John McCain Claims Responsibility for Bailout's Success
Before the $700 billion bailout plan failed to secure enough votes in the House today, Senator John McCain and members of his campaign were already patting themselves on the back for the GOP candidate's role in its passage. Here's McCain yesterday…
"I've never been afraid of stepping in to solve problems for the American people, and I'm not going to stop now."
And here's advisor Steve Schmidt, also yesterday…
"Sen. McCain knew time was short and he came back, he listened and he helped put together the framework of getting everybody to the table, which was necessary to produce a package to avoid a financial catastrophe for this country."
And here's campaign communications director Jill Hazelbaker just this morning…
"Sen. McCain interrupted his campaign, suspended his campaign activity to come back to Washington to get Republicans around a table," Hazelbaker said. "Without Sen. McCain, House Republicans would not have appointed a negotiator, which would not have moved this bill forward.
"It's really Sen. McCain who got all parties around a table to hammer out a deal that hopefully is in the best interests of the American taxpayer."
Other things McCain might as well go ahead and give himself credit for include The Mets' World Series win, The Love Guru's Oscar sweep and President John McCain's reelection.
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Mavericks don't even pay attention to reality, they're too "independent" for that… (Mental hospitals are filled with "mavericks"–they used to call them "Napoleons.")
HE IS THE REAL MAVERICK. HE DOESN'T LISTEN TO THE OTHERS. HE BREAKS THE RULES. I AM GOING TO SHOW YOU WHY.
http://www.maverick2008.com/
-maverick
Will he also take the credit for the economy finally making it to imagination land? where all of the things you never would've imagined happen?
10 p.m. I just saw an ad on TV where McCain takes credit for solving the financial problem. Doesn't he know it didn't pass? Its really bizarre.
Wow, this fool is really obsessed with trying to defame Mccain. Please tell me where in those quotes there's a "claim of responsibility for the bailout's success"? cause it aint there. I'm not saying this because I support Mccain, I just hate foolish people and their rants.
Oh, and you can blame the Republicans all you want for the current finacial crisis, but keep in mind it was Clinton who singed the bill deregulating wallstreet. Just so you know.
So this Maverick likes to gamble? If he ever comes to my Craps table, I might as well fart on the dice.
hmm, Clinton may have signed the bill but wasn't the bill proposed and passed through a heavily Republican controlled congress where a veto could have been overrided?
The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Texas Republican Phil Gramm, himself collected more than $1.5 million in cash from the three industries during the last five years: $496,610 from the insurance industry, $760,404 from the securities industry and $407,956 from banks.
WSWS : News & Analysis : North America : US Economy
Clinton, Republicans agree to deregulation of US financial system
By Martin McLaughlin
1 November 1999
Use this version to print
An agreement between the Clinton administration and congressional Republicans, reached during all-night negotiations which concluded in the early hours of October 22, sets the stage for passage of the most sweeping banking deregulation bill in American history, lifting virtually all restraints on the operation of the giant monopolies which dominate the financial system.
The proposed Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 would do away with restrictions on the integration of banking, insurance and stock trading imposed by the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, one of the central pillars of Roosevelt's New Deal. Under the old law, banks, brokerages and insurance companies were effectively barred from entering each others' industries, and investment banking and commercial banking were separated.
The certain result of repeal of Glass-Steagall will be a wave of mergers surpassing even the colossal combinations of the past several years. The Wall Street Journal wrote, "With the stroke of the president's pen, investment firms like Merrill Lynch & Co. and banks like Bank of America Corp., are expected to be on the prowl for acquisitions." The financial press predicted that the most likely mergers would come from big banks acquiring insurance companies, with John Hancock, Prudential and The Hartford all expected to be targeted.
Kenneth Guenther, executive vice president of Independent Community Bankers of America, an association of small rural banks which opposed the bill, warned, "This is going to begin a wave of major mergers and acquisitions in the financial-services industry. We're moving to an oligopolistic situation."
One such merger was already carried out well before the passage of the legislation, the $72 billion deal which brought together Citibank, the biggest New York bank, and Travelers Group Inc., the huge insurance and financial services conglomerate, which owns Salomon Smith Barney, a major brokerage. That merger was negotiated despite the fact that the merged company, Citigroup, was in violation of the Glass-Steagall Act, because billionaire Travelers boss Sanford Weill and Citibank CEO John Reed were confident of bipartisan support for repeal of the 60-year-old law.
Campaign of influence-buying
They had good reason, to be sure. The banking, insurance and brokerage industry lobbyists have combined their forces over the last five years to mount the best-financed campaign of influence-buying ever seen in Washington. In 1997 and 1998 alone, the three industries spent over $300 million on the effort: $58 million in campaign contributions to Democratic and Republican candidates, $87 million in "soft money" contributions to the Democratic and Republican parties, and $163 million on lobbying of elected officials.
The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Texas Republican Phil Gramm, himself collected more than $1.5 million in cash from the three industries during the last five years: $496,610 from the insurance industry, $760,404 from the securities industry and $407,956 from banks.
The Clinton White House threatened to veto the bill but eventually the White House caved in to Gramm, accepting his amendments so long as the CRA programs remained formally in place.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/nov1999/bank-n01.shtml
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Wow, this fool is really obsessed with trying to defame Mccain. Please tell me where in those quotes there's a "claim of responsibility for the bailout's success"? cause it aint there. I'm not saying this because I support Mccain, I just hate foolish people and their rants.
Oh, and you can blame the Republicans all you want for the current finacial crisis, but keep in mind it was Clinton who singed the bill deregulating wallstreet. Just so you know.
by saiyanyde September 29th at 11:12PM
http://www.crooks
The www. stands for
WOLVES in WOOL suits in WASHINGTON D.C.
I think McCain believes his own crap.
Heck of a job Johnny!