the real story behind fannie and freddie . . .

[ellenfl]

AP IMPACT: Mortgage firm arranged stealth campaign

By PETE YOST
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Freddie Mac secretly paid a Republican consulting firm $2 million to kill legislation that would have regulated and trimmed the mortgage finance giant and its sister company, Fannie Mae, three years before the government took control to prevent their collapse.

In the cross hairs of the campaign carried out by DCI of Washington were Republican senators and a regulatory overhaul bill sponsored by Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. DCI's chief executive is Doug Goodyear, whom John McCain's campaign later hired to manage the GOP convention in September.

Freddie Mac's payments to DCI began shortly after the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee sent Hagel's bill to the then GOP-run Senate on July 28, 2005. All GOP members of the committee supported it; all Democrats opposed it.

In the midst of DCI's yearlong effort, Hagel and 25 other Republican senators pleaded unsuccessfully with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., to allow a vote.

Must Read

(sorry if this is a dupe)

ellen fl

[mia]

1. What a mess.

The Democratic vote was already guaranteed on this bill. It would have passed, given that the Republicans controlled Congress at that time.

[democracy1st]

2. great post ellen K & R

[bulloney]

3. ...whom John McCain's campaign later hired to manage the GOP convention in September.

How many times have we seen comments posted about projection? McCain and the Republicans accuse Obama of the crap that they're doing. And we heard it a number of times on Fannie and Freddie.

[ellenfl]

4. this totally explains why the republicans could not get

reform passed . . . and then blamed it on the democrats. i was very happy to post this on my other forum for my republicon friends to read.

ellen fl