Rove falsely asserted that Frank called Bush's Fannie, Freddie reform proposals "inane"
SUMMARY: In his Wall Street Journal column, Karl Rove falsely claimed that Rep. Barney Frank "labeled" President George W. Bush's "proposals" for reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as "inane." In fact, Frank's remark came in response to Bush's assertion that "Congress needs to get [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] reformed" by passing Bush's "robust reform package" before Fannie and Freddie could expand their mortgage portfolios. The New York Times reported that in an interview, Frank "said that the president's comments were 'inane.' 'Tell the Republicans to stop blocking the bill,' Mr. Frank said.''
In a January 8 Wall Street Journal column, Fox News contributor Karl Rove falsely claimed that Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) "labeled" President George W. Bush's "proposals" for reform of the former government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as "inane." Rove's assertion echoed a similar mischaracterization of Frank's comment in a September 12, 2008, Washington Post op-ed by two former members of the Bush administration. In fact, as Frank wrote in a letter to the editor responding to the false claim in the Post op-ed, his "reference to the president's inanity" came in response to Bush's assertion at an August 2007 press conference that "Congress needs to get [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] reformed" by passing Bush's "robust reform package" before the GSEs could expand their mortgage portfolios. In his letter, Frank wrote that he had called that comment "inane" because the House had already "passed a bill giving the Bush administration everything it asked for in increased regulatory powers over Fannie and Freddie," which, according to Frank, Senate Republicans were "blocking."
Rove's column echoes attacks by numerous other media conservatives who have attempted to scapegoat progressives and proponents of expanding affordable housing in the financial crisis. Indeed, the day before the publication of Rove's op-ed, during the January 7 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that Frank "created the problem" of the subprime mortgage crisis.
During his August 9, 2007, press conference, Bush had the following exchange with a reporter:
Q Sir, getting back to the credit crunch caused by defaults in sub-prime mortgages, should Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac be allowed to buy mortgages beyond their current limits, or play any additional role that could help revive mortgage finance?
THE PRESIDENT: As you know, we put up a robust reform package for these two institutions, a reform package that will cause them to focus on their core mission, first and foremost; a reform package that says like other lending institutions, there ought to be regulatory oversight. And therefore, first things first when it comes to those two institutions. Congress needs to get them reformed, get them streamlined, get them focused, and then I will consider other options.
An August 11, 2007, New York Times article reported that in an interview, Frank "said that the president's comments were 'inane.' " The article continued: " 'Tell the Republicans to stop blocking the bill,' Mr. Frank said. If the president 'is saying that "I don't want to support any increase until we pass the reforms," then you pass the bill and the bill takes care of that.' ''
But in the Post op-ed, former director of Bush's National Economic Council Al Hubbard and former Bush communications director Noam Neusner falsely claimed that Frank "said that the president's suggestion for a strong, independent regulator of Fannie and Freddie was 'inane.' " In Frank's letter to the editor, he wrote of that statement, "The truth is exactly the opposite of what they sought to convey":
Al Hubbard and Noam Neusner [op-ed, Sept. 12] quoted me as saying that the president's suggestion for a strong, independent regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was "inane." The truth is exactly the opposite of what they sought to convey.
In May 2007, four months after the Democrats organized in Congress, the House passed a bill giving the Bush administration everything it asked for in increased regulatory powers over Fannie and Freddie. My reference to the president's inanity came in August and referred to his calling on the House to do what we'd already done.
The question at the time was whether or not Fannie and Freddie could take increased action to try to deal with the mortgage crisis. The House voted to significantly increase regulatory oversight of the two entities so that they could increase their activity in a responsible way. That is why after saying the president's comments were "inane," I said "Tell the Republicans to stop blocking the [House-passed] bill" in the Senate.
Republican obstruction ended in July 2008. So after 12 years in which the Republican Congress had not passed a reform bill, the Democratic Congress gave the Bush administration all that it asked for in 19 months. Who blocked reform?
From Rove's January 8 Wall Street Journal column:
But Mr. Dodd wasn't the only Democrat to heap abuse on the Bush reforms. Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts defended Fannie and Freddie as "fundamentally sound" and labeled the president's proposals as "inane." He later voted for the reforms. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York dismissed Mr. Bush's "safety and soundness concerns" as "a straw man." "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," was the helpful advice of both Sen. Thomas Carper of Delaware and Rep. Maxine Waters of California. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York berated a Bush official at a hearing, saying, "I am just pissed off" at the administration for raising the issue.
If that reform didn't get passed because of Republicans, and if Frank wasn't the one who was blocking it, then this proves that this crisis started long before the Democrats took over in 2006 (barely).
Hey! I thought the Republicans were the ones against it, too? So why would Rove care if Frank agreed with them in the first place?
The entire nation is not only aware , but also the recipient of Bush's "robust reform package" and where it got us.
karl, thanks for all you and scooter did to undermine our national security during your time in the white house. you used your security clearance to help [and you were one of novak's confirming sources] give the name of an undercover agent to the media, which reduced our ability to gather covert information and made future contacts in foreign countries reluctant to deal with us since they might be exposed to their own governments and punished. a great service to the country in a very dangerous time we live in.
and naturally, these actions, which would have brought howls for impeachment if they happened in a clinton white house, are just passed off and justified by all the uber-patriots of the right. so hasta la vista as you and that clueless liar named bush that you worked for are finally removed from doing any more damage than you have already done.
BINGO ! George washington would have shot Rove on the spot. Real war was fresh on Washington's resume.
i've always said that a president like ike or truman would have personally taken rove by his collar and thrown him in the street. bush either knew exactly what rove did or he made a deliberate decision not to ask him.
John Adams would have beat him down in the streets no doubt, and if he couldn't Samuel Adams would have backed him up no doubt.
How do these comments get through? Leftist hate mongering plain as day!
and to follow up on rove and the outing of plame and the justification by conservatives. was there any republican in congress that called for bush to fire rove after he helped out an undercover agent? any media conservatives that said, mr. president, you have someone handling classified information that can't be trusted not to reveal it. if there were any such people, i don't recall them. the head of white house security testified under oath before congress that, in spite of bush's claim that he had ordered an internal investigation, no one ever ordered him to conduct such an investigation and one was not done. which proves that bush deliberately did not want to know.
here is the exact quote of the white house chief of security, who only testified, because as usual, congress had to threaten a subpeona: "i have no knowledge of any investigation in my office". that in spite of bush's assertions that he wanted to get to the bottom of the allegations. but the fact that bush is and was a chronic liar is not news.
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/16/white-house-plame-leak/
Barney Frank may not have said it but truer words were never spoken.
Just one nagging question I have -- why isn't Rove in jail?? Guess "contempt of court" doesn't mean jack in Washington. Or should I say it doesn't mean Carl, Harriet, or Josh
Why isn't Bill Ayers in jail or dead? Guilty as sin free as a bird. What a great country..........................I am way more disgusted with this than harmless fuzzball Rove.
Ignored any suppenas lately Karl?
The other thing that needs to be pointed out - as it should be every single time the GOPpers and any other corporate butt-kissers mention Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - is that the claim that the two were in any way responsible for the mortgage crisis is bul - wait, I can't say that here - utter nonsense.
(Sidebar: Here's a clear case where the vulgarity expresses the idea more clearly because it carries the implication of deliberate utter nonsense. Which is certainly the case here.)
The vast majority of the bad mortgages were issued by financial institutions that, unlike FNMA and FHLMC, were not subject to federal regulation. What's more, the two were trailers in the sub-prime market, that is, the market was already established and like good capitalists they feared they were losing business by not getting into that market.
The reason the GOPpers and their fellow travelers keep harping on Fannie and Freddie is that those agencies are associated in the public mind with the government and they want to find a way to blame the crisis on federal assistance to the poor. It is a lie and needs to be challenged as such.
Everything Karl Rove does is false. Liar and criminal.