Barney Frank's Fannie Mae Love Connection

Media Mum on Barney Frank's Fannie Mae Love Connection
Democratic House Financial Services Committee Chair
promoted GSEs while former 'spouse' was Fannie Mae executive.


Are journalists playing favorites with some of the key political
figures involved with regulatory oversight of U.S. financial markets?

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews launched several vitriolic attacks on the
Republican Party on his Sept. 17, 2008, show, suggesting blame for Wall Street problems should be focused in a partisan way. However, he and other media have failed to thoroughly examine the Democratic side of the blame game.

Prominent Democrats ran Fannie Mae, the same government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) that donated campaign cash to top Democrats. And one of Fannie Mae’s main defenders in the House – Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., a recipient of more than $40,000 in campaign donations from Fannie since 1989 , was once romantically involved with a Fannie Mae executive.

The media coverage of Frank’s coziness with Fannie Mae and his pro-Fannie Mae stances has been lacking. Of the eight appearances Frank made on the three broadcasts networks between Jan. 1, 2008, and Sept. 21, 2008, none of his comments dealt with the potential conflicts of interest. Only six of the appearances dealt with the economy in general and two of those appearances,including an April 6, 2008 appearance on CBS’s “60 Minutes” were about his opposition to a manned mission to Mars.

Frank has argued that family life “should be fair game for campaign discussion,wrote the Associated Press on Sept. 2. The comment was in reference to GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and her pregnant daughter. “They’re the ones that made an issue of her family,” the Massachusetts Democrat said to the AP.

The news media have covered the relationship in the past, but there have been no mentions since 2005, according to Nexis and despite the collapse of Fannie Mae.

The July 3, 1998, Reliable Source column in The Washington Post reported Frank, who is openly gay, had a relationship with Herb Moses, an executive for the now-government controlled Fannie Mae. The column revealed the two had split up at the time but also said Frank was referring to Moses as his “spouse.

Another Washington Post report said Frank called Moses his “lover” and that the two were “still friends” after the breakup.

Frank was and remains a stalwart defender of Fannie Mae, which is now under FBI investigation along with its sister organization Freddie Mac, American International Group Inc. (NYSE:AIG) and Lehman Brothers all recently participants in government bailouts. But Frank has derailed efforts to regulate the institution, as well as denying it posed any financial risk.

Frank’s office has been unresponsive to efforts by the Business & Media Institute to comment on these potential conflicts of interest.

While the relationship reportedly ended 10 years ago, Frank was serving on the House Banking Committee the entire 10 years they were together. The committee is the primary House body which along with the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) has jurisdiction over the government-sponsored enterprises.

He has served on the committee since becoming a congressman in 1981 and became the ranking Democrat on the committee in 2003. He became chairman of the committee, now called the House Financial Services Committee, in 2007.

Moses was the assistant director for product initiatives at Fannie Mae and had been at the forefront of relaxing lending restrictions at the company for rural customers, according to the Feb. 23, 1998, issue of National Mortgage News (NMN).

“Herb Moses, who helped develop many of Fannie Mae’s affordable housing and home improvement lending programs, has left the mortgage industry,” Darryl Hicks wrote for NMN.
Mr. Moses - whose last day was Feb. 13 - spent the past seven years at Fannie Mae,
most recently as director of housing initiatives. Over the course of time, he played an instrumental role in developing the company’s Title One and 203(k) home improvement lending programs.”

Hicks explained in his story how Moses orchestrated a collaborative effort betweenFannie Mae and the Department of Agriculture.

While Moses served at Fannie Mae and was Frank’s partner, Frank was actively working to support GSEs, according to several news outlets.

In 1991, Frank and former Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., lobbied for Fannie to soften rules on multi-family home mortgages although those dwellings showed a default rate twice that of single-family homes, according to the Nov. 22, 1991, Boston Globe.

BusinessWeek reported in its Nov. 14, 1994, issue that Fannie Mae called on Frank to exert his influence against a Housing & Urban Development proposal that would force the GSE to focus on minority and low-income buyers and police bias by lenders regardless of their location. Fannie Mae opposed HUD on the issue because it claimed doing so would “ignore the urban middle class.”

Moses left Fannie in 1998 to start his own pottery business. National Mortgage News called Moses a “mortgage guru” and said he developed “many of Fannie Mae's affordable housing and home improvement lending programs. Moses ended his relationship with Frank just months after he left Fannie.

Even after the relationship ended, however, Frank was a staunch defender of Fannie Mae even as other experts suggested there were serious problems building in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

According to an article by Kathleen Day in the Oct. 8, 2003, Washington Post,
Frank opposed giving the Bush administration the right to approve or
disapprove business activities that “could pose risk to the taxpayers.”
He told the Post he worried the Treasury Department “would sacrifice activities
that are good for consumers in the name of lowering the companies’ market risks.”

Just a month before, Frank had aggressively thwarted reform efforts by the Bush
administration. He told The New York Times on Sept. 11, 2003, Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac’s problems were “exaggerated,” a gross miscalculation some five
years later with costs estimated to be in the hundreds of billions.

Frank has also reaped campaign contribution benefits from Fannie Mae and its counterpart Freddie Mac. According a front page story in the Sept. 19, 2008, Investor’s Business Daily by Terry Jones, Frank has received $40,100 in campaign cash over the past two decades from the GSEs.

Frank is ranked 16th on a list that includes both houses of Congress and fifth among his colleagues in the House. According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics’ OpenSecrets.org, political action committees financed by both Freddie and Fannie have contributed $3,017,797 to members of Congress since 1989. And according to the July 16 issue of Politico, the two entities have spent a whopping $200 million to buy influence – including not only campaign donations to members of Congress, but also presidential campaigns and lobbying efforts.
Frank was asked by CNN’s John Roberts on the Sept. 22, 2008 “American Morning” about this and his opposition to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Originally, he claimed he didn’t think the two GSEs were facing any problems when the issue first surfaced in 2003. He instead blamed the Republican-controlled Congress for their ultimate fall, failing to mention his friendly relationship with Fannie Mae and the contributions it had made to his campaign over the years.

“Yes, I did not think we were facing a crisis in 2003, but that didn't mean we didn't have to have reform,” an animated Frank said when confronted with the question. “Here’s the deal, the Republicans controlled Congress from 1995 through 2006. They did zero to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.”

However, on Sept. 17, 2008, former Bush administration Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove elaborated on the Bush administration’s efforts to curb abuses at the two GSEs in 2003. He told Fox News’ “Hannity & Colmes” that Frank was among the most aggressive opponents of White House attempts to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

“All of this bad stuff on Wall Street happened because people got greedy and the greed started at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” Rove said. “And I know this because five years ago, the administration was alerted by the regulator, James Lockhart, that there was insufficient authority and that these institutions – particularly Fannie – were out of control.”

“And I got to tell you, for five years, I was part of an effort at the White
House to fight this and our biggest opponents on the Hill who blocked this
every step of the way were people like Chris Dodd and Barney Frank.
And Fannie and Freddie are the $200 billion
contagion at the center of this.”

Frank has been quick to blame deregulation for some of the problems in the
financial environment, as he did on Bloomberg television’s Sept. 19 “Political
Capital with Al Hunt.” However, as earmark crusader Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. pointed out – it’s not deregulation, but it was the structure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that had been guarded by Frank and other members of Congress.

“Some people point at deregulation,” Flake said to the Business & Media Institute on Sept. 23. “It’s not deregulation at all. We have for far too long shielded Fannie and Freddie for example, with the implicit and now explicit guarantee.I just found it humorous.

Flake specifically named Frank as one of the members behind
letting allegations of transgressions at the two GSEs for
slipping by without oversight from Congress.

The red flags were raised long before the government bailed out the two GSEs in August 2008. The first egregious scandal involving Fannie Mae occurred in 2004. A 2004 Wall Street Journal editorial was first to point out claims in an OFHEO report that showed accounting malpractices by the GSE.

“For years, mortgage giant Fannie Mae has produced smoothly growing earnings. And for years, observers have wondered how Fannie could manage its inherently risky portfolio without a whiff of volatility, the Oct. 4, 2004, editorial, “annie Mae Enron?” said. Now, thanks to Fannie’s regulator, we know the answer. The company was cooking the books. Big time.

By Jeff Poor
Business / Media Institute
see orginal article at www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080924145932.aspx

Kate Spade shoe sale and handbags

see sku for Kate Spade footwear collections


see more Kate Spade footwear collections


see sku for Kate Spade handbags bags purses collections

wonder how much Senator Chris Dodd profited from the bailout ?

wonder how much Senator Chris Dodd profited from the bailout ?

I thought he got most of his PAC $$ from the banking lobbyists.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee,

Rep Barr, the other white meat outshines obama and mccain on wallstreet bailout

Rep Barr, the other white meat outshines obama and mccain on wallstreet bailout

I can't see a difference between Mccain and Obama on this wall street problem.

If that Paulson is soo smart, why didn't he see this bullshit coming ?

see more on Rep Barr at www.bobbarr2008.com

what the fuck, senate going in the wrong direction with that federal checkbook.

what the fuck, senate going in the wrong direction with that federal checkbook.

how many of those shitheads are up for re election in November

bad deal for taxpayers.


www.mccainalert.com

new web site just say no www.nowallstreetbailout.com

new web site just say no www.nowallstreetbailout.com

Looking for Ken Lays,Enrons gravesite, gotta take a piss !

Looking for Ken Lays,Enrons gravesite, gotta take a piss !

looking for a list of the CEO s "bad boys"

looking for a list of the CEO s "bad boys", golden parachutes, following Ken Lay example

looking for a list of the CEO s "bad boys"

Arizonans Have The Opportunity To Say YES For Marriage

Arizonans Have The Opportunity To Say YES For Marriage


Marriage between one man and one woman. Can it get any simpler than that?
Prop 102 simply secures the definition of marriage through an Arizona
constitutional amendment.

Prop 102 is 20 simple and clear words that define marriage as
the union of one man and one woman.

A YES vote on Prop 102 does one thing and one thing only
defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman in the
Arizona Constitution, the highest law in our state.

One man. One Woman. Prop 102. That's Marriage.
Simple. Clear.

see www.yesformarriage.com if you need any more info.

are those CEO's following the path of Ken Lay when he crashed Enron ?

are those CEO's following the path of Ken Lay when he crashed Enron ?

here has to be some legal against these CEO's, I know KenLay stased his millions

in annualities, (protected against any judgements), prior his death.

I see it it as mismanagement, malpractice and malfiense.

can those CEOs the troubled companies be sued for non-performance and

can those CEOs the troubled companies be sued for non-performance and
malpractice?

instead of walking away with millions.



www.mccainalert.com

Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews demoted, finally

Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews demoted, finally,

About time, I thought their was obvivious, but..........

MSNBC is replacing Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews as co-anchors of political night coverage with David Gregory, and will use the two newsmen as commentators.

Top 10 Bras for Fall at BareNecessities

Top 10 Bras for Fall at BareNecessities.com

special sale from Jos a Bank mens clothing

Jos A Bank’s 1/2 Off Sale Now Thru Sept. 14th. Plus Free 2-day Shipping On Orders Over $175

does Sarah Palin looks like a character from the Laverge and Shirley sit com?

does Sarah Palin looks like a character from the Laverge and Shirley sit com?

and the voice fits too

Monica to make a special appearance at the democratic convention ?

Monica to make a special appearance at the democratic convention ?

or did bill stash her in England ?

similiar deal that the slick John Edwards used with his favorite video taper girlfriend.

Democratic convention sounds like a black panter power rally

Democratic convention sounds like a black panter power rally,

will they scare off the crackers in November?

Lesser or 2 evils: or a new low in American politics?

Lesser or 2 evils: or a new low in American politics?


shitheads in the senate

I am stumped, public opinion of the president is at a new low,
senate and House are also setting new record lows in opinion polls,
why would anyone one run a current member of the Senate as a
potential president?

Both parties just ignore the burden placed on the middle class by the cost of the illegal aliens, who are sucking up social, educational and medical services.

what the piss?

more from dick morris on the presidential race

THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE THAT HASN'T YET STARTED

By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN

This column will be published on FOXNews.com on August 22, 2008.

In following a presidential race, the most important way to understand what is happening is to follow voter responses to open ended questions. Those are questions which ask "What do you like the most about Barack Obama?" and "What do you like the least about Barack Obama." These questions, which let voters tell pollsters what they think in their own words offer the best way to figure out what is really going on.

Fortunately, the Fox News tracking polling for the election has now included these questions and the results offer an excellent insight into the current state of the race.

Oddly for a race that has been going on for two years and holds the nation rapt in attention, the contest is still in a very, very primitive phase. Voters' level of awareness of the issues or of the candidates is quite limited. Neither campaign has done much to project its issues or its message and the attacks on one another, which increasingly dominate the dialogue, show little resonance among most voters.

Overwhelmingly, the thing voters like the most about Obama is that he is new, a fresh face, for change, intelligent, inspiring, a good speaker, outspoken, and charismatic. 57% of all voters use one of these phrases to describe him, including 48% of Republicans and 55% of Independents. But only 13% of all voters cite any specific position of Obama's including his signature opposition to the war in Iraq. Only 2% mentioned the war in citing what they liked about Obama and only 1% cited the economy and jobs. So Obama is still a personality running for office and the voters have yet to identify him with any policy or proposal. And the one identification he used to have -- opposition to the war -- has faded. But Obama has vast potential appeal. Even though the Fox News poll gave him only a three point lead over McCain, four voters in five cite something they like about Obama in open ended questions (including 66% of Republicans and 78% of Independents).

Opposition to Obama is also centered on fears of his youth, inexperience, and lack of qualifications. 31% of all voters, 33% of Independents, and 29% of Democrats cited this concern in open ended questions. But just as Obama's positive ratings do not include much in the way of specific mentions of his issue positions, so his negatives don't either. Only 19% of all voters said they disliked his liberalism, connection with Rev Wright, radicalism, religious views, elitism or even said they disagreed with him about anything. Another 8% disliked his flip flops on issues. =2 0But the potential for Obama to fall apart is also enormous. 78% of all voters, including two-thirds of all Democrats and four-fifths of all independents cited something about Obama that they did not like.

So everybody basically agrees that Obama is a new fresh face who advocates change but is too inexperienced and lacks some or all of the qualifications needed for the job. The question of which part of this statement outweighs the other is the issue on which the election hinges.

But just as Obama has not succeeded in identifying himself with any specific issue, idea, or proposal (and voters might be asking, as they did of Gary Hart, "where's the beef?) so McCain and the Republicans have failed to link him to extreme liberalism, radicalism, Rev Wright or any of the identifications they have been trying to pin on the Democrat. Both campaigns have almost totally failed to move past square one on Obama.

For McCain, it's pretty much the same story. 33% of all voters see him as experienced and qualified (including 26% of Democrats and 34% of Independents). 10% like his military record. 7% praise his honesty. And 9% say they approve of how he would handle foreign policy.

But McCain's negatives are the flip side of his positives. 24% of all voters and 26% of Republicans and 20% of independents say he is too old. And another 23% feel he is too conservative, too close to Bush, or too supportive of the war. 4% criticize his flip flops.

So Americans of all parties have reached a consensus that Obama is young, charismatic, intelligent, articulate, and in favor of change but also that he is too inexperienced, possibly too liberal, and less qualified than they would like

And they also have come to a common agreement, also cutting across party lines, that McCain is experienced, able, an heroic veteran, and honest but also that he is too old, possibly too conservative, and perhaps too pro-war.

Just as 80% of all voters find something to praise in Obama and 78% find something to criticize, so 80% have something good to say about McCain and 82% have some criticism to make.

This broad agreement on the pros and cons of each candidate and the willingness of even their partisans to consider their negatives and of their enemies to concede their positives is highly unusual and underscores why the race is so close.

But it also suggests that it is very volatile. Either campaign can paint the other with issue negatives if they start going about it effectively.

It is a glaring omission that only 1% cite Obama's tax positions as a negative and that nobody mentioned his opposition to offshore oil drilling.

Likewise, how odd that only 15% cited specifically McCain's support for the war and his connection with Bush as a negative.

On the other hand, neither Obama's health care nor McCain's energy proposals have registered with the voters and few can name any specific issue position for either man of which they approve.

For a campaign that has been going on for two years, how odd that voter opinions of the candidates are still so unformed and general.

Go To DickMorris.com to read all of Dick's columns!

LA welcomes illegals? cute

LA welcomes illegals?