Anderson@Large

Dems Reject Bailout

I was slack-jawed as I watched House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the debate over the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008." Pelosi’s hyper-partisanship and finger were in House Republicans’ faces.

Pelosi’s partisan rhetoric was surprising given the vote was pending. The whole world now knows that she made her move too soon. The bill was defeated by a vote of 228-205. Ninety-five Democrats voted against the bill, including 21 of 39 members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Georgia Rep. David Scott said:

The name of the game is: You cannot send $700 billion to Wall Street while 6,300 homes are being foreclosed on every day.

Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings said in a statement:

I am deeply concerned that there is no requirement that Wall Street take responsibility for the mess it helped to create. There is no meaningful limitation on golden parachutes for executives—who are still making millions of dollars a month even as average Americans continue to struggle to stay afloat. I am concerned that the board created to oversee this bailout is not offered the power to stop any irresponsible or questionable action. I am concerned that there are no safeguards against taxpayers being overcharged to buy these assets—or any guarantees that they will profit from these investments in the future

While the Dow Jones industrial average fell 778 points, all is not lost. We the people made our voices heard: No bailout of Wall Street.

Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, said:

Today’s House vote was a reminder that ultimately it’s the Americans who elect members of Congress who have the most influence over them -- when they speak up with a loud voice. In this case, money from the finance sector -- the biggest campaign contributor of all time -- seems to have played a part in lawmakers’ votes, but it didn’t win the day. Risking a seat in Congress for campaign cash isn’t worth it for politicians when the public is paying attention. And the public is certainly paying attention now.

With the defeat of the bill, congressional leaders must go back to the drawing board. The notion of a Wall Street bailout is a "grimace-inducing phrase," but something must be done.

That said, Congress' next move must be to read the bill first. The House voted on the 110-page bill less than 24 hours after it was posted online.

The new bill must not give Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson unfettered discretion to decide which toxic assets to purchase from his former cronies.

The implementation of any rescue plan must not be outsourced to the same financial institutions and Wall Street vultures that got us into this mess. Call me old school, but I don’t think you can be part of the problem and the solution.

There must be restructuring of subprime mortgages and regulatory reform. Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., a longtime voice for distressed homeowners, noted:

A "bail out" plan that does not rescue homeowners will not stop the crisis. The foreclosure epidemic gripping communities across the nation will continue. The existing proposal includes vague language that calls for the government to buy mortgages and securities and then try to modify them, but fails short of making this a mandate required to end the recession.

There must be citizen oversight and transparency. Sure, the proposed oversight panels are better than Paulson's no-strings-attached handout. But it’s our money. Congress and the Bush administration have shown they cannot be trusted with our money.

On the campaign trail yesterday, Barack Obama said:

It is time we had some adult supervision. That’s why I’m running for president.

With congressional leaders in disarray and Pelosi throwing spitballs before the votes are counted, it looks like Congress needs "some adult supervision."

Obama says he is ready to lead. That he alone can bring Americans together. With the nation facing "the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression," when will Obama "step up to the plate?"

A Workout, Not a Bailout

Congressional leaders have reached a tentative agreement to work out the credit crisis that threatens the U.S. economy. The “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008” would establish the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to purchase the toxic mortgage-backed securities that are clogging up financial markets.

The 110-page bill would establish two oversight panels, provide assistance to distressed homeowners, limit executive compensation, give taxpayers an equity stake in any financial institution that participates in TARP, and regular audits by the Government Accountability Office.

By contrast, the three-page proposal that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson sent Congress would have bailed out his Wall Street cronies with no strings attached. Paulson is the former chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, which stands to benefit from any rescue plan.

Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, said:

The administration's original proposal was a non-starter. They wanted a blank check and we couldn't give it to them.

House will vote on the bill today. The Senate is scheduled to vote by Wednesday. It’s not too late to tell Congress: Protect taxpayers. A workout, not a bailout.

As CNN anchor Roland Martin observed:

We are all watching and waiting. It's time for us, that's right, us to take action. If you don't believe Congress is truly looking out for you, the taxpayer, say something. Right now. Pick up that phone. Call. E-mail, write. Even go to Washington, D.C. And get in the face of your U.S. senator or House member.

Folks, we the people have the power to effect change. We must know, cannot wait to be told what is going on. This is your money. This is our money. We are potentially mortgaging the future of our children. You must say something, or do something, because your future, and that of your kids, is a stake.

Already, other crony capitalists are waiting with their hand out.

If you want to to take to the streets to say, “No blank check for Wall Street,” click here.

The Debate Goes On

As I write this, the fate of the Congressional deal on the bailout of Wall Street is unknown. The agreement reached earlier yesterday fell apart. President Bush reportedly said:

If money isn’t loosened up, this sucker could go down.

Bush needs to loosen up. He thinks the American people are suckers who can be scared into bailing out Wall Street firms that recklessly used exotic products to make a profit and raise capital.

Meanwhile, the Commission on Presidential Debates says the show must go on:

The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is moving forward with its plan for the first presidential debate at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. this Friday, September 26. The plans for this forum have been underway for more than a year and a half. The CPD’s mission is to provide a forum in which the American public has an opportunity to hear the leading candidates for the president of the United States debate the critical issues facing the nation. We believe the public will be well served by having all of the debates go forward as scheduled.

It is also unknown whether John McCain will show up for tonight’s presidential debate. The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation will hold a "Presidential Debate Watch," hosted by Tom Joyner. 

With 1,500 black folks in the room and some no doubt talking back to the TV monitors, the debate will be the best show in town.

No Bailout for Wall Street Fat Cats

Last night, President Bush called on the American people to support a $700 billion government bailout to pay for the “bad decisions” of Wall Street:

With the situation becoming more precarious by the day, I faced a choice: To step in with dramatic government action, or to stand back and allow the irresponsible actions of some to undermine the financial security of all.

In his primetime address, Bush made no mention of the predatory lending practices or lax federal regulation that “set off a domino effect across our economy”:

I'm a strong believer in free enterprise. So my natural instinct is to oppose government intervention. I believe companies that make bad decisions should be allowed to go out of business. Under normal circumstances, I would have followed this course. But these are not normal circumstances. The market is not functioning properly. There's been a widespread loss of confidence. And major sectors of America's financial system are at risk of shutting down.

So, Bush’s solution is to stick every man, woman and child with a $2,333 tab to bail out greedy Wall Street fat cats.

A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll found that 55 percent of Americans “said they did not believe the government should be responsible for funding a bailout plan”:

Most Americans don't believe the government has responsibility for bailing out financial firms with taxpayer money, a core part of the rescue plan Congress is considering to halt the near-meltdown of the nation's financial markets.

During his monologue, Jay Leno gave his assessment of Bush’s bailout scheme:

When you screw up, you pay. When they screw up, you pay.

Bush’s brazen hypocrisy is no joke. The Congressional Black Caucus prides itself on being the “conscience of the Congress.” Now is the time for the CBC to stand up and say, WTF?!

The CBC must ask: What’s in it for Main Street? And why now?

CBC Time

It's that time of the year when African American political, business, civic, academic and entertainment elites gather in the nation’s capitol for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference.

Back in the day, “the CBC,” convened at the Washington Hilton Hotel. The joint was usually cheek to jowl but it felt like a family reunion. Now, the CBC is held at the cavernous Walter E. Washington Convention Center, where 18,000 people are expected to attend.

While the ALC is no longer an intimate gathering of the black elite, the issues forums and braintrusts are more substantive and timely. Indeed, this year’s town hall meeting, “Foreclosure Crisis: Repercussions, Reasons and Real Solutions,” will focus on the subprime mortgage crisis, “its causes, recommended next steps and providing resources to those in need.”

The town hall meeting will be moderated by Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League. The discussion will be led by Reps. Barney Frank, Elijah E. Cummings, Sheila Jackson Lee and Maxine Waters. The panelists will Franklin Raines, the former Fannie Mae chief who allegedly cooked the books at the mortgage giant.

Dr. Elsie Scott, president and CEO of the CBCF, said:

This housing crisis has a trickle-down effect that is affecting millions of Americans every day. We will be hearing very personal, very real stories of what is going on beyond Washington. That is why we will have critical breakout and call-for-action sessions in the convention center following the town hall meeting.

This year’s theme, “Embracing the Promise, Realizing the Vision,” is particularly meaningful given that a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Sen. Barack Obama, is the Democratic presidential nominee. The “Presidential Debate Watch” party on Friday will give new meaning to “party with a purpose.”

For more info about the CBCF 38th ALC, please go here. To register for the conference, click here.

Race and the Race (Again)

Barack Obama is not rocking the polls but he is on a bit of a roll. Obama is clinging to a modest lead in the Rasmussen and Gallup daily tracking polls.

But those polls only tell part of the story. The rest of the story is as old as the Republic: the impact of race on national politics.

From the founding document which counted slaves as three-fifths of a person to the Civil War and to the Republican Party's Southern Strategy, race mattered. Indeed, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice observed:

Black Americans were a founding population. Africans and Europeans came here and founded this country together -- Europeans by choice and Africans in chains. That's not a very pretty reality of our founding...Descendants of slaves did not get much of a head start, and I think you continue to see some of the effects of that. That particular birth defect (emphasis added) makes it hard for us to confront it, hard for us to talk about it, and hard for us to realize that it has continuing relevance for who we are today.

There is new evidence that racial prejudice may determine the outcome of the election. An AP-Yahoo News poll found that more than a third of white Democrats and independents harbor negative views toward blacks.

As repugnant as their views are, they matter because Obama cannot win without their support. He can turn out every eligible black voter and still lose.

While Obama garnered significant white support during the primary season, he did better among whites when they cast their vote in a public caucus rather than by secret ballot. When white voters were in the privacy of the polling booth, the Bradley effect kicked in.

In his address on race, Obama said:

In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed.

The poll suggests some whites think racial inequality is a figment of black folks' imagination:

One finding: More than a quarter of white Democrats agree that "if blacks would only try harder, they could be just as well off as whites."

In his Philadelphia speech, Obama also said:

But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now.

With Election Day just six weeks away, Obama can ill afford to ignore the elephant in the room.

Hillary Sent Me!

Hillary Clinton has rolled out a new grassroots initiative to mobilize her supporters to help Barack Obama win in November. The “Hillary Sent Me” campaign will send volunteers to a different battleground state each weekend until Election Day.

During a conference call with supporters from across the country, Clinton said:

I want to invite you to take part in something that continues the historic journey that you have made with me. I know that all of you worked your hearts out and your continued faith and support in me is truly gratifying. I have been traveling across the country for Senator Obama since June. I have been so excited to hear about the enthusiasm and energy that exists for our Democratic candidate...

We always knew that we would have a tough election, that it would be close, and it’s critical that no matter who you supported in the primary, Democrats come together along with like-minded Independents and even Republicans who want to change our country.

Clinton exhorted her supporters “to hit the phones, hit the road and spread the word that we must elect Barack Obama President and we must send a filibuster-proof majority to Congress.”

And lest anyone think callers or door-to-door canvassers are motivated by Obama, Clinton added:

Tell them that Hillary sent you.

To hear an audio of Clinton encouraging supporters to hit the road, go here. 

The kickoff event will be held this weekend in New Hampshire, where Hillary scored an upset primary victory.

To sign up for the campaign, click here.