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On the heels of the so called  tidal wave of “change” election of Barack Obama bringing an end to the same old politics the far left wing nutroot blogs have been completely consumed with their self serving, foaming at the keyboard, partisan temper tantrums in their quest to punish Senator Lieberman. And to no avail as usual.

So much for that left wing blog power. Well at least the nutroots are starting to realize one thing… the beltway insiders are not laughing with them…

Daily Kos: Today’s lesson

Today’s lesson
by kos
Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 09:59:53 AM PST

Jane Hamsher:

Asked what it would mean if Lieberman kept his chairmanship, one Senate Democratic aide said bluntly: “The left has been foiled again. They can rant and rage but they still do not put the fear into folks to actually change their votes. Their influence would be in question.”

I hope this puts to rest the notion that this is all some master stroke of kumbayah, of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.

This is about telling you that you mean nothing. That democracy is a nice word, but it should never threaten the entitlement of the most exclusive club in the world.

No matter what Joe Lieberman does, the people who are protecting him hate you much more than they hate him.

There’s that. But there’s also disdain for the American electorate that voted in overwhelming numbers for change from the discredited Bush/McCain/Lieberman policies. But in a city known for tone-deafness, there clearly isn’t a more tone-deaf group than the Senate Dems.

I’m done with Reid as Senate leader.

What a moron Kos is, never one word about what Lieberman has brought to the democrat table, the only thing the nutroots want is the political blood of Joe Lieberman for kicking the crap out if Nutroot Neddy Lamont in 2006. With the election of Barack Obama just like the reelection of Joe Lieberman the nutroots had NOTHING to do with the winning candidate and they can’t face the truth.

Another pure knee-jerk temper tantrum by the nutroots recognized as such by the Democratic leadership.

Another left wing temper tantrum laughed at by the DC Politicians they claim to control. Hee..he..

Sen. Joe Lieberman to keep committee chair despite backing John McCain for president - MassLive.com

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman will keep his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee despite hard feelings over his support for GOP nominee John McCain during the presidential campaign.

The Connecticut independent will lose a panel post on the Environment and Public Works panel as punishment for criticizing Barack Obama this fall.

Lieberman’s colleagues in the Democratic caucus voted 42-13 Tuesday to approve a resolution condemning statements made by Lieberman during the campaign but allowing him to keep the Homeland Security Committee gavel.

Harry Reid makes my blood boil but I give Reid credit where it’s due:

Lieberman Gets Reprieve From Democrats; Keeps Senate Chairmanship | AHN | November 18, 2008

When asked what his message is to Democrats who are still angry at Lieberman, the Democratic leader responded, “I would defy anyone to be more angry than I was… but I also believe that you look at the problems we face as a nation, is this the time we walk out of here saying, ‘Boy did we get even.’?”

The Olbermann protege Rachel Maddow speaks on the Lieberman conundrum.

 Yes the party that lies through its pork stained dentures as it cries for bipartisanship is voting by “secret ballot” on how to punish Senator Joe Lieberman for his support of John McCain.

What are the democrats now the Water Buffalo lodge from the Flintstones?

CQ Politics | Senator Says Secret-Ballot in Private Meeting to Determine Whether Democrats Punish Lieberman

Senate Democrats will vote by secret ballot on Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman ’s fate this week, according to North Dakota Sen. Byron L. Dorgan .

The caucus is due to meet Tuesday to decide whether Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-independent from Connecticut, should be punished for his aggressive support of Sen. John McCain , R-Ariz., for president.

Next Pelosi and gang will be recommending double secret probation for Senator Lieberman.

The ink is barely dry on the bailout funny money the banks received and we have our 1st hearings on the money being misused.

Congress sets hearing on banks’ use of bailout money - Openers - cleveland.com

WASHINGTON — The House Financial Services Committee will conduct hearings on whether banks are misusing federal bailout money on November 12 and 18, Bainbridge Township GOP Rep. Steven LaTourette announced Thursday.

Gee….who would of thought the money would be “misused”? I’m SHOCKED!

Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Serving Ohio’s 14th District - News Room

U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-OH) today announced that the House Committee on Financial Services will hold hearings on November 12th and November 18th into the potential misuse of bailout funds, including the purchase of National City Bank in Cleveland.

LaTourette, a senior member of the panel, spoke to Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) on Monday and urged an investigation after it was revealed that $7.7 billion in federal bailout money was used to help Pittsburgh-based PNC buy National City at a fire sale price. National City had been denied bailout money.

“The government should not be able to use taxpayer money to destroy banks, irreparably damage shareholders and cause the loss of thousands of jobs,” LaTourette said.

House Financial Services Committee

“I am deeply disappointed that a number of financial institutions are distorting the legislation that Congress passed at the President’s request to respond to the credit crisis by making funds available for increased lending. Any use of the these funds for any purpose other than lending—for bonuses, for severance pay, for dividends, for acquisitions of other institutions, etc.– is a violation of the terms of the Act.

Bailout funds being spent in ways Congress never foresaw

“I could say I told you so,” said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, who helped lead a revolt against GOP leaders and sunk the $700 billion plan on its first pass. “It was so open-ended and we put so little accountability into it, they can basically do whatever they want to with the money.”

bailout, congress, economy, crime, barney frank, pnc bank

Uh…Oh…..

Bailout fail!
Share holders bail!

Boehner says Speaker Pelosi’s rant on the floor lost the votes needed. Pelosi is the definition of ignorance and incompetence.

TheHill.com - Republicans fault Pelosi for bailout’s failure

Deputy
Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) held up a copy of Pelosi’s floor
speech at a press conference and said she had “failed to listen and to
lead” on the issue

Pelosi cant keep her mouth shut:

The Republican House leadership blamed Speaker Nancy Pelosi for giving a partisan speech before the voting that alienated House Republicans.

While thanking Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson for negotiating on the bill, Pelosi said that the Democrats had insisted that the bill “protect the American people and Main Street from the meltdown on Wall Street.”

“Pelosi’s hyperpartisan floor speech infuriated a lot of our members and it has torpedoed this bill,” one Republican aide said.

Vote Roll Call

Pelosi and Barney Frank are blaming Republicans yet 95 Democrats voted NO vs 133 Republicans?

Dow plunges 700 as House votes on bailout - Yahoo! News

NEW YORK - The Dow industrials have fallen more than 700 on fears bailout package vote will fail.

Wall Street fears the government’s plan to buy up toxic debt wouldn’t be sufficient to resuscitate nearly frozen credit markets.

Dow plunges 700 as House votes on bailout (AP via Yahoo! News)

Markets slide before crucial US bailout vote (AFP via Yahoo! News)

Bush urges passage of $700B bailout - Bizjournals.com

Fortis admits strategic errors, after Benelux bailout (AFP via Yahoo! News)

Bush confident bailout bill will stabilize economy (AP via Yahoo! News)

Is Bailout Bill Likely To Pass? - NPR

CEO pay takes a hit in bailout plan (USA Today)

Bailout follows the 10 normal principles for how our Government … - Salon

Bank fears slam Wall Street as bailout vote nears (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

House is set to vote today on bailout plan (AP via Yahoo! News)

Does the Bailout Ignore Homeowners, Execs? - ABC News

No love for the bailout (CNN Money)

World stocks slide on bailout doubts (CNN)

US Seals Bailout Deal - Wall Street Journal

On Bailout, Candidates Were Surely Themselves - New York Times

After Bailout, Economy Will Still Be Lousy - U.S. News & World Report

Stocks Plunge on Financial, Bailout Worries - BusinessWeek

Bailout Bill Poses Whipping Challenge for Both Parties (CQPolitics.com via Yahoo! News)

House to vote on $700B bailout - USA Today

Bailout Plan in Hand, House Braces for Tough Vote - New York Times

Technorati Tags: economy, congress, stock market, bailout

The Wall Street Bailout Debacle.
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

SUMMARY OF THE “EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABILIZATION ACT OF 2008″

I. Stabilizing the Economy

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) provides up
to $700 billion to the Secretary of the Treasury to buy mortgages and
other assets that are clogging the balance sheets of financial
institutions and making it difficult for working families, small
businesses, and other companies to access credit, which is vital to a
strong and stable economy. EESA also establishes a program that would
allow companies to insure their troubled assets.

II. Homeownership Preservation

EESA requires the Treasury to modify troubled loans - many the
result of predatory lending practices - wherever possible to help
American families keep their homes. It also directs other federal
agencies to modify loans that they own or control. Finally, it improves
the HOPE for Homeowners program by expanding eligibility and increasing
the tools available to the Department of Housing and Urban Development
to help more families keep their homes.

III. Taxpayer Protection

Taxpayers should not be expected to pay for Wall Street’s mistakes.
The legislation requires companies that sell some of their bad assets
to the government to provide warrants so that taxpayers will benefit
from any future growth these companies may experience as a result of
participation in this program. The legislation also requires the
President to submit legislation that would cover any losses to
taxpayers resulting from this program by charging a small, broad-based
fee on all financial institutions.

IV. No Windfalls for Executives

Executives who made bad decisions should not be allowed to dump
their bad assets on the government, and then walk away with millions of
dollars in bonuses. In order to participate in this program, companies
will lose certain tax benefits and, in some cases, must limit executive
pay. In addition, the bill limits “golden parachutes” and requires that
unearned bonuses be returned.

V. Strong Oversight

Rather than giving the Treasury all the funds at once, the
legislation gives the Treasury $250 billion immediately, then requires
the President to certify that additional funds are needed ($100
billion, then $350 billion subject to Congressional disapproval). The
Treasury must report on the use of the funds and the progress in
addressing the crisis. EESA also establishes an Oversight Board so that
the Treasury cannot act in an arbitrary manner. It also establishes a
special inspector general to protect against waste, fraud and abuse.

Barney Frank lies about where the money is going to go?

House Committee on Finance Services

PDF copy

Technorati Tags: congress, bailout, wall street, bill

I’m not sure what to do, I wish I had a flip chart or something because I never thought this day could come.

I actually agree with a post from King Nutroot Markos at DailyKos on the present financial bailout sham that the congress is about to lay on Americans.

Credit now is and has been for decades a staple in every American business and almost every individual American’s life, it wasn’t always this way and doesn’t have to be. There was a time when people and business owners purchased things only when they had the capital to do so.

Daily Kos: State of the Nation

Bowers says that there’s no crisis. I’m not sure I’m willing to go there yet, but I’m not convinced there is one. What we need to determine the extent of this “crisis”:

1. Transparency. Release the presentation Paulson gave to congressional leaders that supposedly has them all spooked. Give us the data and information, and let outside economists pore over the numbers and reach independent conclusions. The Bushies lie and have zero credibility. We can’t trust anything they say.

2. Timing. Why the sudden rush, when the administration has been working on this plan for months? Seems more than a little suspicious.

3. Solution. We don’t know what the problem is, so we really don’t know if this solution addresses that problem. What we do know is that it’s targeted not just at failing institutions, but any old financial firm on Wall Street that wants a piece of our money. Even those that “are very successful banks and investment houses that have done very well”. Heck, did I say “on Wall Street”? I almost forgot. Any foreign bank can apply!

4. Details. Why $700 billion? Why not start off with, say, $75 billion. Is the emergency so dire that Treasury will spend all $700 billion next week? Doubtful. So put in what would amount to a bridge loan until people have had a chance to full understand the magnitude and severity of the problem. If it’s truly as bad as people say it is, further moneys can be appropriated.

5. Motives. Given that the administration wants to give money to solvent financial institutions, is this just another component of the long-running conservative effort to bankrupt the government to destroy government’s ability to improve people’s lives?

6. Incentives: The administration is really concerned that solvent banks may not take the bailout, so it has to be as condition-free as possible. Why is the administration desperate to force taxpayer funds into these private Wall Street institutions? If they don’t want our money, everyone wins, best of all, the taxpayers.

7. Politics. The American people hate this thing, and those approval numbers are only getting worse. Given all the points listed above, whoever votes for this thing, even an “improved” version, will face a world of hurt this November, and if not this year, in primaries and general elections through 2010.

Technorati Tags: mortgage meltdown, congress, nutroots, aig, fannie, freddie

It looks like the voters may be waking up to the fact the Democrat controlled Congress with lowest approval rating in history is in need of “change”.

Battle for Congress Suddenly Looks Competitive

A potential shift in fortunes for the Republicans in Congress is seen in the latest USA Today/Gallup survey, with the Democrats now leading the Republicans by just 3 percentage points, 48% to 45%, in voters’ “generic ballot” preferences for Congress. This is down from consistent double-digit Democratic leads seen on this measure over the past year.

Technorati Tags: polls, congress, elections, democrats

The miserable failure that is Speaker Nancy Pelosi, leader of the the Congress with the lowest approval ratings in history, calls President Bush a “failure”.

Pelosi: Bush ‘a total failure’ - CNN.com

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called President Bush “a total failure” on Thursday, among the California Democrat’s harshest assessments to date of the president.

The Associated Press: House Speaker Pelosi calls Bush ‘a total failure’

“You know, God bless him, bless his heart, president of the United States, a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people on the economy, on the war, on energy, you name the subject,” Pelosi replied. She then tsk-tsked Bush for “challenging Congress when we are trying to sweep up after his mess over and over and over again.”

Seems to me the country took a sharp turn just after Speaker Pelosi took the gavel.

Oh and how’s that “cleaning up the swamp” that is Capital Hill going for Speaker Pelosi? Not as well as promised in 2006, just like she promised to “lower gas prices”.

So much for Pelosi’s promise to clean up Washington…

Congress Relaxes New Rules On Lobbyist Disclosures - WSJ.com

WASHINGTON — Congress has relaxed rules that would have required public disclosure of contributions and parties paid for by lobbyists, narrowing the scope of new ethics rules intended to draw back the veil on Washington’s influence game.

Technorati Tags: bush, pelosi, congress, gas prices

Congratulations Madam Speaker you are now the leader of the 9% Congress.

Rasmussen Reports™: The most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a presidential election.

The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.

Just think, President Bush’s approval rating is three times higher than that of the Pelosi Congress.

Technorati Tags: polls, congress, pelosi, democrats, rasmussen

Hot Air, Red State notes the despicable Democrat Congressman William Delahunt’s taking pleasure in the fact that Al Qaeda can watch and finger David Addington during a congressional hearing but prominent nutroot John Cole says “what’s the big deal…. they could’ve googled him anyway”.

The clueless left takes exception to criticism of Delahunt and says Delahunt meant nothing so shut up. The spinning tops from the left like John Cole say that it no big deal for a Democrat Congressman to signal his approval because after all you can “Google” picture of our government officials!

John Cole knows better….?

Balloon Juice

They are, apparently, serious. Think about that for a minute.

They are now demanding censure of Delahunt under the laughable premise that Al Qaeda is now going to hunt down David Addington. Never mind that John Yoo, who is just as responsible for much of administration policy, has had his face plastered all over everything for years and has been the target of approximately ZERO assassination attempts. At any rate, I think after they punish Delahunt, I think they should go after some other more high profile sources, who have clearly been posting Addington’s likeness in an attempt to have him offed by evil terrrorists. We can start with the following:

The Associated Press
Wikipedia
US News
Matt Yglesias
MSNBC
The Washington Note

Granted, finding all of those pictures requires a passing familiarity with the internet and “a google,” and these are Republicans at Red State and McCain supporters, so maybe this technology eludes them, too. But if Al Qaeda is watching C-Span as Mr. Addington asserted in one of his dodges during questioning, I am betting they use the intertrons.

It’s not that terrorist would ever initiate or plan such an attack it’s that a Democratic Congressman like William Delahunt would invite one on television during a congressional hearing!

Technorati Tags: congress, terrorism, nutroots, delahunt, addington, john cole