McCain Urges Bush To Spend $1 Trillion On Bailout -- Without Congressional Approval

I'm not making this up. John McCain today urged the Bush Administration -- on more than one occasion -- to immediately and uniliterally spend $1 trillion buying up home mortgages.

I was watching live when he made the proposal this morning, and it seemed like such a staggeringly insane idea that I assumed he couldn't be serious. He couldn't think that Bush should just spend $1 trillion without asking Congress for permission...could he?

But then I saw his economic adviser try to back the idea up, and then I saw McCain make the proposal again during the NBC Nightly newscast. So he's serious. He really thinks that Bush should just spend $1 trillion without talking to Congress, without seeking approval, without building any sort of consensus -- without getting any protections whatsoever for taxpayers.

Update: Here's video of him making the proposal on three separate occasions Tuesday.

End update.

::: ::: :::

This is the same John McCain who just a couple of days ago was railing on the $1 trillion price tag of the bailout (when it was actually $700 billion).

But just a few days after railing against the unbridled power of government, McCain now seems to envision the presidency as a dictatorship. He now thinks that Bush should just spend $1 trillion without allowing anyone to ask any questions -- and he supports doing it just one day after the House of Representatives voted down a $700 billion bailout.

This won't suprise anyone on the left. The question I have is this: when are conservatives going to wake up and realize that despite all his bluster about being a conservative, the Republican nominee for president has proposed the single largest expenditure in the history of this nation -- and that he's proposed that it be made without the approval of Congress?

Comments

[funkalicious]

McCain's Statement is correct Your senators led by Chris Dodd and Barney Frank already gave
Hank Paulson the blank check and the authority to buy up toxic mortgage paper.
the Housing bill 3937 i think is the number the 700 pages of pork and toxic tax mess.This was the ground work that allowed the take over of Wamu , Wachovia , Merril Lynch etc.. that will force the taxpayer to enrich the banks who in effect stole the deposits and real estate from their share holders.
The first bailout bill of Freddie and Fannie gave Paulson a blank check and 800 billion in authority.
That law was passed. done deal. FHA has the go ahead.

The latest Harangue by the Senate is a game of stick the sh@it on the last guy holding the bag.

I wrote my Senators and Congress men they assured me we had to bailout the GSE's...
Why we didn't force them into bankruptcy because it was the sausage casing to stuff the turds into.

We can all blame Bush but it was the democrats that put the bib and tucker on us and handed this plate of turds and said eat, it is good for you.

[cowboyjerkface]

Just like the true republic you are...no responsibility, no shame, no morals!

[wizardofoz]

SO you are blaming the dems for this,my my werent the repubs in power since 2000.

[ebanks84]

Obama should put this out as an ad. WOW! Dictatorship at it's best. Who can't just love McCain, the future dicktator!

[bygollymissmolly]

McCain actually made an "If I was a dictator" statement in an interview yesterday. I don't see it being reported on, though. The MSM is still covering for McCain when they can get away with it.

[gobarackgo]

John McKneejerk strikes again.

[lilbirdblue]

Ok people...l­isten up!!!

McCain said that he would fire Paulson, right?

Then why in this interview is he saying that he wouldn't????

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=videonetwork&maven_playerId=immersiveplayer&maven_referralPlaylistId=b959b1ca832e44b7543c0c1d3b9b6ef23903c7fc&maven_referralObject=873523175

[SurrealPumpkin]

I thought it was Cox, Chairman of the SEC that he wanted fire. Obviously, he needs Paulson to carry out this rescue plan of his. Why isn't this on the news?

[Grunty1]

The only consisency in the McCain campaign is his inconsisency

[judyc]

He said he would fire Chris Cox--head of the SEC.

[lilbirdblue]

Okay, sorry my bad...I thought he said Paulson.

[keepacoolhead]

More dictatorial secret governing? 8 Years were too many (Ms. Pelosi why didn't you impeach them???). No McBush. ENOUGH!

[ebanks84]

She might as well be one of them.

[timberdoodle]

There is something amiss here as I could understand McCain making such a proposal because of his failing mind but how could his campaign managers go along with his lunacy? There has to be some devious trick behind what they are proposing.

If the majority of voters are against a 700 billion dollar bail out how could he ever envision voters being receptive of a unilateral expenditure of a trillion dollars for the same type of folly?

[ebanks84]

The trick is, the rich keeps from losing their money and we still get stuck with the bill. It's the same old Paulson 1st agreement. McCain just don't want Bush to go through congress. It's the do-it-yourself plan.

[SurrealPumpkin]

I wonder if this is what caused the bounce in the market yesterday.

[leahsmommy]

Hey Republicans, did you hear what he just said?

[mpflinn]

The centralization of power in the executive continues -- this is worse than the Cheney-Bush presidency. Worth ads in every state.

And Gwen, please ask Sarah tonight what she thinks about her boss's idea.

[SurrealPumpkin]

The McCain Doctrine?

[vincealy]

Cable news needs to inform and show this footage, Perfect ad McCain 'Bush 3"

[dare2tryobama]

I agree with those of you that say this needs to be an ad. I believe the democrats should use what the Republicans freely say on their own no gotcha moments against them. If this had been Sentaor Obama you would see outrage right now all over the news and for those of us that get updates on our cell phones it would be blowing up with headline stories. My phone and email have been silent on this note. How about yours?

[ElectAThinker08]

Yet another reason why I can't understand how the very people who support him and Palin are the very ones getting screwed over by his ideals (past and present)! It is truly amazing. Education needs to be our new top priority. We have to get people educated to start thinking for themselves. So, he's basically throwing out a thinly veiled threat to Congress to do what he says or else? Very scary.

[SoCalNick]

WHy is this not on the front page of every Blog , Web-Site and news site on the Web. WHy is it not the LEAD Story on EVERY News Broadcast?

Because THEY are the one who would LOVE HIM. He would give them ANYTHING they want when they want it thats why.

Another dictator with short and stupid mans disease. WE DONT NEED IT!

[shelobo]

The remarks McCain made would do more good plastered all over every NEWS PAPER in this country ,front page. Believe it or not MILLIONS of voters do not have a computer.M­ost of their news comes from their local papers,cable news and friends.Th­e I/N is a good source but even it doesn't reach everyone.W­here I live here in Texas ,even tho we are between major cities,our LOCAL news doesn't cover national /world news .Our local radio is mainly religious music and local news .It's like RURAL small town America is a different planet.

[VicksieDo]

Congress is in charge of the money in this country, NOT BUSH, thank goodness. There is reason enough to never ever vote for McCain.

[bacaangel]

Banks/companies that are Regulated are not experiencing any econimic crisis, just the investment banks/companies which are not regulated or de-regulated and have no oversight! "One of the regulations meant to keep insiders from driving down the prices of their own company’s stock so that they could sell short at will to make a quick million whenever they felt like it was called the “uptick rule”. The “uptick rule” is another one of the FDR Era regulations which the Heritage Foundations was talking about when they said that they wanted to roll this country back to the days of Herbert Hoover. They succeeded. The Bush administration got rid of this safeguard last year---with predictable results.

The uptick rule is fairly simple. "

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/uptick...

[BlackJAC]

Let's remember that McCain is essentially a ward of the state, having grown up in government housing and held nothing but government jobs. He's never worked a day in the private sector and as such really doesn't know where the money is coming from.

[keepacoolhead]

A very good point, that should be brought up to the forefront too. Not only has he been pretty much collecting tax payer dollars all his life he also hasn't held a real job. I'm sure his beer heiress wife has some business ventures though that he may have participated.

[SurrealPumpkin]

McCain inherited money from his mother, something like 35 mil. Somehow that doesn't get much play.

[hrholmes]

Poor McSaurus. The caption on his campaign posters should read;'A mind is a terrible thing to lose!'. Along with any semblance of integrity, honor, truth or main street American values. Palin is merely a pretty lost puppy in all this and has no idea what a joke she has become to all of mainstream America. This poor example of Republican politics could not even name a single source for her news or information! Holy crap. These two could not even be elected to the resident board of a retirement community so what the hell are they doing even being considered for the White House?

[WasteNJ]

Maybe Palin couldn't remember which news organizations' parent companies had contributed most to their campaign..­. and she didn't want to embarrass one of them by naming the wrong ones... or the right ones.

[SurrealPumpkin]

"This Town Courier" "That Town Herald" "Some One's Times" who can keep them straight?