Obama Finance Chair Linked To Subprime Industry

Barack Obama has slammed the banking industry for its predatory use of sub-prime mortgages, which are pushing millions of American homeowners toward foreclosure. But his campaign's Finance Chair, Penny Pritzker, owned a failed Chicago thrift that helped pioneer sub-prime financial instruments and faced accusations of abuse.

One might wonder why Hillary Clinton's campaign hasn't jumped on this issue. Maybe it's because Penny's little brother, J.B. Pritzker, is a mover and shaker in the Clinton campaign.

In May of 2007, Jay Robert, aka, (J.B.) Pritzker, threw his support behind Hillary Clinton, representing a coup for her campaign by wresting the billionaire out of Obama's home town of Chicago, and better still, the brother of Obama's Campaign Finance Chair.

J.B. Pritzker announced he would head a new grassroots organization called Citizens for Hillary Clinton. Pritzker told reporters at the time, the new organization would go into states "where we haven't fully organized" and seek out campaign supporters as well as raise funds.

Apparently the Pritzkers will be sitting at the head table at the Inaugural Ball if either Democrat wins.

Read the article here.

Comments

[denver]

I dont want my above comment posted taken out of context I am now a Barack supporter I was a Hillary supporter but the writing is on the wall and I am a democrat who wants to win the white house so I believed it was time to back the future nominee.I still have great respect for Hillary and fell she has made history she has laid ground owrk for future women candidates and made it further than any women in history.I believe she can have a long and respectful career in the senate and life will go on she is a fierce fighter and very competitive.And to all the Hillary haters when she does pull out it will be eith grace and rousing support for Barack she won turn her back on her party or the nominee she is a life long democrat and lifelong fighter for democratic believes.And dont even bring up the college goldwater bullshit.In my previous post I was just playing devils advocate about the mudd that the noe-cons will and are now slinging at Barack.I wont stand for it and will fight for Barack every day in my state Colorado.The dems can be very proud of the exciting primary we were all apart of,it is now time to move to the general with Barack and get the rest of the countrty behind him.He will make a awsome awsome president!!!!!! I cant wait for his nominating speech,if it is anything like the speech he gave in 04 at the convention we are in for a treat

[biglover]

I agree with Denver also.

[IMustKnow]

Yes, speechifying is what Obama does best. You forgot to post he will be a bitchen president, totally awesome and tubular.

[CraigMM]

The 90's were the worst decade of American history? Uhhh....did you get your research from Sean Hannity? The Clinton presidnecy saw the creation of 26 million jobs, the deficit exacerbated by 12 years of Republicans was turned into a surplus, the dollar was incredibly strong, inflation was low, the middle class grew at a record pace, the number of people living below the poverty line went down at a better rate than in decades and the rest of the world emulated American and it's prosperity and the leadership of Bill Clinton. Support BO all you want, but saying the 90's were the worst decade in American history just makes you sound stupid and uninformed. If the next administration is even 80% as successful for America as Bill Clinton's was, we will be in very good shape.

[lungwort]

Yeah that dot-com boom really made it look easy for Clinton didn't it. You lefties
always seem to leave that little nugget out every time you mention how rubust the
Clinton years were.

[Researchguy66]

Exactly, the same thing happened with Bush's, ummm, ummm, tax-cut boom? I mean the economy did expand beyond belief under Bush didn't it? All those budget surpluses should be piling up by now...

Oh, right, forgot my irrational Obama-booster persona...sorry

[gornackguy]

I recall the Clinton 90's as something most people call "Peace & Prosperity". Not too many other Presidents can say that. Perfect, it was not: Defense of Marriage Act, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, etc. But compared to every other Presidency in the last 50 years? The Clinton times were the best.

[ornery]

Not to mention NAFTA, Ruanda, Welfare "reform", ADEPA, "the era of big government is over", "Health Care Reform--Not!", and of course Ken Starr.

BillyC was one lucky sonofagun, though. The Sovietskys collapsed by 1990, so he got to declare a "peace dividend" on investments he had nothing to do with.

As opposed to the idiot in office now who's pounding sand at the rate of $1.5 billion a week.

That's a large part, most, of the difference.

But you are right to credit Billy in a Pickwickian sense: his sexual exploints sufficiently turned off a number of voters so that Idiot Boy could be elected instead of Gore.

And Idiot Boy has sure made Billy look good by comparison.

[denver]

I think people are off there rocker to blame Hillary for everthing.She did not mock hope and wanting to change things for the good she mocked Baracks delivery of that message and that is called competing against your oppent,you know some of you Barcak supporters who think there is this force shield around him and he sits on an ivory tower are in for a huge reality check when the general election rolls on and the republicans repeat and repeat attacks on Barack.They wont care if they are hurting your fellings .They wont care if it offends the Obama's they wont care if you dont like it they will be focusing on the 100 plus million voters that tune at the connentions and there after,they will wnat there ear.that is why they are planting the seeds now with his middle name and calling him a willy nilly liberal they are being nice right now you brace your selfs and put some depends on and vbe ready to soil yourselfs when shit hits the fan.

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

aww, St Obama is being touched.

[CraigMM]

See, this is what really turns people off to BO and his supporters. A person in his campaign has a questionable background and it could hurt BO. Then the BO supporters come out saying that it's HRC's fault and she should drop out....what? She has 10 million votes and has been hammered mercilessly by the MSM and blogs (and especially liberal sites like HuffPo, Salon, etc). That is ridiculously unfair treatment of a lifelong Democrat and someone who has had such solid support in the primaries. Before the BO people try to shoot her down (yet again / unfairly), she has got 10 million votes and he cannot get the number of pledge delegates necessary, so they have BOTH been great candidates. It is about time HRC was treated appropriately. If a BO supporter would have hammered HRC over this story, then you cannot defend BO about the same story. They do that over at Foxews, not in the democratic party.

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

aww, St Obama is being attacked unfairly booohoooo!

[EinChicago]

Ummmm. Let's not also forget Penny pritzker is the CEO of TransUnion, one of the credit reporting agencies. They're as much to blame as the lending company.

[Nardwilly]

Type your comment here.

[SamanthaJaneSalem]

Rachel Maddow is right-- this Democratic primary has become depressing. All that energy, that enthusiasm has turned into what Obama's pastor said about Farrakhan (and whether to "reject" or "denounce" him), and now we have to look at what the campaign co-chairs have said and done in order to bash each other's candidate.

It's The Hillary Effect. She mocks unity, mocks hope, mocks idealism-- naturally, she attracts that kind of supporter. I'd like them to take a poll of the 1,000,000 people who have contributed to Obama and the many more who have voted for him and ask "Do you think Obama is perfect?"

The messiah thing is so depressing. It's like it's become a bad thing to make good speeches and to be well-liked. I've seen the 25%-ers cling to Bush, denouncing-- I mean, "rejecting"-- all nay-sayers as being brainwashed by the media, etc, etc. Hillary's most vocal supporters are turning into the 25%-ers.

Obama is a Democrat. He's pro-choice, anti-death penalty, anti-tax cuts for those making over $250,000, and he has plans for the middle-class and the poor. The cult of Obama is really the cult of those who hate him. I remember in 1992 a lot of people supported Bill Clinton because he would be a change, a fresh start. How easily we forget.

[Researchguy66]

Bill Clinton was a false hope! The 1990's were the worst decade in American history and it was all the fault of the Clintons. They have been an embarrassment to this country and it's time for them to GO!

[EinChicago]

Yeah. Dmaned peace, prosperity and massive technoloigcal advances.

Seriously, how dumb are you?

[AnninCA]

60"% approval rating when he was even impeached. LOL*

Let's just agree......you're a minority voice.

[apresdeluge]

First of all, Bill Clinton is not running for President, Hillary is. Secondly, you must either be a Republican or too young to appreciate the era of the '90s. Bill Clinton was the only Democratic president to win 2 terms since WWII. He left office with a 65% approval rating; the highest of ANY president since FDR. Stop and think before you post more of the Obama misinformation.

[denver]

Are you a republican say ing such idiotic things.I mean you can love Barack and support which I do to.But the 90s were great and as democrats we should and are proud of that decade,I hope Barack is half as good as they were (I think he will be) but dont look at life with blinders on!!!!!!!!!

[hank48188]

In the last few years of the Clinton Presidency this country had the best economy I had ever seen in my life, gas was $1.20 a gallon, we were PAYING DOWN THE NATIONAL DEBT, not borrowing $400 Billion a year. Everyone had a job, every fast-food place in my area had signs up , offering $8.00 a hour. And as bad as Al Gore was on the stump he still should have won, the butterfly ballot in Palm Beach County florida cost him about 4,000 votes.

[Nardwilly]

Here are two links to artilcles written at the time about Superior. As usual things are not as simple as they seem.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E4D71E3CF934A3575BC0A9679C8B63&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/072801/upd_bankbust.shtml

One articles implies the Pritzkers lost money. They both imply someone else was managing the institution. I am not saying the Prikzers did nothing wrong. But this is not the only business or bank to fail. Business failings are not a sign of the corruption.

As Ronald Reagan said, "If they endorse me they are accepting my program"

[gallo146]

thank you for the information.

[apresdeluge]

Yeah right, it's all Clinton's fault. Are you a Republican? That is the only reasonable explanation for your erroneous comments.

[SamanthaJaneSalem]

When all else fails, call the person a Republican.

My argument is that this primary should have been about the attractive qualities of two historic candidates. Hillary is an historic candidate. There's a lot to like about her. But since she fell behind, it's been moreabout mocking Obama's message, digging up irrelevant material on him and giving her supporters more reason to *dislike* him rather than bring new voters into the process in favor of her.

Below, I criticized Obama for this sub-prime link, for his private health-care plan, and for his vote for Cheney's energy bill. But Hillary-- who has to win 60-65% of the delegates the rest of the way just to catch up-- needs to let undecided voters know (as well as Obama supporters who aren't as cultish as it's claimed they are, and if you don't mock them they might change their minds) what makes her candidacy attractive.

[rwe]

do I sense a dent or the start of a chink in the preachers armor? What next ? Rezkow next week. Watch out , the obamaciders will really be fainting shortly... And the faux outrage over his wardrobe and his last name that the Obamaites are instigating will fade when they have to deal with reality....

[sandiaview]

Chelsea Clinton works for a hedge funder, one of her parents' biggest supporters. Do you know how they make the big, huge bucks? Many backed sub-prime mortgages, bundled them in huge packages, got those packages reclassified as A grade paper and sold them off to unsuspecting investors in the secondary mortgage markets, such as Countrywide Mortgage, as class A investments. These 'pig in a poke' investments didn't take long to implode when the economy began to falter and the unfortunates with these mortgages found that they could not sell the house or refinance these disasterous loans. I'm not saying Chelsea's company is involved in this type financing. John Edwards worked for and is invested heavily in a hedge fund that was foreclosing on homes in New Orleans as he campaigned against it. He didn't know this until it was revealed to him. Some hedge funds are involved in buying third world "forgivened debt" and raping those unsuspecting governments ability to provide services, health care and food for their people.
Campaigns aren't responsible, the American people are! We continue to send our rascals back to Congress while we decry every other states' rascals. They make regulations (or refuse to) that allow the rich and powerful to keep ripping the average citizen off. Big corporations have become dependent on a predator economy rather than a 'build a better mouse trap' one.

[Researchguy66]

If you thought that the Clinton campaign couldn't get any more disgusting, and then this comes along!

Hillary, it's time to drop out NOW!

[StillAmused]

ANNOUNCEMENT:

All 'bots -- please cease panicky fluttering in the lighting fixtures and return to your perches. Feeding time will be as scheduled.

[BrooklynLager]

haha

[DietrichMoody]

"One might wonder why Hillary Clinton's campaign hasn't jumped on this issue. Maybe it's because Penny's little brother, J.B. Pritzker, is a mover and shaker in the Clinton campaign.
In May of 2007, Jay Robert,"

This says it all, as Obama said, nobodies "hands are clean" and Obama is smart to use some of Clinton's ex people. She can't complain without looking bad. The HUD Secretary in the Clinton Administration went to jail for fraud. Henry Cisneros, etc.

And in the Republican side, ITS MUCH WORSE.

Your going to hear more of this - but they will also be connected to Clinton and in the Republican side, ITS GOING TO BE MUCH MORE. No one's hands are clean but its about who hands ARE NOT AS DIRTY. Can't say that about Clinton or McCain.

[Researchguy66]

It's obvious you're blinded by your love for the Clintons. Obama has no ties to any wrong-doing and never will. You and people like you will burn in He** for your lies!

[EinChicago]

You have to be a joke post. That is idiotic.

[SamanthaJaneSalem]

Tom Daschle is a co-chair of Obama's campaign, and since Daschle voted for the Iraq War, it seems safe to assume (if I have a predisposition to loathe the likely Democratic nominee who is pro-choice and progressive in most ways) also supported the Iraq War.

[BrooklynLager]

Well golly, that's the last time *I* vote for Tom Daschle for President.

[mig991]

McCain's Arizona chair, and one of his 'closest' friends as been indicted in Arizona. McCain said oh well, he is still my guy.

Obama at least admitted they are all compromised in one way or another.

[Saggitarius]

Hooray for SamanthaJanesmith:
Tom Daschle is bitter about losing his Senate seat so he latched on to Obama, I saw an article that Daschle might be Vice President or Chief of Staff for Obama.
These nasty articles about Hillary are from those nasty litte minded creeps who sit at the computer all day with nothing else to do but drum up juicy articles to be used against her.
OBAMA has been given a free pass just like George W. Bush in the last two elections.
You'd think the voters would have learned a lesson but, alas, we have a preacher and a would be JFK clone . It's too bad because this election is sooooo important.
The saying is "Fool me once... shame on you ....fool me twice shame on me,,,,,,, what do we say when we will say we have been fooled three times.
I say "GOD help America.

[Flexer]

The Pritzker family owns the Hyatt hotels. Penny's erant plunge into the S&L banking bis is irrelivent. Going broke in 2001 misses the mark completely. UBS,JPM,Merril,Dean Witter and others were meeting with a hundred lawyers eating pizza in a wall street high rise trying to put the biggest scam ever to screw the world out of billions. Get your facts straight. To say that this Chicago S&L was involved the late 90's and up to '01 is a fairy tale at best.

[CraigMM]

I think that part of the argument for HRC supporters is that if HuffPo was really playing a fair game, then this story would be right up top with a big red headline that said something extremely negative and incendiary about BO and there would be an unflettering picture of BO with the unflattering headline. They would also keep the picture and the headline towards the top right of the site for days and days to reinforce the negative story about BO. That would be what HuffPo would do if the article was about HRC. Then multiply the whole things by 10 times every day and that would be even-handed coverage of the 2 democratic candidates.

[nihilon x]

I think it has been long established the Huffington Post is more supportive of Obama than Hillary.

Those who come here and complain about the bias would be better served going to a site which supports their candidate of choice -- but I suppose that isn't as entertaining as coming to this forum and complaining about said bias.

[icemama]

Just because they pretend to be supporting Obama more, doesn't mean that they are. This whole site is pro McCain, in case you haven't been reading between the lines.

[thromulese]

I do get the sense that the slumlord connection will open another larger, more damaging can of worms.

There are a lot of things that bother me about Hillary, but at least we know she has been fully vetted. And wait, the best is yet to come. If the republiCONs can dig up anything on Obama (and they will) they won’t let it out till after the nomination. When it’s too late for the dems to do anything about it. And we’ll lose to another old, white, male bush minion who is in favor of torture and endless war (i.e. bush 2.0).

[LDW]

'CraigMM', You might be interested in this article which somehow hasn’t made it to HuffingtonPost yet:
‘Race Man - How Barack Obama played the race card and blamed Hillary Clinton’ by Sean Wilentz “After several weeks of swooning, news reports are finally being filed about the gap between Senator Barack Obama's promises of a pure, soul-cleansing "new" politics and the calculated, deeply dishonest conduct of his actually-existing campaign. But it remains to be seen whether the latest ploy by the Obama camp--over allegations about the circulation of a photograph of Obama in ceremonial Somali dress--will be exposed by the press as the manipulative illusion that it is.... . A review of what actually happened shows that the charges that the Clintons played the "race card" were not simply false; they were deliberately manufactured by the Obama camp and trumpeted by a credulous and/or compliant press corps in order to strip away her once formidable majority among black voters and to outrage affluent, college-educated white liberals as well as college students”

Full text:
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=aa0cd21b-0ff2-4329-88a1-69c6c268b304

Try a visit to http://www.taylormarsh.com/ while you're at it.

[BrooklynLager]

An Obama supporter could more credibly argue that the headline is misleading:

"in May of 2007, Jay Robert, aka, (J.B.) Pritzker, threw his support behind Hillary Clinton, representing a coup for her campaign by wresting the billionaire out of Obama's home town of Chicago, and better still, the brother of Obama's Campaign Finance Chair.

J.B. Pritzker announced he would head a new grassroots organization called Citizens for Hillary Clinton. Pritzker told reporters at the time, the new organization would go into states "where we haven't fully organized" and seek out campaign supporters as well as raise funds.

Apparently the Pritzkers will be sitting at the head table at the Inaugural Ball if either Democrat wins."

Incidentally, how does a billionaire kick-off a "grassroots campaign"?