FactCheck falls down on this by saying that Dems aren't to blame because the bill didn't reach the floor of the Senate. They didn't bother to explain why it didn't reach the floor. I've read that article several times over the last few days and it basically exonerates them because it didn't reach the floor, saying they didn't have the chance to oppose the bill, but fail to explain that it was Democratic opposition that essentially shelved it with Frist knowing it couldn't pass filibuster. This is a common occurrence where the mere threat of one is enough to kill a bill. From things I've read, and I can't confirm it since it came from non-news services, is that the leadership was one vote short of cloture with only four Democrats in support of shutting off debate.
Filibusters aren't the same as they used to be back in the days of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," a wonderful movie, btw. In the old days, an active debate had to actually happen. Senators would stand up and tell stories or read from the phone book just to keep debate going. Now, all you have to do is say there's a filibuster and there is one, while they all sit in their comfortable offices. No actual debate needs to occur. It used to be the case that the requirement for 24-hour real debate would kill a filibuster. Unfortunately, that's not the case today. Several years ago, the GOP tried to change those rules for filibuster to make it easier to break them (back when the controversy was the filibuster of judicial appointments) but couldn't muster the 60 votes necessary to change the rules. Eventually we had the Gang of 14 to get around the matter.
FactCheck failed to dig deep enough, which apparently isn't the first time if Terry's link is any indication as they missed quite a few of Joe Biden's whoppers, especially his total ignorance on the role of the vice presidency. He's been in the Senate for 36 years and doesn't know what the President of the Senate does? And he doesn't know the difference between Article I and Article II of the Constitution? Meanwhile, the newb got it right. How does the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee make the mistake that "France and the US kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon?" Huh? When did that ever happen?
I'm disappointed they didn't dig further, leaving a gaping question that they failed to answer. Why would a bill with majority support with four Republican co-sponsors die in a Senate controlled by Republicans with a 55-45 majority? The fact that they failed to look into it is a wonder. The answer is obvious to anyone who's studied how the Senate works but the fact they didn't say is strange. The fact that the bill was brought up again in 2007 and failed to get a committee vote in a Democratically-controlled Senate should tell you who really stopped the original bill.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also participate in approximately 80% of the mortgages in the country and roughly 40-50% of subprime loans. They essentially encouraged bad loans from lenders with the promise that they'd buy them up and package them into marketable securities. Then they'd resell them to investment banks who trusted the AAA rating they slapped on the securities. It's the fault of the investment banks for not checking further, but if you can't trust a AAA rating, then what can you trust these days?
Alcyone, why would the poor or minorities be blamed?
