Limbaugh falsely claimed "not one Republican voted for the TARP bailout"
SUMMARY: Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that "not one Republican voted for the TARP bailout." In fact, many congressional Republicans voted in favor of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which authorized the secretary of the Treasury to create the Troubled Asset Relief Program to provide financial aid to banks and other financial institutions.
During the March 18 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that "[n]ot one Republican voted for this bailout. Remember way back in the fall, not one Republican voted for the TARP [Troubled Asset Relief Program] bailout?" He later repeated the false claim, saying, "Not one Republican voted for it the first time around." In fact, many Republicans in both the House and Senate voted in favor of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which authorized the secretary of the Treasury to create the Troubled Asset Relief Program to provide financial aid to banks and other financial institutions. Indeed, on September 29, 2008, 65 House Republicans voted in favor of H.R. 3997, the original House vehicle for the act. After that legislation failed, on October 1, 2008, 34 Senate Republicans voted for H.R. 1424, the new vehicle for the act, and on October 3, 2008, 91 House Republicans voted for that bill. President Bush, a Republican, subsequently signed it into law.
Additionally, Limbaugh falsely claimed of American International Group's (AIG) employee retention bonuses that "[i]t's in the stimulus package that they get the bonuses." In fact, as Media Matters for America documented, the relevant provision in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act actually restricted the ability of companies receiving funds under the act to award bonuses in the future; it did not create a right for executives at AIG -- or anywhere else -- to receive bonuses.
From the March 18 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:
LIMBAUGH: It's in the stimulus package that they get the bonuses. That's what they're now going to go in and try to change. "AIG stands for Arrogance, Incompetence, and Greed" -- yeah, and you people bailed them out. And let's remember one thing, folks, while we go forward: Not one Republican voted for this bailout. Remember way back in the fall, not one Republican voted for the TARP bailout? And this was why.
And let's never forget what we were told back then: If we didn't do this, the country was finished. If we didn't pass this law and bail out these banks, it was over. We didn't have a day to make this decision. We didn't have a half-day. We didn't have 24 hours. Not one Republican voted for it the first time around. This is why.
Barney Frank sums it up best!
Is There an Antidote to the Republican Amnesia?
Barney does a good job of setting the record straight, repugs have no memory.
No brain, no soul, no case, no clue, no memory.
These slimeballs are just riding the crest of a slump.
Sounds like they want to be the party of Ronald Reagan as he currenly is.
Here's another good post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maciej-ceglowski/andrew-ross-sorkin-explai_b_176572.html
I think that article points out a pervasive mindset that this whole financial crisis has brought to the surface; it is a commonly held view that those who make money by manipulating other people's money are so friggin' brilliant that they are irreplaceable, and should be paid whatever they demand.... they're so much smarter than the rest of us, don't you know, especially us poor schlubs who have to actually work for a living.
That's why it's considered necessary to tax money made by trading money at a lower rate than actual labor... we wouldn't want to scare off these Emperors of Finance with taxes, would we? How could we live without them? Laborers are a dime a dozen, but Wall Street Golden Boys? They're precious.
The sad thing is that the Republican base is consumed by this delusion, even those who work for minimum wage.
yeah, November 2010.
But, but, but, you just don't get it. If you voted for TARP, you can't be a Republican (Oh, well, maybe a "phony" Repubican). Such is the logic (?) of Lumpy.
He was referring to the VERY FIRST VOTE of TARP, which NOT ONE REPUBLICAN VOTED FOR THE TARP!!!!
THIS IS SO FAR OUT OF CONTEXT!!!!!
apparently somebody has low traffic on his pathetic little blog post again.
Sorry Copie, the "votes" you hold in your head don't count.
You and Rush are both wrong.
Both of you are confusing the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (which created the TARP) with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (The "Stimulus Bill").
It was the Stimulus Bill, voted on in January, that yielded zero House Republican votes.
MMFA's data on the first and second votes for the TARP bill is exactly right. 65 House Republicans voted for it the first time around.
copiouspissant gets it wrong yet again.
Regardless of the first vote, the final vote is what maters. However, you and Rush are right. Not one Republican voted for TARP. 34 Senators and 91 Representatives All Republican Did for for the final TARP Bill.
Including Boehner and Cantor. See for yourself
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00213
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll681.xml
"However, you and Rush are right. Not one Republican voted for TARP. "
NOPE. You, Rush and Copious are all WRONG. You're also confusing the TARP with the Stimulus Bill.
It was the Stimulus Bill, voted on in January, that yielded zero House Republican votes.
MMFA's data on the first and second votes for the TARP bill is exactly right. 65 House Republicans voted for the TARP the first time around.
Read the complete post!! I agree with you Pete592. But, Not one Republican voted for TARP, A lot more than just one! In fact 34 of the Senators and 91 of the Representatives that voted for the final TARP bill were Republican.
I guess it was my mistake?
Copious was referring to the "very first vote of TARP," and you said he was right.
Therefore, I thought you were talking about the first vote when you said, "not one Republican voted for TARP."
If you meant, "a lot more than just one," then maybe you should say, "a lot more than just one."
Typically, the phrase "not one" implies "none" or "zero," Which is clearly what Rush and Copious meant. If you're going to make such a play on words, you shouldn't be surprised when someone gets confused.
Wrong again. Check the facts, skippy.
I'm sure Rush's misstatement was an honest mistake that could happen to anyone with a drug-addled brain.
BTW, anyone else get the impression Rush is using...?
Who are you going to believe? Rush or your lying eyes?
-- it did not create a right for executives at AIG -- or anywhere else -- to receive bonuses. -- mmfa
This goes beyond word-smithing...it requires casting a blind eye on their own reporting. From mmfa:
-- The prohibition required under clause (i) shall not be construed to prohibit any bonus payment required to be paid pursuant to a written employment contract executed on or before February 11, 2009, as such valid employment contracts are determined by the Secretary [of the Treasury] or the designee of the Secretary. --
The amendment makes it very clear that AIG had every "right" to pay the bonus money. Only in Alice's Wonderland would the contention that they had no "right" to pay bonuses make any sense.
Their point is that if the Stimulus Bill had said nothing about executive compensation, then the AIG bonuses would have still been given.
The stimulus bill has modest restrictions on new contracts. That clause says that those new restrictions don't apply to existing contracts.
But Timothy Geithner could have told AIG that it won't get one cent more unless all the employees expecting big bucks sign waivers.
Timothy Geithner also could have told AIG that it was letting them fall into bankrupcty, which probably would have meant no bonuses.
No it doesn't. It says the amendment doesn't cover bonuses. There are legal questions surrounding the contract obligated bonuses. The gov't can still ask the execs to voluntarily forgo the bonuses.
Now you're word-smithing the word-smithing.
MMFA is saying that the bill "did not create the right," not that AIG "had no right" to pay bonuses.
MMFA also said that the amendment "restricted the ability of companies receiving funds under the act to award bonuses in the future." That doesn't sound like taking away the right to me.
At the same time, however...
Drugbaugh: "It's in the stimulus package that they get the bonuses."
Based on this quote, I'm not sure how MMFA arrived at Rush meaning that the bill created the right to a bonus.
John McCain, the Repubilcan presidential candidate at the time, voted for the bailout.
And the GOP hypocracy continues.
Flashback: It Was Bush, GOP That Opposed Executive Compensation Caps
Does anyone here have the public record of the vote. I believe Ruplicains not only voted for it but argued for the bail out.
That should be a few Republicains.
Exactly, progressiveright! I remember WATCHING the TARP voting on CSPAN--doesn't anyone else?--and I'm SURE that quite a number of Republicans voted for TARP! Doesn't the public remember Boehner and company begging for a thumbs up on TARP? Paulson on his knees? Bush plugging for TARP's passage? Republicans promising Reid/Pelosi their aye votes, then double-crossing them at the last minute, voting no? All so that they could later claim that they had "never supported the bailout?" Man--it wasn't THAT long ago!
See my replies above to Copious and Mrahen.
Rush is confusing the TARP with the Stimulus Bill.
Come on MMfA...
You know better than this...
Anything less than every single Republican (Senate, House, and Executive) voting YES on any bill.... it is as if NO Republican actually voted for it!
Shesh MMfA... you'd think you would know that by now...
since when is arlen specter not considered a republican.......he is my senator.
I still have yet to see solutions offered by Republicans. Not our fault! Not our fault! doesn't seem to be very helpful. I'm not even counting times when they're delusional and wrong, but Where are THEIR solutions? Where are THEIR visions for the future of this country - other than LOWER TAXES. FREE MARKET! Well, here's your free market, baby - gone wild. What NOW? They offer NOTHING to help the country. It's embarrassing to watch.
I guess, to Limbaugh, those guys aren't Republicans.
They ought to apologize to him.
What does it say to the level of awareness of Limbaugh's audience when he continually obfuscates on these issues? Why are right wing radio listeners so easily confused? But wait.... perhaps they are not. Perhaps it is the radio hosts that are confused. (ie: Hannity constantly barked about the 9000 earmarks in the stimulus bill... when, in fact, it was the omnibus bill and most of the money in the earmarks were going to GOP members)
They do love to rail against the "intellectual elites" often. These are the same guys that have less than stellar educational backgrounds. So, it their low self esteem that drives them to muddy the waters?
More Media Matters lies, and more liberal sheep bobbing their heads to the tune of their master George Soros. They did NOT vote for TARP. Rush is again 100% correct. The bill mmfa is referencing was
H.R.3997
Title: An Act to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax relief and protections for military personnel, and for other purposes.