The shamelessness of Barney Frank
Remember when the financial crisis hit and the Democrats, especially Barney Frank, said they couldn’t be held responsible for the poison mortgages that triggered the whole mess? It was the Republicans’ fault, especially that evil and stupid George W. Bush, but never the Democrats. Never, in spite of passing Community Redevelopment Act in the late 70s that was later used, under Bill Clinton and his Housing Secretary, Andrew Cuomo, to force banks into easy-lending policies to home-buyers who weren’t otherwise qualified. The Democrats had no responsibility, according to Frank and others, even though they then pressed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to guarantee these bad mortgages, buy them up, and sell them as (lousy) bundled securities on the open market and thus poisoning the financial system. The Democrats had no responsibility, even though they blocked three different Republican attempts to reform the two agencies after 2000. Instead, the Democrats, lead by Frank and Senator Chris Dodd (D-Countrywide), defended Fannie and Freddie tooth and claw and even cried racism at any attempt to tighten up lending requirements.
All this lead directly to the September, 2008, financial crisis, but none of it was the Democrats’ responsibility, according to Barney Frank.
That was then, this is now:
For years, Frank was a staunch supporter of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the giant government housing agencies that played such an enormous role in the financial meltdown that thrust the economy into the Great Recession. But in a recent CNBC interview, Frank told me that he was ready to say goodbye to Fannie and Freddie.
“I hope by next year we’ll have abolished Fannie and Freddie,” he said. Remarkable. And he went on to say that “it was a great mistake to push lower-income people into housing they couldn’t afford and couldn’t really handle once they had it.” He then added, “I had been too sanguine about Fannie and Freddie.”
When I asked Frank about a long-term phase-out plan that would shrink Fannie and Freddie portfolios and mortgage-purchase limits, and merge the agencies into the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) for a separate low-income program that would get government out of middle-income housing subsidies, he replied: “Larry, that, I think, is exactly what we should be doing.”
This is like the guy who was warned not to drink and drive killing someone in an accident and then saying “I made a mistake in judgment.” It in no way relieves our imaginary drunk driver nor Barney Frank of the responsibility for the tremendous harm they’ve done. With a beautifully impersonal “it was a mistake,” he hides the fact that he, himself, was one of the powers making that mistake and turning it critical.
And this fat, incompetent clown wants more power? He expects to be reelected? “Shameless” does not begin to describe this slug.
Please, if this November does see a Republican wave, let Bawney Fwank be one of the ones drowned in it.
You can help make this so by donating to his opponent, Sean Bielat.
(Crossposted at Public Secrets)