See above.
Some of these bloggers are brilliant!

Just an observation.. Neither of the 3 you mentioned are for "totally free" regulations.. just want the Goverment out of the way... Businesses did not cause this mess.. GOVERMENT did. Banks were forced to give "Sub-Prime" loans.. here in Atlanta it was called "The Jeremiah" program.. If you were a "minority" you were automatically approved without having to show income or proof of being able to re-pay the loan. If the Banks refused they were threatened with investigations and people like Chris Dodd and Barney Frank threatened to "de-certify the Banks.. so no Goverment money..
Your Goverment at work...

THOSE THREE DON'T WANT TOTAL DEREGULATION?

No, I suppose only on the poorer people and the unsmart! (like me)

I understand the philosophy of "Let the buyer beware," (you do the latin)but I hope that you can see where it got us today with the financial money handlers and banks?

I know they want such things as regulations on pilot training, but none on the routes or prices. No unions of course, who one must sign a contract with to exist! Plot with other businesses to blackball and not pay high wages so there is nowhere else to go!!!

And of course don't regulate "idiots" on radio!

No matter how many times you and Rush and Sean say it, banks were never forced to give sub-prime loans. Show me the law.

“If you were a "minority" you were automatically approved without having to show income or proof of being able to re-pay the loan.” When loans were approved, it was because banks had the opportunity to immediately sell them to Fannie or Freddie and the banking businesses took advantage of this because of loosened Federal regulations and no oversight.

“If the Banks refused they were threatened with investigations and people like Chris Dodd and Barney Frank threatened to "de-certify the Banks.” Hogwash! Show me one example that actually occurred instead of fantasy examples made up by right wing commentators.

I’m easy to refute here, just show me the law.

Jeff... by the way never said anything about a "law" need to keep it real. You know or a least you should know that influence and pressure are the key componets of deal making in politics.. But if you want some info on how these terrible two did it try this on:
October 13, 2008 Michael J O'Brien --New York writes:
The American people / taxpayer deserve the truth about the sub prime loan fiasco; involvement of Fannie and Freddie and most importantly what roles elected officials played in the sub prime fiasco. President Bush should form a commission outside of Congress to investigate the entire circle of banks, elected officials and their relationship with Fannie and Freddie. This did not happen over night, and Congress failed to provide any over sight of these GSEs. There have been problems with Freddie and Fannie’s books for sometime yet Congress or any government official raised any concerns. Indeed Dodd received a Special mortgage from Country wide, a company that has close ties to Freddie. This is while Barney Frank lived with the architect of the affordable housing product program for Fannie Mae.

Further, the justice department should investigate lenders, banks, elected officials, Fannie and Freddie to see what monies changed hands and who and what are responsible. The American people have $1.25 trillion at stake, and this does not even consider losses in our 401ks and savings. This sub prime fiasco and the Washington D.C beltway are largely responsible for the world’s economic problems. Yet, not one of these liberals know how to accept truth, and responsibility, and this is specifically true about Dodd, Reid, Pelosi and the king of finance himself, Barney Frank. The American people deserve the truth and these folks just will not give it to us. It is indeed understandable why the left are running for cover. No one in Washington is ever the blame; it is just possible that the homeowner who pays his mortgage on time and keeps his books balanced is the culprit.

You know why they won't happen? Because the whole mess fell apart while the Republicans held majorities in the White House and Congress. Blaming the Dems after two whole years in power for problems created by lack of legislation by the Republican Congress and lack of oversight by the Republican administration ain't gonna fly.

"Further, the justice department should investigate lenders, banks, elected officials, Fannie and Freddie..."

Bush's Justice Department? If they should have why didn't they?

Here's how the Fannie and Freddie debacle was reported by the Washington Post
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Caution - The Surgeon General has determined that constant blogging is an addiction that can cause a sedentary life style.

The right wing mantra is that some nefarious law, probably fostered by Democrats, forced banks to make bad loans. No such law exists.

“At Fannie Mae, top executives were told it was necessary to develop "underground" efforts to buy subprime mortgages because of competitive pressures, although there were growing risks and borrowers often didn't understand the terms of the loans, documents show.”

Yes, good old fashioned “competitive pressures”; market forces not any law forcing banks to make sub-prime loans.

Both Freddie and Fannie knew the loans they were buying were crap and did it anyway so that they could bundle them into more exotic credit instruments and sell them on the bond market for greater profits, again not because of any legal mandate.

It was a failure of regulatory oversight coupled with Freddie and Fannie’s malfeasance as well as the willingness of companies like Lehman’s to overlook the fact that the underlying assets were junk that led to the meltdown.

“People familiar with the matter said Freddie was being pushed by advocacy groups…” Well, so what? Advocacy groups push for everything.

The bottom line here is the end argument that the Republicans make. Poor ignorant people with lousy credit who as the article said, “often didn't understand the terms of the loans “, somehow forced or coerced the largest banks and credit companies in the US with their vast array of financial knowledge to somehow make loans against their will and therefore, since it was not their fault there is no reason for further regulation or oversight of the financial institutions.

That is the argument that I am rejecting. Assign blame wherever, there’s more than enough to go around on all sides. However, stronger regulations are a necessity and enforcement and oversight, the part the Bush administration failed to do and Republicans reject as some kind of violation of the laughably called “free market”, is also mandatory.

I have no love for either side. I want to see the F. Mae and Mac people (among others) prosecuted if they broke laws which it seems to me they did.

My.. My how your tone changes when some one shows you the facts...
Fact is this was a Goverment "inspired" screwup and the very people out there now telling us thay are going to fix it.. are the very ones that caused it..

that supposedly changed my tone...

You were the one who wrote, “Businesses did not cause this mess.. GOVERMENT did. Banks were forced to give "Sub-Prime" loans…” Demonstrably untrue, as I have shown. Banks were not forced to give sub-prime loans, they did it for business reasons; exactly the opposite of your argument which, in recognition of my facts, you have changed to being government “inspired” instead of government “caused”.

Perhaps we can agree on a middle ground of government “enabled”.

The people who caused it are leaving in 10 days. The ones who will hopefully fix it will then take over.