Barney Frank: Thanks For Nothing

In the 2008 presidential debates, Sen. John McCain inexplicably failed to inform the American people that Democrats--including then-Sen. Obama, former Sen. Chris Dodd, and Congressman Barney Frank--blocked any reforms to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the quasi-government agencies that helped bring about the subprime mortgage meltdown. While the economy cratered thanks in part to those corrupt government-sponsored enterprises, Democrats continued to use them as as a massive slush fund.

Frank was the genius that claimed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac "are fundamentally sound, that they are not in danger of going under."

In the recent debates, Herman Cain appropriately remarked that the much ballyhooed Dodd-Frank financial reform statute still does not rein in either of these key agencies. (He also famously quipped that the other two problems with the bill were "Dodd and Frank.")




The former chair of the House Financial Services Committee, in late November Frank announced his retirement from Congress after serving 16 terms in office.

The Waterbury (Conn.) Republican-American summed up Frank's career as follows:

With his fellow Democrat, former Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, Rep. Frank, D-Mass., shoulders much of the blame for today's economic catastrophe and the fiscal crises plaguing governments at all levels. They spent years pushing policies that ultimately required lenders, under the threat of government retribution and political demagoguery, to write mortgages, for borrowers with little or no down payment and no hope of repaying.

To backstop trillions in reckless borrowing, Rep. Frank and then-Sen. Dodd helped establish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as the No. 1 buyer of worthless mortgages and then blocked any number of attempts to reform those government-sponsored enterprises to keep them from failing.

All the while, they combined to rake many tens of thousands in campaign contributions from Fannie and Freddie, according to the Center for Responsive Politic

 Here is, in part, National Review Online's send off for the Congressman:

But though his private life spilled over into his public duties, it is as a champion of a different kind of pay-for-play operation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, that the congressman did the most damage to the country. The government-backed mortgage giants were at the center of the housing bubble and the subsequent financial crisis. Representative Frank was a stalwart defender of the organizations, even after the government uncovered “extensive” fraud at Fannie Mae and found that Freddie Mac had illegally channeled funds to its political benefactors. Again, Representative Frank’s personal life intruded into the story: He was sexually involved with a Fannie Mae executive during a time when he was voting on laws affecting the organization. The final cost of the Fannie/Freddie bailouts will run into the hundreds of billions of dollars, and the real damage that the organizations did to the U.S. economy — and the world economy, for that matter — probably is incalculable.

In response to a financial crisis in which he was a significant figure, Representative Frank helped to craft a financial-reform law that bears his name. The drafting of Dodd-Frank began as a punitive measure, evolved into a dispensary of political favors, and in the end did little or nothing to address the problems that led to the 2008–09 crisis or to prevent similar crises in the future. Which means that we may have Barney Frank partly to thank not only for the last financial crisis but for the next one.

After 32 years in office advocating virtually every half-baked liberal policy, Frank finally got something right. He is apparently supporting the repeal of the Obamacare "death panels" (those same death panels that supposedly didn't exist in the socialized medicine scheme according to all the Palin bashers):

Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Barney Frank announced on [November 29] his support for the repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a significant portion of President Obama’s health care overhaul...IPAB is a 15-member board, appointed by the president, scheduled to convene in 2014. In order to reduce per capita Medicare spending, the board will recommend levels at which Medicare recipients, including seniors, can be reimbursed for health care expenses.

Who or What Derailed the Cain Train?

 [Image Credit: Gage Skidmore]

Have you ever winged it when faced with a tough question in a job interview?

Of course you have. Everyone has.

That doesn't make you a bad person. It is often irrelevant to how well you would perform on the job if offered the position.

So at times, former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain seemed to be improvising during the debates, especially in connection with foreign policy.

That notwithstanding, he seems like a fine man with a glowing business resume--unlike the incumbent who has virtually no resume and zero private-sector job experience--which could be just what the country needs with the economy in the tank.

So it remains to be seen if Mr. Cain was smeared or he was a player/philander while he was on the road for the National Restaurant Association and his wife was back home in Atlanta. Then again, remember that during the Clinton administration all the liberal situational-ethicists insisted that lying about sex was okay.

The most unsettling/disappointing aspect about Cain dropping out of the campaign (technically a suspension of activity) is that Obama operatives have a track record of sabotaging rivals well before any votes take place. This was addressed back in 2008 by the zenpundit blog:

The model for this strategy is the previous Obama senatorial campaign in Illinois, where Obama’s two most formidible, centimillionaire, rivals, Democrat Blair Hull and Republican Jack Ryan were personally destroyed in the primaries when salacious details from their sealed divorce records were mysteriously leaked to the media, which then pressured for their full release, notably in the pages of the Chicago Tribune. Thus, ultimately permitting Obama to run against an out-of-state, clown candidate, religious conservative firebrand Alan Keyes, in the general election.

Was the Cain Train "railroaded"? Time will tell. It's also worth noting that American law makes it very difficult for a public figure to recover damages in court for libel or slander.

Herman Cain Passes Lie Detector Test

In his press conference, Herman Cain expressed willingness to take a lie detector test. A private investigator using voice analysis software that he claims is more accurate than a traditional polygraph says that Cain is innocent of sexual harassment charges:

Gloria Allred's Stimulating Press Conference

Celebrity ambulance chaser Gloria Allred is at it again, with another splashy, trashy press conference (that often lacks a logical follow-up). Most, but not all, of Allred's controversial grandstanding has a political motivation, such as her efforts to undermine Meg Whitman's campaign for California governor. Apart from the latter instance (which was a set up by organized labor bosses and other Democrat operatives), we wonder how these quasi-plaintiffs get connected to Allred so fast, not to mention establishing their "credibility"? Do they just call the main switchboard?

As Michelle Malkin writes, Allred is "scrambling to hop aboard the Cain Train." Allred's comment about a "stimulus package" was funny, but a rush to judgment int his case may be premature, however. For example, reports are surfacing that Herman Cain's accuser hugged him like an old friend or a long-lost relative at a political event last month.

By the way, during the Clinton administration, even though an active civil lawsuit against the-then president was in play, didn't the liberals insist it was okay to lie about sex?

Herman Cain Wins Florida Straw Poll Over Fading Perry

While this pre-primary maneuvering may be tedious and inconsequential in the long run, businessman Herman Cain's upset victory in the Florida straw poll reveals in part how presumed-frontrunner Rick Perry has damaged his chances because of his lackluster articulation skills--unlike the charismatic Mr. Cain, an experienced executive with a solid track record of success in the private sector--in the debates thus far.

Obviously the best debater doesn't make the best president; that's a given. But the American people have already proven in several presidential cycles that they are willing to elect a smooth-talking con man. Leaving aside the merits of thus or that issue, given the bias of the media, the GOP candidate will have no room for error and must be a great communicator when the broader, non-ideological electorate is paying attention during the general election debates in the fall.

Many observers have concluded that the incumbent lacks enthusiasm for the actual work of the presidency, and far prefers golf, partying with celebrities, fundraisers, and reading campaign platitudes off the teleprompter. But his debate skills are also well acknowledged.

The president is probably a lot like some of the guys in our study group during law school. Unlike many students who slogged through the casebooks and the lectures, this group seldom did the reading and their class attendance was spotty. Yet they had a genius for cramming the necessary information right before the final exam (which in law school almost always determines the final course grade) and wound up with As. It wasn't really fair to those that put in the time, but that was the reality.

Regardless of his or her study/preparation habits, the ultimate GOP presidential nominee must be able to "ace the final exam" on national television next fall. A candidate with Kim Delaney's public speaking skills is a sure loser.

Here is Cain speaking about his recovery from cancer in terms the electorate can fundamentally relate to: