Redstate

Posted at 10:54pm on Jun. 27, 2008 It's a pity that this didn't make the actual New York Times editorial page...

...but baby steps, I guess.

By Moe Lane

The below is an excerpt from The Board (via Glenn Reynolds), which looks like it's a blog where the NYT's editorial staff can sound off with relative impunity. It's... not too bad, actually. Pretty strongly liberal, but at least this one has decent spelling - and they're willing to say the occasional nice thing about a Republican.

And, shockingly, no Name! That! Party!:

About that Mortgage, Senator . . .
By The Editorial Board

Call it the curse of the Friends of Angelo.

Senators are lining up like lemmings to avoid it. They are suddenly volunteering disclosure of their personal mortgage loan terms to avoid being tainted by the V.I.P. mortgage scandal that has descended on Congress.

[snip]

It turns out that the chieftain of Countrywide — which is smack in the middle of the mortgage mess — extended privileged borrowing status to two Senators, Chris Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, and Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota. Both Senators deny any ethical violations.

Read the whole thing: it's a darn sight more independent-minded than the actual newspaper it's ostensibly attached to, not to mention more interesting. And you get the feeling that whoever wrote this post is perhaps not entirely distraught that the housing bill is being held up right now...

Posted in Chris Dodd | Countrywide | Kent Conrad | Miscellanea | new york times — Comments (0)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 9:48am on Jun. 16, 2008 Time to Call Mitch McConnell

By Erick

Your must read of the morning is this editorial at the Wall Street Journal.

This week, the Senate takes up the Mortgage Bailout Bill.

We have known Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) received preferential treatment from Countrywide Financial.

We now know that the legislation will mostly benefit mortgage lenders like Countrywide Financial.

We now know that the two Senate leaders pushing this legislation, Chris Dodd (D-CN) and Kent Conrad (D-ND), received preferential treatment from Countrywide Financial, in addition to Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

Kent Conrad, on Friday, issued a statement saying he "never met Angelo Mozilo," the CEO of Countrywide Financial. But, the Wall Street Journal reports Senator Conrad now admits he "called Mr. Mozilo and asked for a loan. The result was a discounted loan on his million-dollar beach house and a separate commercial loan of a type that residential lender Countrywide did not even offer to other customers, regardless of the rate."

Call your Senator at (202) 224-3121 and tell him we should not be bailing out mortgagors as payback for Senators.

Call the Republican Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, at (202) 224-2541 and tell him that in light of apparent Democrat indiscretions with Countrywide, he should not agree to limit debate on the mortgage bailout.

Posted in Chris Dodd | Congress | Corrupt Democrat Watch | Kent Conrad | Mitch McConnell | Mortgage Bailout | Nancy Pelosi — Comments (4)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:48am on Jun. 13, 2008 Hey, Senator Obama! I got a couple more candidates for that party trick you do.

You know? The "___ was not the man I knew" game that everybody loves?

By Moe Lane

Looks like you have a couple more volunteers lined up. Courtesy of Conde Nast, who put something together for the weekend just for you:

Countrywide's Many 'Friends'
by Daniel Golden Jun 12 2008

Two U.S. senators, two former Cabinet members, and a former ambassador to the United Nations received loans from Countrywide Financial through a little-known program that waived points, lender fees, and company borrowing rules for prominent people.

Senators Christopher Dodd, Democrat from Connecticut and chairman of the Banking Committee, and Kent Conrad, Democrat from North Dakota[*], chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, refinanced properties through Countrywide’s “V.I.P.” program in 2003 and 2004, according to company documents and emails and a former employee familiar with the loans.

Really, I wouldn't even bring this up if you hadn't so obligingly dumped reluctantly accepted the resignation of James Johnson when it came out that he did the very same thing as two of your very prominent super-delegates. You see, I figure that there has to be a point where even you won't duck and cover whenever another one of your infamous judgment calls goes pear-shaped; two sitting Senators should fit the bill. Even if Chris Dodd is precisely the sort of juiced-in corporate fatcat that you're supposedly against.

Yes, yes, not the Chris Dodd that you knew. It's funny, Senator Obama: all those times that I get told about how Bush was "intellectually incurious" by the very people who are now your most avid supporters, and not once did I twig to the fact that they actually meant it as a compliment.

Go figure.

Moe Lane

Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | Chris Dodd | Corrupt Democrat Watch | Countrywide Financial | Kent Conrad — Comments (14)/ Email this page » / Read More »