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.
Dawn Teo: Constituents Demand Sen. Kyl Acknowledge Loved Ones' Suffering, Deaths
I received email after email from HuffPost readers... furious that Senator Kyl doesn't understand the consequences for ordinary Americans who can't afford insurance or medical treatment.
Dawn Teo: Sen. Kyl Not Sure People Die From Lack of Health Insurance
Sen. Kyl: "I'm not sure that it's a fact that more and more people die because they don't have health insurance."
This nation is dying, and hardly anyone is noticing.
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!
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".
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.
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.
Arizonians, VOTE HIM OUT!
UP THE GOP! GOPers Forever!
Sen. Larry Craig is my MAIN MAN! Sen. Kyl, REPUKE-Arizona
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.
belongs in obscurity.