Bruce Lunsford’s New Ad: After 24 years of Mitch McConnell, isn’t it time for change?
Jim Pence October 7th, 2008
After 24 years of Mitch McConnell, isn’t it time for change?
Senate passed $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill. “The Senate on Wednesday upped pressure on the House to pass a $700 billion rescue for Wall Street by strongly approving a plan that supporters said would avert a potential economic disaster.” [USA Today, “Senate OKs $700B bailout,” 10/1/08 ]
Enquirer: “$700 billion might be only the beginning;” area economists predict price tag as high as $1.5 trillion. “Washington’s $700 billion bailout deal might stem the carnage in financial markets, but local experts disagree if it’s enough to contain the growing credit crisis. Finance experts and economists say some injection of cash into the market is necessary to keep banks lending to businesses and to each other and to stabilize a weak economy… Michael Ferguson, a finance professor at the University of Cincinnati, said Sunday night that authorizing the Treasury Department to purchase troubled assets could be enough to revive the markets. He said just buying some securities might be enough - that act alone could prop up the market value of mortgage-backed debt. ‘They may not have to use the whole amount,’ he said… Steve Wyatt, chairman of the finance department at Miami University, expressed concern federal officials were moving too slowly with too little funding. He thinks authorization to purchase $1.5 trillion of toxic assets wouldn’t be excessive. Congress may be called back to do still another bailout in the coming weeks or months, he predicted.” [Enquirer, “$700B might be only the beginning,” 9/29/08 ]
Herald-Leader: McConnell received $4.3 million from Wall Street. “McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, is a beneficiary this last 20 years of more than $4.3 million in donations from the financial sector, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan watchdog group.” [Herald-Leader, 9/25/08 ]
McConnell voted for the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which removed Depression-era regulations on the financial industry. According to the Washington Post, “the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act aimed to make the country’s financial institutions competitive by removing the Depression-era walls between banking, investment and insurance companies…the legislation also helped pave the way for companies such as AIG and Lehman Brothers to become behemoths laden with bad loans and investments.” David Hawpe from the Courier-Journal wrote that McConnell “voted to deregulate Wall Street banking and investments.” [S. 900, Vote 354, 11/4/99 ; Washington Post, 9/17/08 ; Courier-Journal, 9/28/08 ]
McConnell approved deregulating credit default swaps. McConnell supported the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which “banned regulation of credit default swaps, an insurance-like product bought by financial services companies to cover their risky subprime mortgage investments. American International Group, rescued by the Federal Reserve… is one of the biggest sellers of these swaps.” [H.R. 4577, Voice Vote, 12/15/00 ; Politico, 9/20/08 ]
Associated Press: CEO pay skyrocketing despite economic crisis. “As the American economy slowed to a crawl and stockholders watched their money evaporate, CEO pay still chugged to yet more dizzying heights last year, an Associated Press analysis shows. The AP review of compensation for the heads of companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index finds the median pay package added up to nearly $8.4 million. That’s a gain of about $280,000 from 2006. The 3.5% pay increase for CEOs came even as the economy was choked by a housing market in free fall, layoffs and soaring prices for fuel and food.” [Associated Press, 6/20/08 ]
Financial industry CEO salaries from 2005-2007, according to USA Today:
• Countrywide CEO: “$362 million in salary, bonuses, stock-option gains and perks ranging from country club fees to personal use of corporate aircraft.”
• AIG CEO: “$25.4 million, including $322,000 for private use of corporate aircraft, $153,000 for car and parking, $160,000 for home security and $41,000 for financial planning.”
• Former Lehman CEO: $187 million.
• Merrill Lynch CEO: “$66 million, including $357,000 for car services and personal use of aircraft in 2007.”
• Citigroup CEO: “$42 million, including $180,000 for corporate aircraft, ground transportation and security services.”
• Goldman Sachs CEO: “$76.2 million, including $233,000 for car and driver services and $61,000 for financial and benefits counseling services.” [USA Today, 9/28/08 ]
Associated Press: Bush Administration proposed “radical bailout plan with a jaw-dropping price tag” at taxpayers’ expense. “The Bush administration laid out a radical bailout plan with a jaw-dropping price tag — a takeover of a half-trillion dollars or more in worthless mortgages and other bad debt held by tottering institutions.” [Associated Press, 9/20/08 ]
- 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Bruce Lunsford , Mitch McConnell
- Comments(9)
Here in Warren Cty, the median family income for 2007 was around $52,000. Of course, that means half above that, half below. One would have to wonder WHY Ky citizens would continue to support McConnell, when he has been a BIG part of deregulating the financial markets to benefit the very, very wealthy. McConnell has no true interest in average folks. VOTE McConnell OUT. It is long overdue.
GOP…….the party that wrecked America. McConnnell has been a relief driver for Shrub Bush in this wreck.
Do you have a Private mortgage insurance (PMI) policy? If you do have one your PMI insurer passes their risk to others by bundling 100 policies together and selling them as a credit default swaps (CDS). They do this in order to protect themselves by large payment to mortgage providers such as insurers in the event your home is repossessed. In the mortgage industry this has been the case for decades. If you bought a PMI to protect your lender then you are building the CDS market. To avoid this put at least 20% down on your home or pay what it takes now to get rid of the PMI policy. http://nomedals.blogspot.com
Come on Mitch, a 20% surcharge on a CEO’s bonus is nothing You are lying when you say that you are eliminating bonuses for CEOs that have stolen from the taxpayers.
After Bailout, AIG Execs Head to California Resort
Rescued by Taxpayers, $440,000 for Retreat Including “Pedicures, Manicures”
By BRIAN ROSS and TOM SHINE
October 7, 2008—
Less than a week after the federal government committed $85 billion to bail out AIG, executives of the giant AIG insurance company headed for a week-long retreat at a luxury resort and spa, the St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach, California, Congressional investigators revealed today.
“Rooms at this resort can cost over $1,000 a night,” Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) said this morning as his committee continued its investigation of Wall Street and its CEOs.
AIG documents obtained by Waxman’s investigators show the company paid more than $440,000 for the retreat, including nearly $200,000 for rooms, $150,000 for meals and $23,000 in spa charges.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5973452&page=1
Just received this from kilowat:
by MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
Published: October 3, 2008
The American International Group said on Friday that it had already drawn down $61 billion of the $85 billion emergency bridge loan it received from the Federal Reserve two weeks ago, an announcement that startled credit ratings agencies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/04/business/04insure.html?_r=2&scp=3&sq=AIG&st=cse&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
It will be interesting to see if McConnell is re-elected. It amazes me how Mitch has lasted all these years. Mitch is a Senator whose wife and in-laws worship Communist China. Mitch has continually supported tax and foreign policies that export our livelihood and prosperity. What really it strange is that a lot of people who have recently lost their jobs and houses will STILL vote for Mitch McConnell. Talk about stupidity. If you will remember back in 2004 George Bush declared that not enough minorities and lower income people owned houses. George Bush said that he was going to fix things and he did. The mortgage brokers came out of the woodwork and began misrepresenting loans. People bought houses that they could not afford and add to this George Bush’s and Mitch McConnell’s policies of job exportation which they called “spreading freedom” or “creating trading partners”, the disaster has struck. By the way George Bush is NOT a Democrat and there is no law on the books that forces a bank to loan money. People are out of work and we are giving companies like AIG tax payer’s money so that they can spend $440,000 of taxpayer’s money for a California retreat. The very trashy McConnell wholly supported this $700 Billion bailout. No I am not stupid, I will not vote for a Senator who is in bed with Communist China, one of the most repressive governments on Earth. I will not vote for McCain either. Listen to what McCain says. He will continue to export jobs and start wars in the middle east (Remember the Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran) and that air head, middle east worshiping holy roller that McCain pick as a running mate will support the starting of these wars. No pastor or preacher controls me and I don’t worship the middle east. I don’t care what color Obama is, he is much more educated and in touch with the United States than McCain or McConnell could ever be. Think before you vote.
This is quite a site. As a Mitch supporter, I find the ruthless condemnation this site exhibits to be extremely hilarious. But I mainly wanted to respond to “charles”. After reading your amazingly “insightful” and “intelligent” post, I have just a few comments.
1) Your depiction of Elaine Chao is revolting and blatantly racist. The suggestion of Communist ties only shows your lack of knowledge. Elaine was born in Taiwan in 1953. Her parents left China for Taiwan in 1949 when the Chinese Civil War brought Communists into power. In my personal opinion, leaving a country because of a regime change indicates a general disliking of that regime, not, as you would put it, “getting into bed with Communists.” Kudos for recognizing a Communist government as repressive, though.
2) Yes, George Bush is a Republican. Again, congratulations on really knowing your stuff.
3) The government’s habit of, as you so eloquently put it, “forcing banks to loan money”, actually came about under the Carter Administration and was supported to an even greater extent under the Clinton Administration.
4) Though I am not an ardent McCain supporter, I do currently favor him over Senator Obama. Regardless of this, I find it very disturbing that you felt it necessary to state that you “don’t care what color Obama is”. If you are as intelligent as you are attempting to make yourself appear, race would not even be something you would consider or assume others considered.
5) I do agree with you on one thing…”Think before you vote.” But I have some additional advice.
Think before you post.
Elaine Chao, according to World Net Daily, is on a first name basis with the leaders of Communist China.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=22409
Elaine Chao thinks that American workers have hygiene problems and need anger management classes (see the link below and the July 2007 issue of Parade Magazine).
http://www.jobdestruction.com/NewsArchive/2007-07-02%20Elaine%20Chao%20-%20American%20workers%20stink%20and%20have%20bad%20attitudes.htm
Elaine Chao has said enough. If she doesn’t love her adopted country and her fellow citizens then she should not be serving in the Government. I don’t care what race she is.
I guess that every credit card application that is submitted is accepted - this seems to be what you are saying. Can you give me the United States CFR, which states that ALL banks MUST approve ALL loan applications? I haven’t seen it myself.
A lot of people right here in Kentucky will not vote for Obama because he is black - just ask around - don’t take my word for it.
As for the beliefs of Sarah Palin go to http://www.youtube.com and search for Wasilla Assembly of God. If you think that this “stuff” is the normal worship of God then you don’t believe in the same God I do. Premillennialism has no place in the worship.
I DONOT respect McConnell because he does not support the United States and does not respect the citizens of the United States. Just because I don’t like to see a United States Senator or Labor Secretary bow down to a government that supports democratic centralism and prosecutes free speech does not make me a racist. I would have said the same of the former Soviet Union if it still existed and almost everyone there is Caucasian.
I have tried several times to get an appointment with McConnell and It ain’t gonna happen. Bruce Lunsford has no problems talking with the people of Kentucky and will even participate in a debate. Why not Mitch?
Again, I really would like to see the United States Code of Federal Regulations that require banks to approve all loan applications if it exists.
If you will notice there is NO Internet website http://www.ditchjimky.com or http://www.ditchbunningky.com
Now let me get this straight, If one opposes Communism and the people who support it then that person is a racist. According to the July 2007 issue of Parade Magazine Labor Secretary Elaine Chao who is a naturalized citizen of the United States said that the American worker has hygiene problems and needs anger management courses. Also according World Net Daily posts both Elaine Chao and her father are good friends with the leaders of mainland Communist China. Now if I say anything about the totalitarian government of China or the people that support it that is racism. I wonder why that does hold true for Cuba? Perhaps there are no Senators married to people who support the Communist regime in Cuba. Interesting concept. No one in my family has ever married anyone that is friends with the leader of a Communist country. You might try to ask McConnell about but you might get a blank bug eyed open mouth stare with no answer.