Barney Frank, Fannie Mae, and a VERY Moronic Electorate

It is primary season as we prepare to head into November's elections, where the Republican party is expected to return to power in varying degrees.  The Tea Party has made some impressive strides and let's face it, some shocking primary victories.  In a large upset, Tea Party-backed candidate Christine O'Donnell whipped a veteran congressman for the Senate nomination in Delaware.  A Tea Party backed gubernatorial candidate also won the race for New York Governor.  Tea Party candidates also secured races in Nevada, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky and Alaska.  While this may come as a surprise to some, what I am about to share with you is even more shocking.  Follow along after the jump.


I am guessing most of you are aware of the housing meltdown in this country.  Millions and millions of jobs have been lost in this industry.  No specialty has been safe as massive layoffs and reductions in staffing has occurred in finance, sales, construction, architecture, planning and development, landscaping, roofing, plumbing, electricity, etc.  Home values have plummeted in many locations across the nation and distressed properties, defined as those at least 90 days behind on their mortgage payments, are as common as a long, protruding line at In-N-Out Burger no matter what time of day it is.  Why is all of this relevant?  One word.  Actually two:  Barney Frank, from here on out known as "the Barney."

The Barney just won his primary in Massachusetts by a grandiose margin of 82% to 18%.  I'm not sure this should come as a surprise as the Barney is a career politician.  By the way, I completely wish for term limits across the board at the Federal level of government, including the Supreme Court Justices, but I digress as that is a debate for another day.  Back to the Barney.  The Barney was first elected to Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District office in 1981.  Now, I do not care that he is openly gay and a staunch supporter for the LGBT community.  But, here is what I do care about:  the Barney became the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee in 2007 after the Democratic Party won a majority in the House. The committee successfully oversees the entire financial services industry, which includes the securities, insurance, banking, and housing industries.  This is absolutely preposterous. 

Now, why is this preposterous you ask? Check out this quote from the Barney in 2005:   

"These two entities—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—are not facing any kind of financial crisis," said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. "The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing."

Um, Huh?  Never mind the fact that the Bush Administration proposed financial overhaul legislation in 2003 as they saw the problem looming on the horizon.  The Barney ignored this along with several other ranking members of the House on the left.  Wait, it gets better.  The Barney has been the recipient of more than $40,000 in donations from Fannie Mae and he has been romantically linked with a Fannie Mae executive in the past.  Does anyone else see the conflict of interest here?

In September 2008, the Barney was asked by John Roberts on CNN "American Morning" about his opposition to reform Fannie and Freddie.  Initially, he indicated that he did not believe they faced any financial strain as evidenced by the quote in the paragraph above.  Instead, in true professional politician form, the Barney blamed the Republican-controlled Congress for their ultimate demise, failing to mention the friendly relationship he had with Fannie Mae and the contributions it had made to his campaign over the years (businessandmedia.org).

In light of this evidence of a self-serving attitude, ignorance, and/or failure to grasp the magnitude of the financial meltdown in the financial services industry as well as the housing industry, the sheeple of Massachusetts either do not care, or they appear to be completely and woefully inept as they are ready to send this buffoon back to office on the taxpayer dime.  And people wonder why the Tea Party is gaining momentum?  Massachusetts has just illustrated "the why" to us all.