The bailout Chicken Littles rediscover their heads
The House held hearings this morning on the bailout debacle. Quite a spectacle. Every member wants his/her 15 minutes of grandstanding fame. It’s all well and good to express outrage at the Treasury Department and grill Paulson protege Neel Kashkari now.
But if the Chicken Littles had kept their heads on before they handed over unfettered powers to clueless Hank Paulson, if they had asked the tough questions before rushing into the bailout abyss, if they had called the emperor naked before joining the TARP parade, they wouldn’t be clucking so indignantly today.
***
Believe it or not, I am going to say something nice about Democrat Rep. Dennis Kucinich. He voted against the bailout every time. In a ready-for-YouTube exchange, he snorted when Kashkari said, (paraphrasing here) “taxpayer money shouldn’t be poured into businesses that are going to fail.” Kucinich retorted that Kashkari would be hearing that line played back to him for the rest of his career.
Damned straight. Snort of the year material. Along with this ignominious line. And this one.
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
 |
Obama’s new campaign candy: More mortgage aid, homeowner “bill of rights”
February 1, 2012 11:39 AM by Michelle Malkin
88 Comments
One cheer for the belated SEC lawuit against Fannie/Freddie execs
December 16, 2011 11:53 AM by Michelle Malkin
45 CommentsBailing out the world
November 30, 2011 09:35 AM by Michelle Malkin
131 CommentsBreaking: Barney Frank will not seek re-election
November 28, 2011 09:54 AM by Michelle Malkin
168 CommentsSnortalicious: Chicago corruptocrat/Fannie fat cat William Daley wears Occupier costume
October 17, 2011 01:56 PM by Michelle Malkin
20 Comments
Here are your 1 percent-ers: Obama’s bundlers
October 17, 2011 03:13 AM by Michelle Malkin
79 CommentsJohn McCain Understands the Frustrations of ‘Occupy Wall Street’
October 12, 2011 09:07 PM by Doug Powers
122 CommentsWho’s Up For Another Fannie Mae Bailout?
May 9, 2011 11:20 AM by Doug Powers
67 Comments
Categories: Subprime crisis
Pundit & Pundette
» Obama's war on conscience, cont'dAmSpecBlog
» Explosion Near Israeli Embassy in IndiaBabalu Blog
» Greece is BurningGateway Pundit
» Despite Previous Promises Obama Will Propose Another Budget Today That Projects the Deficit at $1.33 TrillionBetsys Page
» Cruising the WebPatterico
» NYT hails the safety net: Poor hardest hit
“When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…”
Can’t we just expel D.C. from the union?
Everyone inside the beltway,decry, in unison;
I was against the bail-out before I was for it.
Or, er, I mean I was — for the —what was the question ?
Heavens to Murgtroyd!!
With the left and the right exits blocked, where do we go?
Funny.
Kucinich… even a stopped clock is right twice a day. But credit where it’s due I guess.
Maybe this episode will wake them out of their stupor long enough to realize that bailing out Detroit is among the dumbest things they could possibly do. Even one the Times opinion page contributors is calling a Detroit bailout dumb. (Yes, I Purell’ed my hands after going there).
Harass your Rep. as much as possible.
I’m usually against government “investigations” (as they’re usually partisan witch hunts) but this time I think one is warranted. TARP is more than a debacle. The almost comical way that this thing has unfolded stinks to high heaven of corruption and cronyism. Paulson might not be an idiot so much as a corrupt beaurocrat taking care of his banking-industry friends and allies.
Time to sharpen the proverbial pencils folks. Write your reps NOW. They need to hear from you. Write the lame duck POTUS and tell him not to sign any more bailout legistlation. Don’t take your toys and go home just because we got whipped this go ’round. To ARMS!
Heavens to Murgtroyd!!
With the left and the right exits blocked, where do we go?
Hope we go forward, and kick some butt.
Heavens to Murgtroyd!!
With the left and the right exits blocked, where do we go?
Let’s go forward, and run over them all.
Seems like just last month, Harry Reid and Chris Dodd explained to the world how Barak Obama had such a firm grasp on the bailout and had such cool control and understanding of thesituation, and it was BECAUSE of OBAMA’s LEADERSHIP that the bailout was passed!
I wonder how many times that video will be replayed?
Thank you FilmLadd for that reminder. Here’s a little longer read…
“…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
Refreshing, isn’t it…
Why can’t these chicken littles make themselves useful and recruit themselves over to Purdue Farms.
A henny-penny here, a henny-penny there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money….
The roll call results are a matter of record; Those in congress that voted no twice should be remembered for trying to save the Republic; Those that voted yes have brought a curse on all of us for many years to come.
T.A.R.P.: Totally Asinine Regressive Politics
Having Dodd on the tube telling us what we should do about the economic meltdown is like having Charles Manson lecture you about human rights abuses or mental health.
So why are we not DEMANDING that Congress withdraw all funds as yet unspent?
An opportunity for your Congressman to “Come to Jesus.”
Given your intellectual integrity and honesty, Michelle, it does not have to be believed, because it is a given.
The congressmen should have INSISTED that Paulson resign the moment he came to them for this bailout. He FAILED to do his job. His head should have rolled along with Bernanke.
I think the entire financial industry bailout was extremely bad decision by Bush, Paulson and also by democrats who supported this…But if financial industry and folks in suit have already gotten their bailout, I see no reason why the blue collar workers and their companies from midwest cannot expect same treatment.
No Bailout = No bailout for anyone regardless of fancy suit or Walmart t-shirt for work.
Yes to Bailout = No discrimination b/w middle class assembly line employees at Detroit and an ‘elite’ 25th floor employee in NY. Simple as that.
FLASH
OPEC, CUBA, VENEZUELA, Philadelphia, and Phoenix are seeking bailout aid!
FLASH #2
CORPORATIONs, GSE’S, AND LABOR UNIONS are the only groups vying for ther cash. The average “Joe”, whether he/she wears a suit or cover-alls, will never see this money. It’s a scam of highest order…. right up there with the so-called Obarfo tax cut (welfare check).
I suspect that the G-20 meeting taking place this weekend will be the first round of talks for a second Bretton Woods treaty. That they will push for a global currency because the Dollar is now to unstable to use as the “Reserve Currency” by which all other nations currencies values are calculated.
Every time I hear Paulson speak he only talks in terms of the Global Economy.
Yay…4 more years of this or worse! WOOT!
To add to last 5 -6 years …?
McCain and Lindsay Graham to meet with Obama today to, I don’t know, guarantee no pesky filibusters even if they don’t steal the election for Franken?
it almost hurts my fingers to type this, but…
“Way to go, Kucinich!”
heh. Sorry Michelle… When I read the “…rediscover their heads…” part, I didn’t realize you were referring to them not actually having heads. I thought you were referring to the fact that maybe some of them are finally extracting their heads from their… oh, nevermind!
Actually, we already saw this money. The all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful government just decided that they could make better use of it than we could!
Actually, this is our children’s and grandchildren’s money, which makes it even more repugnant.
Or rather consolidate in the red states and cede from the Union.
We’d be giving up what? The West Coast, the Northeast and the Great Lakes States. But we’d have all that Gulf of Mexico oil and could drill the heck out of the Atlantic coast and the Rockies. Not to mention ANWR.
We’d give the Dems McCain and Chuck Hagel… and we’d take Kucinich (for laughs) and a politician to be named later.
We’d also trade Visitation Rights to the Grand Canyon for access to the West coast. And we’d throw in DC.
Think it would fly?
It’s always in the last place they look, usually up their arses!
I don’t listen to talk radio, but my other half does, and when I got in the car the other day the station was tuned in to one of the shows. I do not know which host it was, but he said that we are watching the greatest con job ever perpetrated. We are witnessing the largest scam ever, and we’re the marks.
I agree absolutely. But why aren’t those with the big voices, and I am including Michelle in this, organizing a revolution? Why did we re-elect 89% of the crooks? Why aren’t we driving in a mad frenzy to march on Washington to take our country back?
We are so desperate that we jus voted a socialist in, hoping that maybe that he can fix it and we can stick our heads back in the sands.
In the very least, why aren’t we all changing our withhldings to 15? We would still have to pay our taxes on April 15, but we would strangle the government’s cashflow if we kept it until the very last minute.
Why aren’t we doing anything? Why aren’t we doing anything?
Of course McCain “suspended” his campaign to lobby for the bailout so we were destined to be screwed for the next 4 years, either way. Unpleasant things are coming out of both ends of the body politic.
The liberals have thought that if they could only implement their agenda, the world would be fine. All this time they were prevented from having it all because the conservative knew that it wouldn’t work. Now the liberals will have to see that it won’t work for themselves and by doing so, we will all suffer. Thank you congress.
The difference between a liberal and a conservative:
Liberal: I have a wonderful vision for your life. It is the best. You will love it. Believe me. You can take it to the bank. It’s the best system I can think of. I love you.
Conservative: I will help you achieve your dreams. I can only take you so far. Then it’s up to you. My hope is you’ll manifest that dream, that spark within you. I love you.
P-C, i thought a conservative was a liberal who had been mugged and had to pay taxes. this bailout mania is so prevalent know, the church of the saved martians were seeking paulson’s address so they could get in line. a mere 5B will tide them over until the mothership returns.
Leaders of both parties supported the bailout. They both supported a plan that takes money from the poor tax-payer and gives it to rich investment bankers. And what are the bankers doing with the money?
Just the $13.2 Billion set aside by two bailout companies is enough to give $1.3 million bonuses to 10,000 employees, or $13,200 bonuses to one million employees. Isn’t it nice to know that, because of our donations, those poor $400,000/year employees won’t go without their Christmas bonuses this year?
That is what keeps me awake nights FM
If they took the $750B & gave every family in the US a million or even a half million with which they would pay off their mortgages, student loans, credit card bills, medical bills, bought a new car (thereby helping out the auto industry) & went shopping, it seems like everyone’s problem would be solved. We wouldn’t have to bail out the auto industry, the banks, the credit card companies etc etc. And think how how happy everyone would be.
KUCINICH -for change in the GOP—
He could – at least – be on the board….
My party is NO LONGER MY PARTY>>>
TOO MANY L_O_T_E_S–
TOO MANY CYAers……(not Ayers as in b. ayers-bho’s friend)
C_Y_A_ ers…
or—weaklings…..
C-CS
Excellent point! I get a little sadder every day worrying that my DD is going to grow up in a world that I wouldn’t even recognize — and don’t want to recognize. God (please) bless America!
Now THAT’S news! Many thanks to all those hard working D.C. proctologists for their efforts!
When they sent out the “stimulus” checks it was a bribe to get us to shut up about the bailout that was coming.
Here’s the deal: Many of us work in business. When developing practical, robust strategic plans even for individual elements of a business, not even the entire organization, it takes weeks and frequently months to get the job done well. These guys go in for the weekend and gin up some hip-shot, pie-in-the-sky plan covering the entire U. S. banking system. This is true of most mission critical plans DC puts together for the country. Planning requires structure, expertise and time. Why do they keep doing this to us?
where’s the line for action instead of just talking about what we should do?
I feel helpless. I know we are going to crash and burn and I don’t know how to stop it. Someone point me in the right direction. And no, it’s not writing representatives. We’ve done that time and again and they have all forgotten how they got to DC or what they are there for.
I will work to stop the bailout from bailing anyone else out, to stop the lard heads in DC, to succeed from the USA, to impeach any and everyone of these nut heads, etc.
But someone – tell us where to start that will actually end up being effective.
We knew it; we knew it; we knew it! Keep their feet to the fire, Michelle!!!
My (Georgia) senators voted for the bailout after they voted against it. Senator Saxby Chambliss paid dearly for that mistake! LOL
Yes, dominigan, it’s time to abolish this Government and institute an entirely new one. But who would support our efforts? The general population of our once-free nation just elected a communist to lead them. They don’t want to think for themselves; they just want to follow the leader.
We could try to secede, but a few of my people tried that once and failed.
Anyone for a military coup?
I’m off to the Tennessee mountains after I email the prez. Y’all have a good weekend!
On November 14th, 2008 at 3:30 pm, torabora said:
When they sent out the “stimulus” checks it was a bribe to get us to shut up about the bailout that was coming.
Why can’t the oh-so-powerful house and senate just vote to repeal this and ask for the peoples’ money back? I thought Nancy Pelosi was in charge of things! No one challenges her on anything else, so why doesn’t she just stretch open that Botox mouth and tell Paulson what’s what? The whole country is being overrun by bullies. Let’s put one to good use. I bet she’d make his blood run cold.
Some of the banks didn’t even WANT the gov’t $$, but were forced to take it. Something’s afoot.
I’ve always thought leaders, both elected and those to rise to the top, become leaders because they are clever enough to anticipate problems and work to bring reasonable solutions.
Our elected officials have not done that is years, and with few exceptions, we keep putting them back in office.
I can’t think of one law or policy that has shown foresight, wisdom or real leadership in the last 20 years.
Voters seems to pick rosy promises and congress is doing what it always does, holding hearings after the fact.
Ron Paul also went to bat big time for taxpayers. Just to give credit where credit is due…
Government cannot create jobs or wealth from its existence, but only by the will of the citizenry. The federal government is only redistributing taxpayer money to others. When that runs out, they will print more, causing inflation like we have not seen in our lifetime.
BE (before election) and AE (after election) stances are a changing. Wonder why?
There once was a lame president named Bush,
Whose Treasurer turned the economy to mush.
“That’s how I govern, don’t mean to sound rude.
I just don’t care that the taxpayer’s screwed.
Now excuse me, I must kiss more liberal tush.”
Why do I feel like I have been chained to my seat, my mouth duct-taped and forced to witness the absolute worst (and longest) black comedy
ever written in the history of man, powerless to do anything to ease my agony. Stupid worthless dunderhead congress.
Scott Garrett, (R, NJ – if you can believe it) has never waivered. Not once has he drank the Kool Aid. He voted this turkey down again and again.
At some point we have to find a way to get him into our Governor’s mansion. He’s just spot-on as a conservative.
Mark my words.. A year from now, you will see that this wasn’t a bailout – it was a way to print a load of money and give it to the Dems to spend on pet projects.. Fresh, crispy brand new dollars with no actual ties to appropriations.. And no way to trace future appropriations as it isn’t part of the actual budget. 2 Trillion of them. Just sittin’ there. Well, I can assure you that no money goes unspent in the US government (wow, that rhymed)..
Oh yea, The Reverend Pastor of Disaster Paulson has found all new ways for the Democratic Leadership to buy votes and loyalty with our money. Tax the $15/20 an hour people to provide double and triple salaries to the UAW, movie producers and all kinds of dinosaur industries.
Now the Mayor of Phoenix, Phil Gordon, has his hand out for Federal money.That would be Welfare for Illegals Phil Gordon.
Tax, Tax, Spend, Spend, Elect, Elect-President Franklin D Roosevelt’s aide, Harry Hopkins.
Feel the Love.
—
Celebrate Diversity:
Carry a Revolver and an auto loader-you too ladies.
America First
America Alone
Americans Come Home
bush and mccain r at fault
Duh!
Of course, this makes complete sense to most of us here. The Congress has gone absolutely nuts and is heading over a cliff. What kind of idiots are they? Where will it ever end? And it needs to be pointed out that this whole boondogle may not help Michelle’s kids.
Well, even a broken clock is right twice a day. Good for Kucinich.
Brian: It’s the only fair thing to do.
Too bad we can’t give them a push without them taking us with them. I see no way for it to end – other than badly.
If Paulson has the ability to ‘set the rules’ for passing out bailout money, he ought to just declare zero cap gains, zero dividend tax and lower corporate income taxes to half what they currently are until end of 2010 with a cost estimate for whatever $s he’s got left. Then take a vacation.
Arizona
Thanks for the good startup this morning.
Arizona that’s perfect, there is no better justice for the “just us” crowd.
drfredc said: If Paulson has the ability to ’set the rules’ for passing out bailout money, he ought to just declare zero cap gains, zero dividend tax and lower corporate income taxes
halfto zero.Fix it for ya
Michelle,
I think the chicken said ‘bok bok barack.’ Just thought I add some ummm humor into this depressing preview.
even a broken clock is right twice a day
NJ-Aviator, you beat me to it. Great minds…lol