(Liddy mesmerizes Larry King)
UPDATE: Liddy is speaking to the HOUSE now.
The House has started their AIG hearing this morning, but we are waiting for the Big Kahuna, head of AIG, Edward Liddy. He's a typical right wing disaster capitalist, who was in business with Rumsfeld in the 80's, destroyed companies, maxed out his campaign contributions to McCain---so in essence---he's the perfect Bush pick.
DWT has more on Liddy's past:
I can't understand why a big Republican donor-- obviously a crook-- like Liddy was put in charge of a company the government basically owns. And it isn't just because he was a maxed-out McCain donor, as well as a contributor to the RNC, that should disqualify him from employment.
He was the chairman of Allstate when they were cheating Hurricane Katrina victims out of their insurance coverage. Before that Liddy was the CFO at a pharmaceutical company where Don Rumsfeld was the CEO.
Together they axed most of the employees in order to make it an attractive property for Monsanto, which bought it in 1985 making Rumsfeld and Liddy immensely wealthy (although neither had contributed anything to the value of the company aside from firing 60% of the employees who had built it up.) See Liddy's swell digs on the right. I wonder who vetted Liddy for Bush when he wound up-- including himself, no doubt, among the losers he terms "the best and the brightest"-- as head of AIG in June, 2008.
Talk Left catches Liddy's op-ed in the WaPo.
These idiots at AIG are so insulated in their thinking that they actually thought America would just sit back and not take notice of what they are doing with our money? The public outrage is palpable and Howard Beale's are being born every second. And the Obama administration better keep on top of this too. Very bad communication and political skills have been practiced by the President Obama's economic team on this one and that was stunning to me...
And Chris Dodd is not responsible for these bonuses to be paid out as the right wing press have been pushing lately.
On CNN I just saw them do a segment on the clause on the bonuses and they can't figure out who did put it in.
Rep. Frank wants the names of the people who received the bonuses from AIG, but Liddy played the fear card and said he was worried about their safety and then read two "death threats."
Barney said he understood but would subpoena him for them anyway. Where did he get those? Were they letters, were they emails, comments on blogs or message boards?
Welcome to our world. I've received many death threats just for writing my blog and if he thinks a few unhinged comments will put the brakes on those names, he's sadly mistaken.
Senator Ron Wyden said he could have prevented the bonuses.
On Tuesday that the furor surrounding AIG's bonus payments could have been avoided had the Obama White House and members of Congress simply backed legislation that he and Sen. Olympia Snowe introduced more than a month ago.
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"The reality is, had that legislation been passed it would have been a very strong disincentive to anybody paying out bonuses in the future," said Wyden. "Earlier, the President had denounced those bonuses that came at the end of the year. And when Senator Snowe and I said it is not enough for those in elected office to say it was wrong, that they have got to have a plan to have them pay it back, we were able to get legislation through the United States Senate. Not a single United States Senator was willing in broad daylight to stand up and oppose our bipartisan amendment... but it died in conference."
Are you feeling any better about AIG after watching Liddy testify on the Hill?
