Kansas Senator, Pat Roberts, is in for a tough fight to hold on to his seat this year and his rhetoric and lack of interest in helping the hundreds of thousands of American families caught up in the foreclosure crisis isn’t going to win many hearts and minds in his home state:
The odds of Congress passing a big housing-rescue package depend largely on vulnerable Republican senators such as New Hampshire’s John Sununu.
“There’s a feeling among some that, ‘I read the fine print, and I didn’t take on more than I could afford,” says Sen. Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican who is up for re-election this year. The suggestion is that he’s reluctant to do something his constituents would see as unfairly helping people who were irresponsible. Sen. Roberts says he worries about the “unintended consequences” of Congress acting rashly, and he wants to put the FHA proposal “on the back burner” until he has a chance to study it further. Read on…
As with Sen John McCain and the rest of the GOP, Roberts is woefully out of touch with reality and the plight of the average American. His opponent, Democrat Jim Slattery, is going to give him all he can handle. Howard Dean’s 50 state strategy is still in play and this year looks good for Democrats, even in traditional Republican strongholds. If you would like to show some love to Slattery and help rid the U.S. Senate of Mr. Memory Pills, you can find out more about him and donate here. Rep Nancy Boyda, who has worked hard and done a great job in the House, also faces a challenge from the right wing sludge machine and Jim Ryun, the hard core neocon she defeated back in 2006. You can donate to her campaign here.
Filed Under: Campaigns/Elections, Economy, Election 08, GOP, Government Policy, The Senate, Wingnuts
Tags: WSJ
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“Until he has a chance to study it further”, eh? And I suppose the studying has also been moved to the back burner.
We must RUSH to help our dishonest financial institutions to prevent them from suffering the pangs of loss due to the harsh reality of the free market.
Normal Americans can go Cheney themselves.
This message is a paraphrase of the GOP position on economic equality.
well….hang on here…while I would certainly agree that Pat Roberts should go, I will agree with him on this point. I’m debt free. I didn’t take on an unholy mortgage. I don’t have to drive the latest german sports car. I didn’t buy a vacation home. I played it safe.
Why should I bail out someone that knew full well that they were getting in way over their head?
He’s probably supporting the gas tax holiday for all those people who bought a Hummer.
If the people of his district STILL vote for him, then they are neanderthals who belong on the bottom of the economic rung. Remember, the Lord helps them who help themselves. If they refuse to vote him out, I have no sympathy.
there is only one GOD for the gop
CORPORATION. all others are
fodder to support them. ks sen pat roberts is
a fU@king bastard to the fascist elite gop.
no matter how depressed the country and American
people are and becoming, he must continue
the abject greed of his gop party of reichwing fascists.
Oh please Drew. Go troll somewhere else. Bush dismantled all the protections Clinton put in place to help the average Joe. I bet you think the 18 cent Tax holiday is a great idea too.
Drew @ 3:
My husband and I are in the same place you are, no debt. But the govt bailed out a big mortgage institution at the blink of an eye. That was our money they used. Some people were robbed in this mortgage mess while others were greedy. I have no problem helping the people who were robbed and I also want laws enforced so this sort of thing cannot happen again.
Middle America! Rise up! Vote for ANOTHER four years of Republican rule!
The liberals are destroying America.
We don’t need employer or government funded healthcare! We don’t need unemployment insurance! We don’t need Social Security! They are only a drain on our great industries! We must eliminate them. Only then can you keep your money and you will be FREE!!
Gawwwd Bless A…Merrrr..I..Caaaa…Laaaaand….that I loooooooove…..
Yes, America. Fall for this bullshit AGAIN. You’ll get everything you have coming to you.
In Zen they call it “frost over snow”, or “legs on a snake”; in western parlance it is “pulling oneself up by one’s own bootstraps”; try that sometime–it’s impossible (but, then, a mighty effort to do so can be illuminating if self-discovery, rather than enhanced personal effectiveness and power, is the goal).
If people were were swindled, why not a legal action instead of a demand of sacrifice?
Drew @ 3:
i commend your stable position in life. so, why do you object to this?
you already fully support welfare for the massively profitable
corporations. or did you not know this?
Drew @ 3:
Exactly Drew. And why should I help finance roads you drive on if your area can’t afford to build them outright? And why should I help with your police and firefighter costs? When you walk around in public, you should know you may be a victim of crime. Or when you move into a domicile, you should know it might catch on fire.
There was a story on our local news here in Fla. about a young couple, they had two kids and a big beautiful home plus two nice newer cars. They decided to buy two condos at the top of the housing boom. They bought them to flip. Of course the bubble popped and they were stuck in a world of debt. They couldn’t sell the condos for what they paid for them and took a hell of a hit making their own home payments plus trying to pay for the empty condos. They are about to lose everything and the wife whined that they made the decision to buy the condos and flip them so they could one day afford to send their kids to college.
If they wanted to be sure their kids could afford college there were much wiser ways to go about it. They saw a chance and became greedy.
I have no sympathy for this couple and in my opinion they do not deserve a bail out.
Drew @ 3:
Why did you bail out Bear Stearns?
A lot of people were swindled and the perps need to be prosecuted. However that doesn’t mean that the government should just throw money at the problem. That will only lead to more corruption and waste.
I was practically harassed by a mortgage lender a few years ago to sign up with his firm. I’m glad I didn’t, but it only makes me feel sick to think that people will be able to keep their overpriced McMansions when I deferred buying a home. While I’m certainly voting democrat in the next election I hope they don’t fall into the bad habits that made “liberal” a bad word.
miss_kitty @ 13:
You’re confusion the issue, Drew isn’t complaining about taxes. He’s just observing that it’s not fair for people to get free McMansions from the government. (Don’t forget that the rich will also benefit from the “bailout”.)
As long as mortgage people work on commission they will swindle, lie and cheat to “make their numbers” in order to feed their need for greed.
I worked in that industry for 15 years and finally moved on after working for two companies who would have sold their own mothers a libor arm if it meant putting money in their own pockets (that is as long as their mother wasn’t black.) Yes, companies “redline” and if you’re not white and middle class they will dump you into the subprime soup cause that’s where the money is.
People who sell shoes one day can sell you a mortgage the next and as long as they make their sales quotas, they’ll have a job. Another fine kettle of fish brought to you by de-regulation.
I have to agree with Roberts.
People who took out HELOCs should have thought about what they were doing, money is not free.
People who were so greedy they bought homes to flip and then got caught when prices fell deserve what they got.
People who were too stupid to see the mania of the largest housing bubble in the history of the world deserve having their ass handed to them on a platter.
People who were too stupid to not sell to some other fool when prices were near the top and are not now renting deserve everything they have coming to them.
I can understand why some people would be resentful. If a family has been working hard and making their mortgage payments for say twenty years on a modest house, and then a large new home is built next door and the owner gets bailed out of his mortgage payments because he was fooled into a bad loan, that would anger the family who have worked long and hard for what they have.
Drew @ 3:
Great. Another self indulged loser with no point using other people’s real plight to promote their own singular “success”.
BTW, Countrywide has been lowered to junk status after predatory lending practices and illegal methods (like borrowers being told to lie about their income). And they’re in trouble for preying on their customers who are headed toward bnky
Lawmakers target mortgage lenders
Senate subcommittee investigates possible abuse of the bankruptcy code by mortgage lenders.
Yes, by all mean Senator Roberts, let’s put the FHA proposal “on the back burner” until
you have a chance to study it furtherafter the coming elections. Yeah, that’s the ticket.The predators should be forced to pay back what was illicit, use the money to secure reputable loans for people who were openly defrauded, and to hell with the bankers - they got what they deserved. Unfortunately, their losses are passed on to you. Every Time.
“Sen. Roberts says he worries about the “unintended consequences” of Congress acting rashly, and he wants to put the FHA proposal “on the back burner” until he has a chance to study it further…”
How quickly did this sonofabitch vote for the ‘Patriot’ Act, and what sort of studying of it did he do?
Defending Drew
Drew is merely pointing out that many “speculators” jumped into an over-inflated market, both corporate and individual, hoping to get rich quick. Others grabbed at “0% down” mortgages, ignored reading their contracts and took variable rates, instead of being prudent and savvy with their investing. As a far-left liberal who also played it safe and continued renting as prices skyrocketed here in California, I’m not thrilled at the prospect of bailing out either side of this fiasco. Sellers or buyers. Shame on the lot of them. If only there was a real free market to correct itself, but morons on both sides of the political spectrum won’t ever let that happen, especially when they’re pandering for votes. Can you spell R-E-G-U-L-A-T-I-O-N?
pissed off patricia @ 14:
I’m with you on this one. But since there appears to be no oversight or regulation of the banking industry there are many other good intentioned home buyers out there who were sold a bill of goods. Stupidity on one side, out and out greed on the other.
pissed off patricia @ 20:
True. But a couple of points:
1. Your hypothetical family would see the value of their own hard-earned property go down if they were suddenly surrounded by foreclosures, as is happening in some neighborhoods.
2. As I understand the relief bill, the government isn’t going to be making anybody’s mortgage payments. The loans will simply be restructured. People will still have to pay their mortgages.
I don’t know about anyone else, but my husband and I had to jump through hoops in order to buy our house last year.
We had to provide copies of checking and savings statements, check stubs from both employers, even our 2006 tax return. How is it that people were allowed to buy homes without providing proof of income?
RLeeds @ 26:
If that’s the case they should wait and see what the legislation says. I think we all can agree that people that are buying properties and flipping them should not be bailed out. That same homeowner might need some help keeping their own home if it was bought legitimately. I don’t think the senate is interested in putting speculators in the same status as the average homeowner.
Ron @ 15:
Like we had a choice, right Ron? Using your logic - why do you support the Iraq war?
Good - I’m glad he’s taking a good look at this. Many of these housing ‘victims’ used their houses as ATM’s buying boats, vacations, clothing, additional houses, etc. thereby driving up the housing prices until they were completely beyond the reach of people with normal means and savings plans.
Dr. Acula @ 31:
I didn’t EVER!
Ron @ 33:
EXACTLY my point Ron. Drew didn’t “bail out Bear Sterns” either.
first, none of this shit would have happened had not that damn fool w invaded iraq and caused the price of gas to triple. how many foreclosures were there before the iraq invasion? how many foreclosures were there when gas was
$1.19/gallon?
second,
does anyone know the specifics of this bill barney frank has introduced to allow some odd billions of dollars to be made available to fund fha loans to help out homeowners facing foreclosure? as i understand, there will be no ltv (loan to value) restrictions and no credit score or payment history restrictions to qualify for this loan. a borrower must only qualify on ability to pay (debt to income), as i understand. if anyone knows the specifics of this bill, please post where to find this info. if what i understand is true, then this bill would go a long way to solving one of americas greatest problems. then of course, we can move on to getting the troops out of iraq and then even solve the rest of this countrys problems. wow, now i see why the damn republican’t crooks will not support this bill.
RLeeds @ 26:
If McInsane wins…not only won’t we have regulation…we won’t even have a President that is reguLAR.
Dr. Acula @ 34:
No but I don’t see him objecting to it.
Dr. Acula @ 34:
Bear Stearns is a PUBLIC bailout of a private corporation…same as the Feds bailing out Chrysler. So. Yes…he did. We all did. I don’t remember ever signing off on that.
“I didn’t borrow more than I could afford”.
Obviously he hasn’t look at America’s balance sheet after the Republicans got nailed in 2006.
In God’s name, where do all you housing slaves expect the Federal Government
to get the money to bail you out?
That’s a simple question.
You cannot reply, can you?
We are 9 trillion dollars in debt. We are in the midst of 2 wars.
And YOU want money? LOL.
How stupid are you?
You bet. You lost. Grow the fuck up.
mr bigstuff @ 35:
A voice of reason that some of the visitors here missed.
Of course this is on the back-burner. Roberts is VERY busy with phase 2 of his 9-11 in