I can't but have a sense of deja vu when I hear the latest murmurings about the bailout proposal:
First, believe it or not, Democrats are getting ready to cave, again:
Democrats signaled they were considering jettisoning some of their own priorities.
Frank indicated they might ultimately drop a requirement that a portion of any profits from the rescue be funneled to a fund to build housing for low-income people. That mandate, deeply unpopular with Republicans, "is not an essential," Frank said.
Additionally, Obama said earlier in the week he hoped Democrats would not press a proposal giving bankruptcy judges the power to ease mortgage terms for homeowners.
Why the hell should we give an inch on this? This is their president, their deregulation, their mess. Why should we compromise, to help them clean up their shitpile by passing an ultimately deeply unpopular bill, when they've already shown time and time again they will use our cooperation as a way to run against us, blame us for the mess, and leave us holding the bag.
If Pelosi and Frank had any political sense at all, they would tell Boehner and the House Republicans to take it or leave it- or do the Republicans want to be seen as Herbert Hoover's reincarnation, responsible for the mess that follows?
Geez, how many times do the Dems have to get rolled by the Republicans like this before they learn?
Grrrr.
Here's the other little bit of deja vu:
WaMu's chief executive, Alan Fishman,[who] joined the bank only three weeks ago,...received a $7.5m signing-on bonus and could be eligible for $11.6m in severance pay.
Nineteen million dollars for three weeks of watching your new company go down the drain. Nice work, if you can get it.
But if you're struggling to buy or hold on to a home, Republicans say tough luck- not only will we not support it, we demand that any sort of relief for non-millionaires be removed. And the Democrats meekly comply.
Are you mad? Call or fax your Representative, especially if they're a Democrat, and tell them to stand up for us for once.