Sen. Kyl Tries to Pin Blame For Economic Mess on Democrats, 'Minorities,' 'The Poor,' and 'The Young'

Compassion, it seems, is easier in boom times.

Arizona now has the fourth-highest foreclosure rate in America, with 9,540 foreclosures in February, up 210 percent from 2007. So maybe it's natural that Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ) would want to revise history by shifting blame for the crash in home prices plaguing Arizonans and millions of homeowners onto the Democrats, as he did on ABC's This Week recently:

It wasn't the Bush administration as much as it was Democrats in Congress who were pushing the lending institutions to get out there and lend more money, even to unqualified buyers - to the minorities, to the poor, to the young - so that everyone could own a home.

Blaming Democrats for the market meltdown ranks high on the disingenuous scale, right up with Karl Rove's outlandish claim that the Democratic Congress pushed a reluctant, peace-loving President Bush to invade Iraq.

Under the Bush administration, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and other Bush financial officials promoted easy money, low interest rate polices together with underregulation of virtually anything that could be called a free market financial "innovation." During this time, regulatory powers to police the rise of non-bank mortgage originators pushing high cost loans without reserve or risk-retention requirements were put into mothballs. Fueled by this high octane mix, the subprime market exploded from 2001 until 2006, making up perhaps as much as 50 percent of the increase in homeownership during that period.

If only Sen. Kyl had aired his criticisms of unfettered lending practices in 2003, when he stood with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) at a Phoenix fundraiser and listened to President Bush extol the virtues of an "ownership society." At that time, the president said:

A compassionate society must promote opportunity for everyone, including the independence and dignity from ownership. My administration will constantly strive to promote an ownership society in America. We want more people owning their own home. We have a minority home-ownership-gap in America. I proposed a plan to the Congress to close that gap....This administration understands that when a person owns something, he or she has a vital stake in the future of this country.

When it was popular to stand for expanding homeownership, Sen. Kyl was there in 2006 to praise federal aid for minority and low income families in Phoenix:

Habitat's work, including the partnership with HUD, has produced great results and made a truly positive impact in the Phoenix neighborhoods. The SHOP grants announced today will help make it possible for many more Arizona families to realize the dream of homeownership.

Certainly advocates for low- and moderate-income families fought for greater access to home mortgage loans for Americans historically frozen out of the Great American Dream. Some argued for nothing-down mortgages and flexible underwriting standards. But by and large, these groups also advocated full lending disclosure, extensive homebuying counseling, and other protections for consumers. The record of affordable homeownership approaches such as those promoted by community development corporations, community land trusts, and similar efforts shows a low foreclosure rate and great stability even among buyers whose income is below the median.

But with millions in foreclosure and financial markets quaking at the massive debt piled on top of "difficult to value" pools of mortgages, pointing the finger at Democrats - or blaming "minorities," "poor," and "young" Americans who bought houses to join the ownership society -- is certainly convenient. With millions of them foreclosed on, they might not be watching Sunday morning news shows to set the record straight.

Comments

[lvdragonlady]

Leave it to a republican to make an idiot remark like that. Take off the flippin blinders. Your president did this crap, the dems have only had congress for little over a year, and your congress had control (or no control) and did nothing but line their pockets and turn their backs on America.

[feo]

Notice that it takes an act of Congress to raise the minimum wage by some paltry amount but investment bankers (i.e., financial speculators) can be bailed out and their diamond-studded, gold-encrusted platinum parachutes can be saved with no congressional involvement.

[Sundialsvc4]

We must stop looking to clever financial documents as a source of "wealth," as the true source of the problem, or as any part of the solution. A nation of 320 million people is not going to lift itself out of the Great Depression of 2008 by such simple hand-waving. If you want to tap into a true source of truly stupendous, real(!), wealth, here is how you do it: put this nation back to work, right here. The industrial and transportation infrastructure that linked producers to consumers by a rail network of only a few hundred miles is ... still ... right here. It was active in our parent's childhood years and maybe in our own. And it's still there. Wealth comes from producing, not from consuming. We don't have to settle for "We Sell For Less!" when we can have "We Sell The Best!" ... as our fathers did have. The time that has passed, during which these terribly flawed decisions were made, is but a blink of an eye. A true, lasting fortune awaits the investors ... a chapter of real fame awaits the politicians ... who can realize what lies fallow and neglected in their own midst.

[MilwaukeeDan]

Sundial,"wealth comes from producing, not from consuming", exactly, but do you think the new generations of Americans can produce, or are they just going to shuffle papers for their wealth? I don't know if we still have the work ethic we once did. My grandfather worked as a carpenter all his adult life, my father and I worked as machinists, building and repairing machines for industry. These jobs were, as you called them, producing. The work was hard, but you had health benefits(no bills), pensions, and you can make and save a little bit of money for a vacation or a new car every once in a while. Much of this work is now overseas. Sen. Kyl is a Corpocrat shill, Arizona should dump this idiot.

[Liberal2]

Regarding "producing".....On the news yesterday, they talked about the new hi-tech US passports. Problem is, the US no longer as the technological ability to produce them completely within the US.They must be out-sourced at some point.

This nation is dying, and hardly anyone is noticing.

[WIpatriot]

...and the other AZ idiot Senator, too.

[LeftRight]

"It wasn't the Bush administration as much as it was Democrats in Congress who were pushing the lending institutions to get out there and lend more money, even to unqualified buyers - to the minorities, to the poor, to the young - so that everyone could own a home."

You know, my memory's not what it used to be, but I don't really remember any Democrats in congress coming out and telling everybody to own their own home. What I DO remember is george bush telling Americans to go out and spend, AND to go out and buy a home!

[KingCranky]

The GOP's desire for deregulated industries always blows up in their faces, spectacularly, when their fiscal and market policies are fully implemented.

And yet, for some reason, the GOP somehow thinks industries will self-regulate effectively when it comes to consumer protections and safety, a mindset of aggressive naivete .

Here's the GOP playbook, "hope for the best but plan for the best".

[Boomerwoman]

No, I actually think it is more sinister than that. Read "Shock Economics" and hold on for dear life.

[novowel4me]

I'm surprised he didn't blame the current economic crises directly on Bill Clinton - that's the usual mantra.

[Halsey]

sorry novowel..but this mess DID begin under Clinton..with his Robert Rubin..(formerly of Goldman Sachs and a director of Citigroup)...they dismantles Glass-Stegall...giving the Bear Stearns and Lehman's unchecked power to do whatever the hell they wanted..and now..your and MY tax dollars are going to bail them out..bail out these millionnaires...anything wrong with this picture?

Were I Obama..I would ATTACK..Bill Clinton for this action...it took a while for the results to come..but come they have... of course, under Bushco...the greed and hubris grew even more..
and we are left holding the bag...

what a mess.

[WIpatriot]

Try going back a couple more presidents, Halsey.

[Boomerwoman]

Right on WIpatriot.

[castlerider]

David, Thanks so much for this post, and for being on this. I have been expecting this, and am not surprised it came rumbling out of this unaccountable, so called-leader's mouth.
Hopefuilly, this post will last for several days, because it really needs to... We need a very diverse reaction from as many people as possible so we can contain this sorry froot loop of an elected leader and get his name out there as much as possible and can get rid of his sorry self come next election day.
This is the kind of idiot that, because of his beliefs, and the people and so called leaders he kisses up to and supports, has us barely making it by, paying 4 DOLLARS A GALLON at the pump!!!
(Everyone with a brain knows had Gore won, or rather been allowed to win in 2000, there's no way gas would be over $1.80 now.)
For him to jump up with fingers flying pointing blame when what this country desperately needs right now is honest and real leadership that makes life BETTER for us is so typical, but something we who can easily read between the lines can also read to see that he is really a culprit, not an ally.
It makes it so obvious that anyone who would want to vote for a jerk like him would have to be an idiot.
The world needs to know.

Again, thank you.

[rucognizant]

I'm not his constituant but I call his Senate office frequently to bash & oppose his policies.
Arizonians, VOTE HIM OUT!

[swift_goat_pet_for_truth]

Sen. Kyl belongs to the Party of Personal Responsibility. That's why its everyone else's fault.

[alto]

It's just those Bad Apples again. The unregulated money lenders were being very businesslike, but they got ambushed by those Bad Apples. We probably need another show trial as a warning to the Bad Apples.

[maggiemae656]

Oh yeah...that's right--personal responsibility. Bet we won't be hearing THAT mantra for a while!! I will enjoy the conversation the next time a conservative parrots that line.

[waynesmyer]

But! But! I thought Sen. Kyl belonged to the GOP (Grand Old Perverts)
UP THE GOP! GOPers Forever!
Sen. Larry Craig is my MAIN MAN! Sen. Kyl, REPUKE-Arizona

[SCG]

Darn poor, if they only had more money, Wall Street wouldn't be suffering now. How uncompassionate of them!

[maggiemae656]

It's very difficult for conservatives to admit that corporations ever do anything wrong. I guess when they were suppposedly pushing banks to make money easy for people so Bush could realize his "dream" of homeownership for all, they forgot to tell those banks, the underwriters, the securities investors, etc. that people need jobs in order to pay their mortgages. Bush, Congress, Wall Street...a bunch of people who live in oblivion...once again, so out of touch with reality. I'd be embarassed to make the kind of statements that this guy Kyl is making. I hope the people in Arizona do us all a favor and boot him out of office as soon as possible.

[MilwaukeeDan]

mag, your statement is right on, I would just like to add, I have been watching Sen. Kyl for some time. He has to be one of the biggest idiots in DC, and DC is full of them. What a worthless windbag.

[lisakaz]

What exactly did these groups of ppl do to destroy the economy? I was unaware We the People had so much power still, esp. since the Bu$h tax cuts and gutting regulatory oversight benefited the corporatists.

[Justtellthetruth]

This is the same moron who teamed up with Lieberman to help foment MORE war with Iran. You know, the Bill that Hillary supports? So when you actually get to see this guy in action on issues that are a little more transparent than those that led to Kyl Lieberman, you see that the it is HIGHLY likely that the call to war ( which Hillary apparently can NEVER ignore) is being led by idiots, for idiotic reasons.

That he would hold the current administration utterly unaccountable, while blaming a single party, and the "poor, the young and minorities" for the current crisis is par for the course and indicative of how disingenuous Kyl and his Ilk are.

That Hillary would sign ANYTHING that was emanated from a mind like this is further proof of her total lack of good judgement.

[newshawk14]

I certainly hope democrats are targeting this blot in congress. He's a credit to no party, and
belongs in obscurity.