fat Bigot Lou's wife is a Michelle Malkin hispanic.
woody, tokin librul @ 5:
Indeed, Obama would win the election in a landslide if he was to show some leadership. He could take a page or two (or the whole damn book) from FDR.
It seems he is intended on wining the election by default...
GW Bush HISSELF was promoting "no down payment, 100% financed mortgages, let's give ALL Americans an opportunity to own a home" just a coupla years ago.
Right?
I don't have any links to him saying that, but I swear I heard or read where he said it SEVERAL times.
Anyone got the links? It was part of his "ownership society" BS.
And it was the GW BUSH Adminstration that quashed attempts by several states (New York for sure; I think California; others?) to stop the predatory lending practices that CAUSED this particular GW BUSH TRAIN WRECK.
And GW Bush HISSELF is Co-Conspirator Number One of those whose "irresponsible actions" have jeopardized "the financial security of all.”
Standard Republican BS - clearly identify which of THEIR actions caused the mess du jour, then blame it on the Democrats OR the victims OR both.
Disgusting ..
If the CRA passed in 1977, then why are the proverbial chickens coming home to roost NOW? Lou continues to swallow right-wing talking points, so I no longer watch him.
Yes, this 'explanation' is all over the place and gathering momentum. A problem is that it sounds plausible to those who are pre-disposed to this type of thinking, and refuting it requires a lot of complicated explanation. Bill Clinton even made a comment, now being used in a McCain ad, that democrats failure to rein-in FNMA/FHLMC was a big part of the problem.
The arguments of Dobbs and his ilk are absurd on their face.
Somebody tell me how this nation's low income home buyers could be responsible for a trillion dollars in mortgage debt. There's only one social class that can accrue that much debt.
For cryin out loud - get a grip you rightist blowhards.
John McCain NOPE T-Shirts & Stickers
Rasputin @ 7:
Hmm... I cite less (but at least as relevant) material than this and it gets whacked
for unnecessarily eating bandwidth.
Anyway, I used to enjoy watching Lou, years ago, but more recently his wheels have
fallen off. It's a shame, he used to be an OK guy.
I wonder if the racist Dobbs ate all of his Obama Waffles?
This is the same talking bilge that Rush-o-Limp-boy was regurgitating last night. Who gives these guys their lines, anyway???
What a fascist whore. His whole paycheck is based upon his recurring theme of making us fear some external enemy.
PCB123 @ 9:
FDR used to be the GOP go-to blame boy, then Carter came along and took some of the pressure off FDR. For the past decade Clinton has been all the rage for the GOP blame-brigade.
But I saw recently some pundit on FOX (Hannity?) blaming Roosevelt by literally blaming both; the great depression and the current economic meltdown, on him. I swear to god, only in this country a person can get away with such ignorant shit and not get bitchslapped in public. Then again, we are the land which is having trouble deciding between creationism and evolution.
Seriously, WTF?
Actually, I read somewhere that CRA-type loans were some of the few that were actually performing.
LOL.
I knew it was only a matter of time before the wingnuts started trying to shift the blame to the Community Reinvestment Act.
When confronted with the evidence, blame CLINTON.
If you're desparate enough, and blaming Clinton doesn't stick, BLAME CARTER.
Listen, douchebags, the CRA only required you to offer mortgages to entire regions, rather than cherrypicking only the richest areas. There was nothing in the CRA about hard-selling mortgages to people with no means of paying for them, pocketing your commission, and then dumping the bad mortgage onto a pseudo-public company that guarantees to underwrite them.
As usual, the conservatives are making a very good living off whining that government is evil, getting elected to office on that platform, and then MAKING it evil just to prove your point and guarantee re-election.
PCB123 @ 9:
You haven't been listening.
LouLou has ALWAYS been a racist and a hack. Bad reporter - worse reporting. Yikes, he should go to work for Fox !!
According to Lou the whole world is wrong and to blame except him. He is always right!
He is not worth watching anymore! What the hell is in the water in the States?
bruscov @ 20:
The ironic part, is that the current situation is basically due to a bubble burst. And the bubble was inflated by over entitled, ill-prepared, generally middle-aged white men, expecting huge economic returns for an activity/set of abilities which truth be told has very little real value proposition.
Which represents to a T the likes of Limphballs and Dobbs: they work a couple of hours a day, basically reading shit, and they expect millions of dollars in return.
Meanwhile, a couple of illegal immigrants (which Dobbs loves to rile against) may possibly generate more "real wealth" in one year of production, than Dobbs during most of his career. Yes, tomatoes in reality tend to be more valuable than "hot" air (unless Dobbs starts a hot air balloon business fueled by the smoke he blows off his arse, but I ain't holding my breath on that one).
Lou Dobbs is a gas bag.
The meltdown of American financial systems is too big to leave to a few elected officials who are already beholden to lobbyists and campaign contributors.
I PROPOSE AN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION, BI-PARTISAN, WITH PLENTY OF ACADEMIC REPRESENTATIVES, TO STUDY THIS PROBLEM COMPREHENSIVELY.
This is more important than the 9-11 Commission which only dealt with attacks on the two World Trade Towers. This is more important than all the other independent commissions we've had.
This should be a deal-breaker on any $700 billion bailout.
Whenever a reccession happens or is going to happen you find that right wingers embrace their inner fascists. This is just the beginning of the "Blame all the immigrants" crowd's mantra and its going to get worse and uglier.
30 year is a typical mortgage time span. How many of the original CRA mortgages defaulted? How many after Clinton dickered with the regs? How many after GW threw out the regs?
I would bet that the default numbers from Jimmy's original plan were a heck of a lot better than GW's numbers.
What a fucking tool. This is a group that is so supremely powerful that they can only afford to advertise on stations on the low end of the radio dial. It's just staggering...ACORN, perpetrator of first voter fraud and now mortgage fraud. As Republicans prove time and time again, no problem is so big that it can't be blamed on the weak and the powerless; in fact, the bigger, the better. Only a vile snake could peddle such nonsense and only a moron could believe it.
USA TODAY (1/20/2004): Bush seeks to increase minority homeownership
MSNBC (March. 27, 2004) : Bush ties tax relief, home ownership
So .. one more time .. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE ???
Rasputin @ 7:
I hope somebody has shown it to Biden. You can guarantee that Beguin and the other members of Palin's cram-for-the-exam tutors are working around the clock to get her to memorize these talking points. He'd better be prepared for that.
"Skwawk-Community Reinvestment Act."
"Skwawk-Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now."
"Don't blink. Don't blink.-Skwawk!"
"Rick Davis, recused. Rick Davis, recused. Palin wanna cracker! Skwawk!"
ukobserver @ 30:
We have been in a recession for years, which makes then sense of why I have been hearing the "blame them immigrants" meme for a few years now.
Heck, that has been Lou Dobbs carreer: blame them immigrants.
If there were no illegal immigration, Dobbs would have had to get a real job, can you imagine the horror?
He needs to STFU.
We really need more terms than "right wing" and "left wing." Dobbs may be on the right but he's a lot more Pat Buchanan than W Bush.
Hacktaculastic!
Pericles @ 24:
But, first and foremost, blame POOR MINORITIES.
Nicole, Lou Dobbs is NOT right wing. The fact that you disagree with his stance on immigration does not change the fact that you are in agreement on 99% of the issues. If you're going to rail against misrepresentation and distortion in the media, you might try not contributing to the problem.
Tyler...the New Deal banished the right wing and the Republican Party into the political wilderness for 40 years.
You have only to look at history to get the answers to your questions.
They want to undo everything that has been put in place by Democratic Presidents and Congresses....from Social Security to unemployment insurance.
The Clinton impeachment was solely as retribution for Watergate. The GOP has admitted as much. You can find the evidence and the quotes on the web.
Why does the right attack the Washington Post and NY Times. Simple...Watergate...and the Pentagon Papers.
The GOP has long memories, and they have been trying to destroy their political enemies since Nixon, and trying to unwind "liberal policies" since the '50s.
We ARE and have been in a culture war. Have been since Reagan.
MountainMan23 @ 14:
Here are my sources:
USA Today (1/20/2004): Bush seeks to increase minority homeownership
MSNBC (March. 27, 2004): Bush ties tax relief, home ownership - President wants to add new minority home owners
Lou Dobbs is not right wing. He is a tool of the right wing.
65% of these sub-prime mortgages were qualified for less expensive prime mortgages.
I'm sure ACORN forced them to deal out those more costly mortgages too, right Lou? There's no way any corporate greed was involved in dealing sub-prime mortgages to people who were eligible for prime mortgages.
What a bucket of crap.
When do they start investigations into who really is responsible for this mess? This is like financial terrorism..
Site monitor - can you explain why my comments are awaiting moderation?
I've simply quoted two reputable sources - USA Today & MSNBC.
Please tell me what I'm "doing wrong" so I'll know not to do it again .. OK?
Dobbs is a total phony.He's as arrogant and sanctimonious as it gets.
His fake populism is (as always)masking Lou's real agenda-defending the interests of the rich elite.
Chris @ 38:
Well, if that don't beat all. Is that you Ace? Why are you being so civil? C'mon Ace where is your assinine insults that you're famous for?
Dobbs not right wing. Yeah sure.
Lou Dobbs can kiss my a$$! Or in the words of Dick Cheney he can go eff himself.
I cannot watch Lou Dobbs for more than a minute or so; he is such a bigoted blowhard. While Limbaugh might be worse than Dobbs, Dobbs does more harm with his cable news show. No matter what the subject is Dobbs morphs into this ranting maniac about illegal immigrants, Obama, and those weak Dems. He's almost as sickening to watch as McCain. The difference is McCain's positions change by the minute while Dobbs is always an ignorant bigot blaming the immigrants and Dems.
when lou dobb's mother gave birth to him
the doctor slapped the crap out of her and
there was little lou a splat on the floor.
Let see... this crisis goes back to the 70s, how many loans that are now part of the problem were written in the 70s?... none? 80s? .....NONE! 90s....What!! NONE??? Lou stick your keen observations that somehow someway the poor people and those that have tried to help them must be at fault where the sun don't shine!
Lou Dobbs is an arrogant, insufferable prick.
Chris @ 38:
So Lou Dobbs is hardcore left wing now, LOL?
mudshark @ 46:
Soi disant "libertardians" typically do not characterize themselves as "right wing."
In this, as in so much else, they are terminally deluded....
On youtube: Democrats are Responsible for the Current Mortgage Crisis
Tyler Durden @ 22:
You forgot about LBJ. He was the Republican whipping boy for a long time, until George W. came along and, while doing exactly the opposite of LBJ's civil rights advancements, carried out pretty much the same foreign policy by creating a redux of Vietnam. So, LBJ is off the menu for awhile. It's like some freaky episode of The Twilight Zone, where LBJ took a dump one day in 1968, the turd got washed down into the sewer, mixed with some radioactive waste from the local nuclear power plant, and came lurking out of the sewer 40 years later to become GWB.
lol So they are trying to convince the people they are blaming that it's their (the people's) fault and to vote Republican? That is so utterly hysterical it is beyond belief.
Lou Dobbs is a bloviating racist, prevaricating pig.
Cable TV is a cabal by rightwingers to frighten and dumb down viewers. These "pundits" - Dobbs, Beck, O'Reilly, Hannity, Van Susteren, Hume, Barnes, Krauthammer et al - have no positive, constructive ideas to contribute in any way shape or form for the well-being of society.
Chris @ 39:
Yeah, and you're not a troll.
Since when do Lou Dobbs' racist, dishonest, delusional, crazy comedy stylings matter? What a shit for brains.
Lou Dobbs is mentally ill. Seriously, have you seen him lately? We're talking Captain Queeg from The Caine Mutiny "Who Ate My Strawberries?!!" crazy. The man can talk about pretty much nothing without bringing up illegal aliens. It's like watching someone who has to compulsively wash his hands every ten seconds. Dobbs probably goes home at night and searches under his couch and bed for illegal aliens. If he runs out of peanut butter he likely yells out his window that illegal aliens broke in and took it. How he still has a show on CNN is beyond me. They might as well have a host with tin foil on his head obsessing about the Martians.
Well, here's Obama's reply today to the "crisis":
Stirring stuff, nest paw?
But wait, (perhaps you're saying) wait! Where are the Candidate's concrete proposals to protect the deserving, punish the perps, and prevent the recrudescence of these crimes?
Ah, a good question. I asked something of the sort, myself, a little earlier...
"I cannot watch Lou Dobbs for more than a minute or so; he is such a bigoted blowhard."
I agree 100% with this.
I generally like CNN's coverage but I cannot watch Dobbs. He is so hateful and mean-spirited (not to mention an ego the size of Texas). You can't go through a single show without hearing him harp on the Mexicans and the liberals that are "ruining" this country. Why does CNN keep him on anyway? He's toxic. I'd prefer to listen to Cafferty. An old crank but he comes up with some good stuff. No B.S.
bobbyjoe @ 61:
AmericanInsurgent @ 48:
CNN has lost a lot of credibility by keeping this character on the air. "Most trusted name in news", I don't think so.
woody, tokin librul @ 62:
Stirring stuff, nest paw?
But wait, (perhaps you're saying) wait! Where are the Candidate's concrete proposals to protect the deserving, punish the perps, and prevent the recrudescence of these crimes?
Ah, a good question. I asked something of the sort, myself, a little earlier...
Oh, yeah, please notice he's spouting the "rescue" bullshit...No more "Obailoutma"...Now it's sweet 'rescue' for the poor fuckers on wallstreet...
the fella's agot a h eart of gold, i tell ya...gold...
All these stupid xenophobic assholes, like Dobbs, should put their money where their mouth's are and start by sending back their aging grandparents to the foreign country where they came from.
Paul @ 60:
If your under the mistaken impression that the Lou Dobbs, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and on and on don't matter when millions and millions of people believe the piles of horse crap that they spew on a daily basis then you haven't been paying attention for the last 20 or so years.
Propagandist Lou hides his bigotry behind the veil of the American flag. In Lou's sick world, it's alright to be a vile racist and a patriot at the same time.
The Republicans are rather desperate. It's too easy to look this stuff up. Bush pushed hard to deregulate the home loan industry:
Then Bush acted to block state laws trying to stop predatory lending:
And as is being investigated and reported in many places, this is all a big fat lie:
This is nothing but complete BS:
The current crisis has been caused by Republicans deregulating everything.
Janet Yellen, president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve, offers the killer statistic: Independent mortgage companies, which are not covered by CRA, made high-priced loans at more than twice the rate of the banks and thrifts. With this in mind, Yellen specifically rejects the "tendency to conflate the current problems in the sub-prime market with CRA-motivated lending." CRA, Yellen says, "has increased the volume of responsible lending to low- and moderate-income households."
How do you like them apples dobbs ? What a douche !#$ How about you continue eating your Obama waffles, you jackass ! How about your TRY BEING A J_O_U_R_N_A_L_I_S_T !!
Cheers,
k
It wasn't too long ago that Republicans cast community organizers as impotent do-gooders. Now Republicans want voters to think that community organizers are powerful terrorists who are destroying America. Watch for more Republican lies linking Obama to terrorism. It just shows that Republicans couldn't defeat Obama on the issues, and now the only strategy remaining is to attack him personally. Republicans are desperate. McCain has shown that he does not make good decisions in stressful situations (calling for the firing of the the SEC chair when the financial crisis blew, saying he would shut down his campaign and not participate in the first presidential debate in order to fix the financial mess, participating in the debate while saying that congress was close to agreement, not being able to get a majority of his fellow Republicans in the House to agree, re-starting his campaign before the agreement...)
blah- Lou Dobbs is a HORRIBLE HORRIBLE journalist. And it's not Voter fraud if they haven't voted. Start focusing on other shit, like VOTER PURGES. Lou Dobbs, I want to puke. You're disgusting.
Oh and by the way, if you want AN AMAZING REPORT ON WHAT CAUSED THIS PROBLEM (FUCKIN' DOBBS GETS ON MY NERVES WITH HIS 18TH CENTURY BIGORTY), then look at this American Life's coverage back in (wait for it...) MAY 2008 !!!
http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1242
Click on the full episode for "The Giant Pool of Money"
I just wished our media would be doing their jobs, instead of doing this bullshit of fear-mongering and all. I recommend this radio show, it's phenomenal.
Love,
k
woody, tokin librul @ 63:
Stirring stuff, nest paw?
But wait, (perhaps you're saying) wait! Where are the Candidate's concrete proposals to protect the deserving, punish the perps, and prevent the recrudescence of these crimes?
Ah, a good question. I asked something of the sort, myself, a little earlier...
We're so fucked.
And this was the party of FDR?
this meme started late last week...im shocked that dobbs is taking talking points from the repugs
he has been good on attacking them in regards to the illegal alien issue and their hypocracy regarding it
the idea that acorn is the cause of the collapse is absurd
the signs that something was seriously wrong with the system started with the collapse of roland arnall's ameriquest
ameriquest was not forced into providing high risk loans by anyone, and arnall was really the first to understand how deregulation could allow him to steal from everybody
I bet this is leader towards an anti-community organizer slant.
I'm a bit confused here. Are we blaming the Mexicans or the god damn hippies? He started out blabbing about housing for the poor advocates and moved on to illegals. Let me make this a bit more simple. Are we talking about building a fence or build a house?
He hates both parties.
Left&Left @ 12:
As a hispanic lady, I can tell you that Señora Dobbs probably considers herself different(better) from other hispanics. In the early stages of feminism, there were women who fought hard to become experts in their fields, and then not hire other women because the new ones just couldn't become as good as they. It's not so much about self-hate as it is considering oneself special by keeping others down.
MountainMan23 @ 14:
What happened to the "Ownership Society????" I thought Dubya and all of his right-wing Christian friends wanted everyone to have a piece of the pie, the American Dream and all that? Let's all put our SS retirement funds into the market and get rich together stuff??
Damn those poor people who finally had a chance to have a place of their own to live. They went ahead and believed those mortgage brokers and bankers and signed on the dotted line and now WE (Dobbs, etc.) are stuck with all this financial mess!!!
What a crock! I can't wait for the day they all get perp marched thropugh the mall in DC - every single damn one of them who has had any role in this fascist takeover of out country.
Left&Left @ 12:
I second that. No self-respecting person of color would put up with that crap, even if they are married to someone who spouts it.
Pericles @ 24:
I loved your post. Very clear and concise. Government doesn't work, but aren't you douchebags running it ? Minor inconvenience... shhhhhuuuuuurrrrre !
k
It is also ALL OVER youtube. You can't go to a video about the election, the debates and certainly not the economy without some screaming right winger talking about CRAs, Clinton, poor people, illegals and of course Democrats being the cause of this financial mess. Oh' and they insist the ACORN is a communist organization with very close ties to Obama.
When you counter their mish-mash of an argument with the facts they repeat themselves, because the really don't understand the financial crisis, they've just been given the talking points and can only repeat what they've been told over & over again.
I found a link:
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS135259+07-Jan-2008+BW200...
that has the summary of a study done on CRAs by a law firm, Traiger & Hinckley LLP. It shows that "CRA Banks Were Substantially Less Likely Than Other Lenders to Make the High Cost Loans That Helped Fuel the Foreclosure Crisis."
From that I looked up CDOs, the Glass-Steagall Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act... I had a great time being a serious geek because it is much easier to smack these idiots with information you've learned on your own than to rely on their method of acting as a mere parrot.
It is a shame that the Republicans did not have any members in Congress or a President to change these confounded laws.
I guess the October Surprise is Acorn + Obama, until it fails and they have to pull another stunt.
Money as Debt
Frightening.
Amitola @ 80:
Oh, it is still there: They break it, we own it..
Always follow the money. Sourcewatch has the answers. "The Consumer Rights League (CRL) appears to be a front group for the credit card industry that was created to do battle with industry critics such as the Center for Responsible Lending and ACORN."
I’ll bet Fat Bigot Lou’s wife is a Michelle Malkin hispanic.
in her own terms, Malkin's not a "spic" she's a "flip"...
Do the math.
The conservative economic analysis has the excess valuation in real estate mortgages at about seven trillion dollars (about 20%).
So how exactly do the DFHs and the "exotic" poor dig a seven trillion dollar hole with a 100 million dollar shovel?
This is what Republicans do to motivate the culture wars in times of crisis. Blame the poor. Blame minorities. Blame "liberal" "elite" do-gooders. But it's all just pure nonsense. You can't blow a seven trillion dollar hole in the economy with a BB gun, which is all these programs ever amounted to. The math tells the story.
Mr. Dobbs may want to consider adding more bran to his diet.
Lou Dobbs is hardly a "right-winger..." You guys are the kind of people that make me embarrassed to associate myself with the left...... Use your heads.. dont just instinctively label ANYONE who disagrees with you a right-wing fascist or any of the other ridiculous and nasty things you've said about Dobbs here. ACORN is flawed and a by most accounts largely corrupt.. if it were a right-wing group you'd be outraged and agreeing with Dobbs.....
Bottom line though.. use your heads..
This is the free market fundamentalists scapegoating liberal policies for market failures. CRA only accounts for 10% of the bad debt. They are also trying to claim that the GSEs caused the crisis because of the accounting irregularities a couple years ago.
They have scratched surface deep enough to find the dead body they need.
I suppose we should know when this report ran -- was the provision to give Money to states and local governments - and THEN to housing groups -- not stricken from the bill when Dobbs put this diatribe on the air?
If so, then we're right to demand a retraction and correction.
If not, then resignations are in order.
That "side-by-side comparison" doesn't appear to contain the whole truth --it's put out by the Republican Whip, and says "onerous" in reference to regulations in Frank-Dodd.
Time to pull the plug on his pathetic ass.
His remarkably entrenched xenophobia obliterates all reason - he's now a laughingstock.
*
what about the scumbags at litton loan servicing company? These guys purposefully seek out the minorities whose loans litton services and target them. thats their business model, their modus operandi. there is no law telling them to do this, they engage in such immoral behavior of their own free will. Don't believe me? go ahead, look them up and then come tell me how the poor bastards are forced to do business with minorities. yeah right!
Austinite @ 92:
I wonder if concern trolls have to take a shower when they are done pretending to be "on the left" LOL!
Lou Dobbs is a fucking idiot. He's all over the spectrum. Once railing against republicans for immigration and shoveling jobs overseas and the other for railing against democrats and the 'liberal kicking bag' for whatever.
He's a twit and I can't stand him!
I reflexively reach for the remote whenever I see his ridiculous head show up on the box. God, but if the remote isn't handy. I hate his voice almost as much as Bush's, Cheney's and Pelosi's...
He tugs at my stomach like no other teevee talking toad stool does...
Lou Dobbs finds a way interject xenophobia and racism into any argument.
In Dobbian language:
Think about this Lou. Let'S be clear. You are a right wing elite who wants to advance a racist old-boy network that disenfranchises minorities and the poor. You are not interested in the bailout, because you want to advance a social agenda which funds rich, right-wing, white elitists. You are pitiful and disgusting. In fact all the people watching you on CNN must feel disgusted just looking at your bloated face.
This guys has the nerve to criticize the Democrats for setting aside funds for grassroots, democratic institutions. Think about all of the corporate bailouts, all the money going top down, and THIS GUY HAS THE NERVE TO SUGGEST FUNDS GOING TO BOTTOM UP INSTITUTIONS ARE "DISGUSTING".
I THINK LOU DOBBS IS THE BIGGEST FRAUD IN AMERICA.
woody, tokin librul @ 89:
His wife is hispanic.
Debi Lee Segura Mexican.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Dobbs
http://lh4.ggpht.com/BookAsylum/RxV-O4wv9lI/AAAAAAAACC4/iJUarNPVzBc/s400...
i am so glad that i eliminated lou dobbs' ability to get into my house by cancelling my cable in 2004.
Dobbs, the raving racist bigot once again finds his victims among the un-rich, un-white, un-Dobbs, and un-un-un-un-him-and-his! The putrid slime bucket this rotten excuse for a human being emerged from left a horrid stench on his very being. He makes my stomach retch whenever I inadvertently click on a channel where he spews his evil lies.
Lou Dobbs has turned into a stinky pant load that I can't stomach.
He did say one thing the other day (yesterday?): That the Business Roundtable and the US Chamber of Commerce DO NOT WORK FOR AVERAGE AMERICANS. They work directly against them. (Amen Brother (It's the reason why I pulled our very small company OUT of the local CofC It was all big bidness and crumbs for the little guy. They actually totally backed Dow Chemical in their efforts to escape local pollution cleanup. Where's the logic in that? How can a business keep people in the are to work when so many are leaving because of the contamination.)) I thought that took courage to say but for a man that will say just about anything, it's not a stretch. Wait until next week when he'll be their biggest player in their marching band...
I am certain that low income CRA loans made up a very small percentage of the bad loans that are at the root of this crisis. For the past eight years virtually all loans, both commercial and residential, were sold and resold in derivative financial instruments for incredible profits. This Wall Street derivative feeding frenzy had nothing to do with serving the poor and had everything to do with making large fees for investment banks. The culprits of this crime live in Connecticut not Harlem.
Lou Dobbs has become that which he once hated:
He has become pompus, arrogant, condensenting, opinionated, judgemental and has lost his abilty to be objective. The open mindedness which launched his career has been replaced by conceit, hate, racism, bigotry and hypocrisy. I classify him right up there with Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, John Hagee, John Roberts, Wolf Blitzer, David Gregory, Rush Limbaugh and O'Reilly...Solidad O'Brien is closing in real fast too! They all started out middle of the road and honest journalist...then they get all in themselves and loose all their objectivity. None with the hate and vengence of Lou Dobbs, Rush Limbaugh, David Gregory and O'Reilly!
Tyler Durden @ 97:
Yeah, Acorn is the problem. It's the deregulation of grassroots, community organizations that are the reason we have huge foreign debt, our banks are closing, we have for tax loopholes so multinationals pay no income tax, and why the the derivatives market has hidden the problem so wall street can keep stealing from everyone. In fact, Acorn is the cause for the US not finding Bin Laden. Actually we found Bin Laden and then Acorn set him free.
Anyone backing up Dobbs on accusing a neighborhood community organization of being part of a "social agenda" cashing in on the financial crisis (that's like blaming European Jews for the Holocaust) is either an uniformed troll, an elitist troll, or an uninformed elitist troll.
Lou Dobbs, bless his little heart, would not have a show at all if he didn't have SOMEBODY to blame about SOMETHING. CRA and ACORN have not looted taxpayers. Everyone has to have a place to live. Follow the money---well, try to follow the money. Since there has been inadequate regulation in our financial institutions for sooo long, there is not much of a trail to follow. Still, maybe the FBI will turn up something.
http://christiansvoteobama
k @ 82:
It's basically just a racket. Republicans make a mess out of Washington, then turn around and say "goverment is evil," but elect us and we'll clean it up. They get re-elected, make an even bigger mess, and say "this mess is SO big that Democrats can't possibly clean it up. Only Republicans can. Be afraid.." They've been pulling this trick for 30 years, making a bigger mess every time. The bigger the mess gets, and the more inefficient Washington becomes, the more the Republican message of "government is bad" RESONATES with the voters. It's the most amazing CATCH-22 scheme I've ever seen.
The fact that McCain is now running as the ANTI-REPUBLICAN candidate is proof of just how well it works.
Most countries that run their government witha parliamentary system do something similar, but opposite to this scheme. The party in power will have a leader, and at some point somebody that this leader ran against to get his/her party's nomination will have a blowout with the leader, and quit. They'll spend a few years in the wilderness, and then, just as everybody is getting sick of that leader, the other guy will come back from the wilderness, and win the party's nomination by denouncing the previous guy. This gives the party the ability to shed its skin (the leader) like a SNAKE, but remain in power, because the public is convinced that the LEADER is all that matters, and the philosophy of the party is only a secondary issue.
The biggest example of that was the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party. I think they managed to stay in power for nearly 60 years by just changing their leader every few years, and renouncing the old party leadership, and thus, running against their own record. The Labour Party in Britain did the same thing, although, they didn't manage to keep it up for as long. The Liberal Party in Canada has held power for most of Canada's history, using the same method.
So, obviously, the way to keep Democrats in power is to let Obama win this time, while Hilary stays in the Senate criticizing everything he does. Then in 2016 she runs and wins the nomination as an anti-Obama candidate. Then, Hilary's main rival will win in 2024 etc. Of course, that kind of Ponsie scheme requires cooperation from the party base. I'm not sure either party in the U.S. has that kind of party discipline.
Lou needs to find a methadone clinic!
word on the street is lou licks the crust out of mcshitstain's asshole for a living.
Lou Dobbs -
King Douche
"American Dream Downpayment Act"
GW's speech at the signing:
President Bush Signs American Dream Downpayment Act of 2003
HUD's News Release of the event:
BUSH SIGNS AMERICAN DREAM DOWNPAYMENT ACT
Opposition to the Act, just before GW signed it.
American Dream Downpayment Act: Fiscally Irresponsible and Redundant to Existing Homeownership Programs
Those damn immigrants! Poor Dubbs, I wonder if he is going to shoot himself when an immigration bill gets passed if the democrats win. I'll pay to see it. What an ass!
Here's what it all can be blamed on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcZSh1diQRQ&feature=related
Check out these articles for more information on how little CRA contributed to the crisis.
http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2008/09/com...
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS135259+07-Jan-2008+BW200...
http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/womenspolitics/a/cra-lie-truths.htm
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=did_liberals_cause_the_subpr...
rhl @ 105:
What caused the problem was that these sub-prime mortgages were bundled into securities and then assigned the highest investment rating, "AAA". This rating allowed the securities to be sold at a premium to what they were actually worth, creating the incentive to create more sub-prime mortgages. Had these securities been correctly rated as junk bond, the scheme wouldn't have been profitable, and never would have expanded to the level seen today. I think a prudent man would have seen that interest only mortgages, or mortgages not requiring income verification, or zero down mortgages, wouldn't have been the material that investment grade bonds are created with, and certainly not the highest investment grade. My experience out in the 'hood was that mortgage originators were eagerly seeking out borrowers with a massive advertising campaign, and not reluctant lenders as represented by Dobbs. The reason was because the originators of the mortgages were not the ultimate holder of the loans because of the securitization process. But it was the profit created by the AAA rating of the mortgage backed bonds that made the whole enterprise profitable.
If I was looking to see if a crime was committed, I would look for conspiracy to defraud investors, and where I would be checking would be any collusion between the issuers of the securities and the rating agencies to issue a misleading rating. Behind all the smoke and mirrors, it was unmistakable that the ultimate borrower behind the securities wasn't a good credit risk.
mudshark @ 48:
Sorry to disappoint, but it turns out there can be more than one person in the world who disagrees with you. Not every comment with a different point of view is from some boogeyman troll.
Tyler Durden @ 54:
woody, tokin librul @ 55:
Ever consider actually watching his show and seeing what it is instead of parroting whatever you hear on this blog? Do you think the group-think mentality and intolerance for different viewpoints is a positive aspect of the right, or is there a different reason why you're trying to emulate it?
Chris @ 118:
I have actually watched his show, and yes... he is *that* ignorant of a blowhard.
Next...
PS. Seriously, make sure you are actually getting paid in cash by the RNC. As I have told you a few times, the "gold" that they sent you as trolling fee ain't that "precious." Remember, gold is not black and it does not smell like dog shit... FYI troll.
118
Chris Says
mudshark @ 48:
Chris @ 38:
Nicole, Lou Dobbs is NOT right wing. The fact that you disagree with his stance on immigration does not change the fact that you are in agreement on 99% of the issues. If you’re going to rail against misrepresentation and distortion in the media, you might try not contributing to the problem.
Well, if that don’t beat all. Is that you Ace? Why are you being so civil? C’mon Ace where is your assinine insults that you’re famous for?
Dobbs not right wing. Yeah sure.
Sorry to disappoint, but it turns out there can be more than one person in the world who disagrees with you. Not every comment with a different point of view is from some boogeyman troll.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Then tell me Chris, who do you think is responsible for this economic crisis? Is it Bill Clinton? Phil Gramm? Low income minorities? Just who is responsible for this crisis Chris?
Yes, there can be more than one person who disagrees with me. How's the job hunting going?
Then, there was this pronouncement from Alan Greenspan in February 2004: "American consumers might benefit if lenders provided greater mortgage product alternatives to the traditional fixed-rate mortgage."
A little more impetus for mortgages with introductory teaser rates that burst the bubble upon resetting to higher costing mortgages after a few years, after the teaser period was over.
Austinite @ 92:
Lou Dobbs is a right wing, xenophobic fraud who thinks that what he has to say is really important. In reality, he spouts journalistic toxic sludge that pollutes our national dialogue. ACORN is flawed & corrupt? Where's your proof, big mouth?
The hell with this bloviating lard-ass and his lapel flag.
Hey, tubbie, have another Obama pancake ...
I find it hard to believe that Dobbs is still on the air. I have a friend who used to be a dedicated viewer of Dobbs. I couldn't quite cozy up to him. She won't even watch him anymore because of his hate-filled rants. His old viewers no longer watch, but I suppose he has attracted a whole new set of angry people just like himself. It's draining watching these hate-filled assholes.
Ah yes Lou,
Its left wing organizations like ACORN. Next Lou will be telling us the crash is caused by poor people arm twisting Mr Scrooge for another piece of coal for the fire in the dead of winter. Is Lou competing with hannity and ORielly?
Tyler Durden @ 119:
Fair enough. But ignorant doesn't equal right wing, which is the only point I was trying to make. I don't think you're right wing either, despite the ignorance in the other part of your comment:
Tyler Durden @ 119:
You seem to have had some trouble reading the last line of my comment, so here it is again: do you think the group-think mentality and intolerance for different viewpoints is a positive aspect of the right, or is there a different reason why you’re trying to emulate it? I'm on the RNC payroll because I take issue with characterizing Dobbs as right wing? Can't have any differences of opinion on the left, or the Republicans win!
And since when is disagreeing with the post trolling? Is the comment section reserved only for posts of "Yeah!", "You said it!", etc.? If so, then please pardon my intrusion.
mudshark @ 120:
Who do you think is responsible, Lou Dobbs? I think Wall Street was quite capable of screwing things up without his help. I didn't place blame on ACORN or express agreement with Dobbs on this issue. What, falsely labeling me as someone else didn't work, so you're going to change the subject? Which one of us is acting like a troll again?
Liberals can target certain insignificant areas of society and orchestrate massive, systemic change at will, ie, financial crisis = ACORN. Why not blame it on Jews and be done with it?
Watching CNN today, it seemed as though they were trying very hard to sell the bailout. One segment had a flowchart of various instituations like Banks, Jobs, Corporations, and Other People, all pointed to *YOU.* They also ran a segment, not making this up, about how the middle class is the new cool. Their word: cool.
Of course they are going to try to sell the bailout. The wind direction has shifted, again, and so have they...
CNN - nearly worthless...
It's hard to believe that everyone is having a comic 'double take' on the bailout bill the GOP ruthlessly shot in the head on Monday... Who leads the GOP? Anyone? Anyone?
And Freddie and Fannie begged and begged, "PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEEEASE, ACORN! Don't force us to make balloon payment and interest only sub prime loans!! Just because they will make us much more profit than a standard fixed interest rate loan doesn't mean we want to make sub prime loans."
I find it amazing the "media" leaves out the overwhelming fact that the majority of "subprime" loans came in the form of REFINANCING mortgages and not first time mortgages. They are conveniently leave out the ARMS and other "creative loan packages" that left the fine print on the page allowing for mortgages to jump as much as 4% in one day thus creating the mass of foreclosures we see. What a fucking out right lie to blame poor citizens.
They are not claiming that ACORN or the CRA CAUSED the problems, they're saying that it contributed, which if any of you had bothered to investigate, would easily see how this could be true. There needs to be a little more objectivity here don't you think? The truth is, the system has been gamed by all sorts of people (including Democrats and Community Organizers) looking to gain some sort of advantage with little concern for the consequences. The sooner we all realize that it's a greed and corruption problem rather than a left wing versus right wing thing the sooner we can clear these problems up. This will require electing people who give a damn about this country more than money, power or prestige and overlooking left-right republican-democrat labels. There are honest, decent people in both parties as well as corrupt self-serving people. Don't fall into the trap of defending a political organization at all costs...they won't reciprocate.
Tyler Durden @ 13:
***************************** You mean leadership like McBush has been doing. Jumping prematurely into anything and everything just to be perceived as a leader and then looking like a fool when the situation shifts? Is that what you mean by leadership or thinking things out and making intellegent decisions?
Really Lou. Is that where Ed McMahon qualified for his loans also. It's not just first time homebuyers, ya racist. There alot of wealthy people that thought the run-up in home values would never end. They pulled-out equity and when the home values drop, they owed more than the home were worth. Most took the adjustables for the lower payments, and the payments spiked, and they were out.
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