Dems Resisted Earlier Efforts by GOP to Prevent Current Mortgage Financial Crisis

Leading Democrats strongly opposed earlier efforts by Republicans to impose stricter oversight on Fannnie Mae and Freddie Mac. They were much more interested in making sure high risk mortgage loans remained available to people who could not afford them.

There is a lot of finger pointing taking place on Capitol Hill and on the campaign trail these days. Both sides want to blame the other for the current mortgage mess. Truth be told, there is enough blame to go around and people from both parties deserve their share. The amazing thing is that some of the ones most loudly blaming the other side are the very ones who most vehemently opposed earlier attempts by Republicans to head off this crisis. The most important question to ask is this. Which candidate or party is best qualified to lead us out of this mess and hopefully avoid a potentially devastating financial collapse? The following video clip shows Democrats defending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as the leaders of these institutions, against Republican concerns about mis-management and risky loan practices. The following exchange took place way back in 2004. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_8YTgkuPRk&feature=related In May of 2006 Senator John McCain made a speech on the floor of the Senate addressing the mortgage crisis and referencing a bill that he co-sponsored titled Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005. In the speech he expresses concerns over the questionable financial reporting practices as the following quote illustrates:

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae's former chief executive officer, OFHEO's report shows that over half of Mr. Raines' compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.

He goes on to express his concern, stating:

These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.

More food for thought is provided by way of the following video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-_HlpZ8azA This mess was a long time in the making and it will be very difficult to fix. It will no doubt be a very bitter pill to swallow. Just be wary of those "leaders" who are quick to blame others for a mess that they themselves did nothing to prevent. Will the solution adhere to the capitalist ideals that built this nation or will it start us down the very slippery slope of socialism?