Looks like the White House speechwriters are going to burn the midnight oil tonight.... one of the major portions of the SOTU address needs to be trashed.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 23, 2012
STATEMENT FROM ATTORNEY GENERAL TOM MILLER
(CHICAGO, Illinois) State Attorneys General from both parties, along with our federal partners, are today discussing the details of the progress we have made so far in settlement negotiations, including the terms we must still resolve. We have not yet reached an agreement with the nation’s five largest servicers, and we won’t reach a settlement any time this week.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/...
Much like the upended SOPA/PIPA grass roots effort, but with much less notice, it appears that complaints from citizens, organized websites and a handful of progressive lawmakers have succeeded in convincing the Obama Administration that its planned small ball effort at forcing a contrived "50 State AG Settlement" with the mortgage servicers and big banks have failed.
Disclaimer: I am an Obama supporter and campaigner and will do so, however, this one issue is the one that often has me holding my nose. If constructive criticism is warranted, or even outright dismay over certain policies that I don't agree with, I'm not uncomfortable expressing them. Too many banks and Wall Street bigwigs think they are immune from prosecution; if it takes a few professional Attorneys General to indict, so be it. The White House and Eric Holder have failed in this arena, big time, and hopefully it won't bite them in the ass in November. There's still time to make this right with the 99%.
If you've been under a rock today:
http://blogs.wsj.com/...
For quite a while now, liberals have been unhappy with the Obama administration’s approach to the housing crisis. Now they’re getting organized.
The Obama administration came under fire Monday from Democratic lawmakers and liberal groups. They say a forthcoming settlement over alleged foreclosure abuses won’t do enough to punish the banking industry.
Administration officials and state attorneys general have been putting the finishing touches on a settlement with major banks following foreclosure-processing problems that erupted into public view in fall 2010.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Associate U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perrelli were meeting in Chicago on Monday with Democratic attorneys general to review potential settlement terms, according to a spokesman for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who has been leading the talks. The officials were scheduled to hold a separate conference call with Republican attorneys general later in the day.
and this: http://news.firedoglake.com/...
Perhaps Tom Miller, the head of the executive committee negotiating a foreclosure fraud settlement, is feeling a little too much heat today. He just put out this statement on today’s meeting in Chicago (the site of protests):
(CHICAGO, Illinois) State Attorneys General from both parties, along with our federal partners, are today discussing the details of the progress we have made so far in settlement negotiations, including the terms we must still resolve. We have not yet reached an agreement with the nation’s five largest servicers, and we won’t reach a settlement any time this week.
That just seems like an effort to get his critics to stand down. Instead they’ve been increasing their rhetoric. AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka said today “We call on the administration to reject any deal that insulates banks from full responsibility.” Bob Borosage of the Campaign for America’s Future said “This is a fundamental question of justice and democracy. The law is respected only if it is enforced. No one who robbed a bank would be offered immunity, a modest fine and no admission of guilt – before there was an investigation into who stole the money and how much they took.” The co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Keith Ellison and Raul Grijalva, said “It’s past time we stand up to Wall Street and show the American people that no bank executive is above the law.”
