Topic: Federal Reserve Bailout
Barr campaign builds on Bailout issue With only one month before Election Day, the Barr campaign has found its wedge issue. by George Dance
(libertarian)
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Since the presidential conventions, the main stream media has imposed its usual cone of silence around third parties (the main reason, I conjecture, that third-party percentages fall so dramatically by Election Day). Libertarian Bob Barr’s campaign, Liberty for America (LFA), is no exception. But with just a month to go until the election, the campaign may have found a wedge issue to break through: the Federal Reserve bailouts.
LFA has campaigned hard on this issue for a month, with increasing press attention and over 1,000 blog reports; the following stories are just some of the highlights. There are signs that they are starting to gain traction with it. Campaign manager Russ Verney reported on Oct. 1: "The media has noticed that Bob Barr is gaining in the polls as the only candidate who is standing up for taxayers in this so-called crisis. Bob told viewers of CNN this morning that crowds on the campaign trail have grown in both size and enthusiasm. Voters are finally getting it right. It is clear that only Bob Barr will bring real change to Washington."
With donations finally topping $1 million in September, LFA has begun buying radio advertising, and has produced a television ad (see below).
Of course more money is always needed – so, as Verney reminds us:
To help Bob Barr continue to wage this battle against bailouts, he needs our support. To keep the campaign on the road and launch additional media efforts, I hope you’ll consider a gift to this campaign today. Any amount will help. To contribute, click here.
"(Russ Verney, "BOTH Obama and McCain agree with Bush and push the bailout," Campaign Updates, Bob Barr 2008, Oct. 1, 2008.) http://campaign.blog.bobbarr2008.com/2008/10/01/both-obama-and-mccain-agree-with-bush-and-push-the-bailout/
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Strict Construct, Sep. 9:
Bob Barr appeared on Neil Cavuto today, criticizing the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
I disagree with him that "at most" the Federal Government should get temporarily involved - they shouldn’t get involved whatsoever. He seems to be trying to appeal to people who think something should be done by the government, while putting the emphasis on an ultimate privatization. Maybe this flies well with some people, but I dunno, it sort of shows part of the reason Barr hasn’t really caught on with people....
That said, his general conclusion is absolutely right, and hits on the points I have been going after. This bailout is no fix, it just hides the symptoms and enables further damage to occur. All bubbles burst, and the higher this one is built up to, the harder it will fall. It’s basic economics, and you aren’t hearing it from Obama or McCain.
Former Congressman and Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr was interviewed on Lou Dobbs’ CNN programme. Topics cover the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac bailouts, the role of the government, Iraq and Afghanistan and of course no appearance on Lou Dobbs would be complete without border security and illegal immigration.
Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr said Americans are growing increasingly disenfranchised with the current administration, and doesn't believe the Democrats will bring change to Washington.
Wall Street is in the midst of its worst session in years -- economists are calling it a global financial crisis. While the federal government has taken significant steps to correct the financial crisis, Barr believes the nation needs less government intervention not more....
He believes past government subsidies, bailouts and poor policy choices are to blame for the nation's current financial crisis.
"We are reaping the results of government efforts over many, many years to manipulate and control the economy. The housing crisis for example is the result in large measure of government policies designed to boost and push people into homes largely that they can't afford," said Barr.
While campaigning in Florida, Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr stopped at UCF on Wednesday to condemn the two-party system and advocate strict capitalism and constitutional adherence.
Easily recognized by his black-rimmed glasses and gray mustache, Barr entered the packed Cape Florida Ballroom of the Student Union to a standing ovation. Twenty minutes late, the candidate wasted no time in digging into the recent government bailouts of Wall Street companies.
Barr railed on U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's proposed $700 billion bailout of the financial industry calling it arrogant, audacious and major enough to make the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and '90s look like, "small potatoes."
Barr noted a provision in the proposal, which he said gives the government the right to spend taxpayer money without any accountability.
"This is as clear an illustration, as stark an example, that illustrates what is wrong with Washington," he said....
"[The dollar] represents the freedom to do with your life what you want," Barr said. "[The tax] represents the taking away by force of your ability to enjoy the fruits of your labor and turn them over to some faceless bureaucrat."
Here is Bob Barr’s appearance on CNN American Morning emphasizing his opposition to the government bailouts. "We don’t need more government!" He says. Well Bob, I agree.
Congress worked through the weekend to secure it, and the $700 billion bailout plan to stop the financial system's downward spiral is ready for a vote.... But some Missourians, like some in congress, are not on board.
A small group of citizens demonstrated their opposition in Springfield Saturday afternoon at the intersection of Campbell and Republic.
They are pro libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr and con massive government bailout.
"It is not the job of the government to run our banks and this will only reward those who have messed up in the banking system. The responses have been very well. I'd say 99% were giving thumbs up and lots of honking," says protester Teddy Fleck.
(Joanna Small, "Congress Puts Final Touches on Bailout; Southwest Missourians Protest") http://www.kspr.com/news/local/29869589.html
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New York Times, Sep. 29:
The House has voted down the bailout bill, to everyone’s surprise.
So much for party discipline. This bill was supported by John McCain and Barack Obama, the presidential candidates who, between them, have the support of nearly every member of the House.
But a majority of the House voted along with Bob Barr, the Libertarian who said, "We need to make Wall Street take the hit for its irresponsible investment decisions," and Ralph Nader, the independent candidate who described the bill as "a bailout for Wall Street crooks."
(Floyd Norris, "September Surprise," New York Times Blogs) http://norris.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/29/september-surprise/
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Politico, Sep. 29:
Today’s bailout vote in the House embarrassed President Bush, the congressional leaders of both parties – and, to some extent, both major-party presidential candidates. Obama and McCain both endorsed the bailout proposal, and its failure to pass the House puts the two men in an awkward position as negotiations start all over again.
There was, however, one presidential "contender" who got on the right side of this issue: former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr. Barr called today’s bill "the bailout from hell" and warned it would make Henry Paulson "an economic dictator, empowered to reengineer the economy as he sees fit." As Obama and McCain carefully parse their language in response to developments on the Hill, Barr has no such burden: he got what he wanted.
("Gameday, Sep. 29: Final Score: Barr!") http://www.politico.com/gameday/0908/gameday09292008.html
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Independent Political Report, Sep. 30:
Are you dumb or a liar or both? Bob Barr DID support the bailout. He just used Orwellian language — something you should appreciate — in stating his support. He said that the government "had to do something" and "doing nothing was not an option."... You can deny the truth all you like. I have little doubt at this point that you are paid shill for Barr.
(G.E. Smith [Jason Seagraves], editor-in-chief, Comment on "Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr has two new books coming out") http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2008/09/libertarian-presidential-candidate-bob-barr-has-two-new-books-coming-out/
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Small Government Times, Oct. 1:
"Few people thought it could be done, but members of Congress listened to the people rather than the establishment to vote down the proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street," notes Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party presidential nominee. "Their courageous action gives us a chance to start over. Our starting point should not be a government bailout. It should be a market work-out," says Barr.
"The bailout package was flawed from front to back, starting with its price tag," Barr explains, noting that a Treasury Department spokesman admitted to Forbes.com that the data was ‘not based on any particular data point.’
"Administration and congressional leaders should announce that the bailout is dead and financial institutions will be responsible for their own mistakes. That may mean takeovers for some, work-outs for others, and bankruptcy for the worst off. Government bailouts don’t eliminate the pain of an economic bust. They only shift who pays," he adds.
Most important, Barr says, "The administration and Congress should get busy addressing the policy mistakes which have gotten us into this mess. We need fraud investigations and prosecutions to police the market. We must privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac so they can no longer be used as political tools to irresponsibly expand mortgage lending. We must adjust accounting rules, like the ‘mark to market’ standard, which have crippled the balance sheets of essentially sound companies."
Instead of being panicked into voting for a bad bill, "legislators should take a deep breath, stay out of the way as the market continues its painful adjustment process, and start fixing the financial problems that government caused over the years. The best person to oversee this process is someone who hasn’t been part of the problem in Washington. Only a vote for Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party will yield the sort of change necessary to get our financial system back in order," Barr says.
Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr said the current financial crisis has breathed life into his Libertarian bid for the presidency because many people think that party's philosophy of less government and free markets is far superior to the $700 billion bailout plan that failed on Monday.
"It's provided me an issue that we have some credibility on," he said Tuesday after one of several campaign stops in Charleston. Barr spoke to the Charleston Rotary Club at lunch, and his remarks largely centered on the historic financial and political events of the week....
Asked what he would do to address the current financial mess, Barr said he would hire a new Treasury secretary more familiar with Main Street, that he would veto any bail-out bill and that he would encourage the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute financiers whose fraudulent dealings led the nation to this point.
Perhaps at long last, some basic understanding of economics is seeping into the Capitol. Dare we hope that some members now understand the fact that Congress can only redistribute, not eliminate, the pain of an economic downturn? At a minimum now, as a result of the House "no" vote, Congress has time to seriously consider alternative strategies and it needs to press its advantage....
Both Congress and the administration should focus on cleaning up the mess, not making it potentially far worse. Federal and state authorities need to begin to aggressively prosecute fraud in private markets; fraud that has resulted in trillions of dollars of grossly and deliberately, if not criminally negligently, overvalued mortgage paper. The goal is not to create scapegoats, but to keep markets clean. At the same time, we need a thorough investigation of the misbehavior of public officials in spurring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for instance, to engage in reckless lending. Many of the politicians leading the attack on Wall Street for its failures worked overtime to create the subprime lending debacle.
Congress should rein in the Federal Reserve System. Over the last decade the Fed has followed an easy money policy designed to spur economic growth. But this encouraged irresponsible lending and inflated property values. Increasing the money supply is a bit like mainlining heroin — it'́s pleasant while yoúre doing it, but it́'s extremely painful when you finally stop. Yet as currently configured, the Fed is neither transparent nor accountable.
Congress must say never again with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which lowered mortgage standards and pushed people into new or larger homes than they could afford. These government-sponsored enterprises must be privatized; there must be no more implicit or explicit public guarantees for mortgage lending.
Finally, we must control federal spending. Where is the $700 billion or more for a bailout supposed to come from, in a government already drowning in deficit spending and a spiraling national debt? Who will bail-out the federal government when investors at home and abroad refuse to buy its paper?
Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president, ... tells Scott Simon he is opposed to what he calls the "bailout from hell."
Instead, Barr says, the government should be prosecuting fraud and looking for private entities to buy up troubled institutions....
He believes the U.S. has no business being in Iraq and would bring the troops home upon assuming office. In Afghanistan, Barr proposes to use the military "much more wisely" and isn't convinced that a massive presence of troops is required....
Who is it that says people should vote for neither Barack Obama nor John McCain? And who is the former House member who says the House sold its soul in voting for the $700-billion bailout of the nation's financial industry? And who's speaking in Chicago tonight?
Bob Barr.
The Libertarian candidate for president and former Republican congressman from Georgia will address the Illinois Libertarian Party Convention in Chicago tonight....
Barr, who left the GOP in dismay, is voicing plenty of that now for the party that first acted to block the federal bailout of the nation's banks and financial institutions in a vote of the House on Monday and then caved to the sweetened offer that leaders presented on Friday, another $100-billion-plus in tax breaks to make the medicine go down.
"It didn't take much to buy a House vote, only about $130 billion in so-called sweeteners," says Barr, calling out the 58 members of Congress who changed their vote from 'no' to 'yes' in support of the bailout bill on Friday. ""So now the House has joined the Senate in taking $700 billion-plus worth of Main Street's money to bail-out Wall Street. Congress spent money it doesn't have to get reluctant members to vote even more money that they don't have."
"The bailout was supposed to pacify the markets, but the stock market dropped after the bill's passage," Barr noted in a statement released by his campaign. "And no wonder; the 2008 federal deficit ran more than $400 billion. Even without the bailout, Washington will run up a half-trillion in red ink in 2009. The national debt already is $9.5 trillion, with the debt ceiling now pushed to $11.3 trillion. Toss on top of that the total unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare, which exceed $100 trillion. Again, when will it end?"
"The bailout will set back the economy's recovery,'' Barr adds. "It tosses good money after bad. It also punishes companies that attempt to work through their problems without taxpayer largess. Now only a fool will take tough steps to clean up his firm's balance sheet.''
Should be a pretty good meeting in Oak Brook tonight.
The phones are ringing off the hook at Barr campaign headquarters right now with people shifting their support to Bob Barr because of McBama's support of the bailout. No matter how the House vote turns out, this is the time for us to be able to connect with a large block of voters on the Internet and let them know that Bob Barr, Libertarian candidate for President, is adamantly opposed to any taxpayer bailout of Wall Street, and he will be on the ballot in Indiana this November. The time for action is NOW!
The Barr Campaign is working on radio and television spots specifically related to the bailout that was just passed by the U.S. House. Given that our phones have been ringing non-stop thanks to angry Americans who have had enough of the two parties, it's clear this is the issue to hammer home until Election Day.
(Timothy J. Maguire, "What madness is this?") http://timothyjmaguire.com/wordpress/?p=287
The views expressed in this
article are those of George Dance only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. George Dance is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
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