Westmoreland: legislation not answer to fiscal crisis

Fri, 10/03/2008 - 3:17pm
By: The Citizen

Congress approves $700 billion bailout; bill signed by President

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the $700 billion bailout plan to acquire a significant amount of bad debt to stabilize the country's financial market.

The controversial bill ultimately passed 263-171, having passed the Senate earlier this week.

Government officials urged the action to stave off a potential credit freeze, as the New York Times reported yesterday that many banks had stopped loaning money to each other, which further exacerbated the credit crunch.

Georgia Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, whose district includes Fayette and Coweta counties, voted against the bill, according to his spokesperson Brian Robinson.

Westmoreland, in a written statement after the vote, said while Congress can help with the issue, he doesn't think legislation is the answer.

"Because of this week’s actions in Washington, Americans who pay their taxes and who pay their mortgages on time and who acted responsibly will be handed a tab for up to $700 billion," Westmoreland said in the release. "My constituents in Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District called and wrote me in record numbers over the past two weeks, and by a margin of 9-1 they asked me to oppose this bill.

“This bailout may or may not help our economy in the short term. In the long term, it puts us on a dangerous path toward government ownership of private securities and creates a ‘moral hazard’ – investors and businesses will believe that risky bets will enrich them if they succeed and government will write a check if they fail."

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Submitted by jmatute on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 2:29pm.

Every Republican Congressman in the state of Georgia voted against the bill. Both Senators from the state of Georgia voted for the bill. Who is out of step? My vote goes to vote out every one in the House who voted against it. You determine who is best in the Senate for your philosophy, but I am not going to vote for any Republican. Eight years of running this country into the ground is enough. Enough if enough. Wake up Georgia. The Obama Express has come to town, and now is the time to get on board.

Submitted by R on Sun, 10/05/2008 - 7:04am.

it took courage to stand up and vote for what the American people want and Westmoreland did just that. I was one of those people he mentioned that wrote him to vote against this bill. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson both said they got record number emails and calls as well but they were going forward with a vote in favor of the bill because after all they know what's best for the American people.

I want a congressman that listens to my concerns and who stands up for me. Thank you Representative Westmoreland. I am proud to be in your district.

sniffles5's picture
Submitted by sniffles5 on Sun, 10/05/2008 - 8:05am.

The Washington Post yesterday had an in-depth analysis on this bill and the very strange bedfellows it was creating.

The article focused on the votes of North Carolina's Senator Elizabeth Dole and Georgia's own Saxby Chambliss. Both senators are locked into very very close election races.

Dole, a so-called "moderate", voted AGAINST the bill to shore up her standing with conservatives. Chambliss, a so-called "conservative", voted FOR the bill in an attempt to gain favor with moderates.

They didn't judge the bill on its' merits, but on how their vote would play back home.

Such "leadership"!


fayette77's picture
Submitted by fayette77 on Sun, 10/05/2008 - 6:42am.

Votes against the $700 billion bailout is exactly why I will vote for Westmoreland again. The purpose of the government isn't to save those who are bad with math, but according to the constitution, "...establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity". This money doesn't do anything for the regular voter who is still in jeporady of losing their home or stuggling to make it based on poor financial decision of their past. A free market economy will work it's self out. It may be painful, but wall street won't close and would have been a great teacher for ours and future generations. How do you think our Grandparents got to be so frugal and smart with money? It wasn't reading Dave Ramsey. It was living through the Depression and personally sacrificing for the cause of WWII. On the day the bill was signed with added pork, the market was down again and now we have states (California and Mass) asking the federal government for money and to be treated "like the investment banks" (Cahill). Only now, one week from being out of money are they starting to look at "cuts to programs and operations" to save money. The Democrats from the breeding ground of Massachussets aren't good with money, just like all those that voted "yes" to the $700 billion dollar bill on Friday. Because everyone in Georgia voted against it and Georgia isn't going to the federal government for a handout doesn't mean the GOP in Georgia is out of step. Sometimes following the sheep will lead you right to the slaughterhouse. We should all do our homework and see what is in this "revised" $700 bill. Tax breaks for a company who makes wooden arrows, Hollywood studios to keep low-budget movies in the US, etc. It should make you sick.


Submitted by UrKidding on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 4:13pm.

I posted this article from New York Times before but maybe you didn't see it. Link provided from 1999 article.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260&scp=1&sq=september%201999%20fannie%20mae&st=cse

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

"phenomenal growth in profits"....I'll say it again this is not Rep or Dem but greed. Both sides saw the economy booming and wall street told both parties it was in their best interest to allow it. No one stood up and said the bottom will fall out stop the madness.

Submitted by bam60 on Sat, 10/04/2008 - 10:29am.

Another interesting article, regarding Rep Barney Frank D-MA, being in bed (literally and figuratively) with a fellow directing mortgage activities at Fannie Mae, an agency that Rep Frank had oversight responsibilities for and was pressing for deregulation of (although you wouldn't know this by hearing him speak now).

It seems there are any number of people involved in this whole mess we're in now. Check out this news article link:

Rep Barney Frank and Fannie Mae

muddle's picture
Submitted by muddle on Sat, 10/04/2008 - 10:41am.

Oh, Geez.

I guess I'm the last to know that Frank is gay.

And to learn that he is "involved" with someone with a position at
a place called "Fannie" is disturbing.

If the concerns of this article grow and spread, perhaps we'll be hearing word of "Fanniegate."

Wait. On second thought, please, no.
____________________

"Puddleglum" by Weatherwax (one of the Muddlings).

Jeeves to the Rescue


MainframeComputerGuy's picture
Submitted by MainframeComputerGuy on Sat, 10/04/2008 - 10:44pm.

So you never heard about Frank's young male lover who was running a wh**ehouse out of his DC condo? And this guy wasn't run out of town on a rail, unlike a certain Republican that dominated the network news for months because he sent suggestive emails to a Congressional Page. Maybe you should consider widening your sources of information about what's going on in the world. You might even discover that the Dims have been constipating Congress for years now and are preventing us from doing ANYTHING about our energy crisis. Oh yeah, except the Obamessiah -- he's going to invest billions in wind and solar and create millions of well paying jobs -- probably by having people stand in a line and blow on the sails of his limo.


Submitted by PTC32YEARS on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 3:26pm.

If you would do a little research and stop listening to the media, you would have found that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were forced to lower their standards for mortgages so that those that would never qualify for a mortgage could get one. Forced by what administration???? The Clinton Administration. This started prior to 2000.

Didn't the Obama Express pull out of Georgia already??? I guess you want to live in a Marxist society.

Submitted by jmatute on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 8:26pm.

The Obama office actually moved from Newnan to Fayetteville. It does not appear that there are any McCain campaign offices anywhere near here. Last I checked, Georgia was still up for grabs, and may lean to Obama. That's not exactly what I would call "pulling out". The previous administration, and the current administration did work to make home ownership more available to previously denied applicants, yes, I grant you that. However, it was the greedy crowd on Wall Street that decided to mask them and blend them into obfuscated slime and pawn them off. The greed was allowed to proliferate and grow as attempts to curb the practices were beaten back by free-market opportunists. I want to live in a society where fairness prevails, and is transparent in the conduct of its financial affairs. If it takes oversight and regulation to achieve this, so be it. Those are hardly the tenets of a Marxist system.

MainframeComputerGuy's picture
Submitted by MainframeComputerGuy on Sat, 10/04/2008 - 10:32pm.

Who do you think you're kidding?? He absolutely IS a Marxist, probably downright Communist. "The previous adminisitration, and the current administration did work to make home ownership more available to previously denied applicants." The Community Reinvestment Act, passed in 1977 (who was President then? None other than that anti-American, Jimmah Cahtuh and strengthened by -- who? Why, by Bubba Clinton, that's who!) forced lending institutions to provide loans to people who weren't even made to complete normal loan applications and who lived in places where no one in their right minds would invest! And these loans were then sold, in large part, to the government, in the guise of Fandie MacMay and "regulated" by -- who? The Dimocrap CLOWNS Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd! Run by one of the peeps, Franklin Raines, who gets more than $50 Million by cooking the books to maximize his executive compensation! Who now works for -- who?? Right, Obumbles. And the Lib-tards put up an $800 Billion pork package that's "absolutely necessary" to keep our economy going. Right. Every Dim in DC and every RINO who voted for this bill should be indicted for sedition.

And you're on his train because you don't like who's been running the government for the last 8 years? Well, it's been Pelosi, Reid and the rest of the Dims who have held up everything in the Congress and are preventing us from doing anything sensible about our energy crisis. What planet are you from?


carbonunit52's picture
Submitted by carbonunit52 on Sun, 10/05/2008 - 9:08am.

Hateful and insulting rantings bring nothing to the table. How many of our current 534 online guests do you think are impressed with this posting? Butchering the English language does not help much either. It sounds, you know, kind of goofy.

I liked this article that addresses what needs to be done about the financial mess we are now in: How to Fix the U.S. Financial Crisis

"I can't wait until tomorrow, because I get more lovable every day."


JeffC's picture
Submitted by JeffC on Sun, 10/05/2008 - 12:25pm.

"Hateful and insulting rantings bring nothing to the table."

It brings desperation. Insulting names and ridiculous political commentary make it easier for the few remaining undecided voters to choose sides. They know who they do not want to associate with. The more they scream "Marxist" the easier it is to portray them as fringe lunatics or rabid partisans. You can almost picture them wearing aluminum foil hats to keep out the rays. If you're still undecided is that what you want your side to look like?

McCain's brother Joe made a joke yesterday about Northern Virginia being a "communist country". Today my news bot counted 7321 news mentions about it. He's apologized but the damage is done.

Thanks Joe!


diva's picture
Submitted by diva on Sun, 10/05/2008 - 2:54pm.

If a political adversary is committing political suicide, just stand out of the way and try not to interfere in their task.

Smiling


carbonunit52's picture
Submitted by carbonunit52 on Sun, 10/05/2008 - 3:39pm.

now that the error in my assessment has been brought to my attention, is that yes, there is something being accomplished with rants like that, and I should be grateful for the results, even if I do not appreciate the efforts.

"I can't wait until tomorrow, because I get more lovable every day."


carbonunit52's picture
Submitted by carbonunit52 on Sun, 10/05/2008 - 12:57pm.

I stand corrected. Thank you.

"I can't wait until tomorrow, because I get more lovable every day."


JeffC's picture
Submitted by JeffC on Sun, 10/05/2008 - 1:04pm.

Some of my friends think this is funny; at least judging by my e-mails.

WARNING WARNING WARNING: This link connects you to the Huffington Post:

Sarah Palin Debate Flow Chart


Cyclist's picture
Submitted by Cyclist on Sun, 10/05/2008 - 12:34pm.

I like industrial strength foil the best. Smiling
-------------------------------------------
Caution - The Surgeon General has determined that constant blogging is an addiction that can cause a sedentary life style.


muddle's picture
Submitted by muddle on Sun, 10/05/2008 - 3:00pm.

I assume you know the importance of forming the hats with the shinier side of the foil out. And be sure that the ENTIRE CRANIAL CAVITY is covered.

___________________

"Puddleglum" by Weatherwax (one of the Muddlings).

Jeeves to the Rescue


Submitted by skyspy on Sat, 10/04/2008 - 10:46pm.

for someone who has been to all "57 states" in the U.S.!

Can I use that name in future posts without getting sued for copyright infringement or plagiarism?

Submitted by KS on Sat, 10/04/2008 - 3:50pm.

Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Wall Street, Banks, Domestic and Foreign investors, Fannie May and Freddie Mac, mortgage brokers, real estate agents, builders, contractors, house flippers, companies that wrote loans to illegal immigrants, and those people who took on more loan than they could afford and who could have said, "no". Those of us like myself who pay their bills on time and their taxes now have to support the deadbeats once again. The people have the power to fix this mess by becoming fiscally responsible themselves instead of asking and letting the government take a bigger role in our lives than our nation's founding fathers intended. I am guilty of having taken on a little too much debt myself, but I pay my bills and don't walk away from my obligations. I am advancing my education so that I can earn more and pull myself out of the burden that I alone got myself into. Of course, circumstances beyond our control such as medical bills can put us in a bind, but for the most part bad debt can be avoided. We must work to end this "buy now-pay later" culture that has developed in the US over the past few decades; be realistic about what you can afford and tell the kids "too bad" when they constantly pressure you to buy them things.

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