Society Issues Talk Society Issues Talk    FAQ   Search   Memberlist   Usergroups   Register   Profile   Log in to check your private messages   Log in  Just lost your house? Boo hoo!          Society Issues Talk Forum Index -> Liberalism View previous topic :: View next topic   Author Message Harry Hope Guest Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:33 am    Post subject: Just lost your house? Boo hoo! Macaca. Potatoe. Read my lips, no new taxes. And now add a new entry to the list of the greatest political gaffes of all time. Last week John McCain's chief economic adviser Phil Gramm said that the country's financial woes are merely a "mental recession." He then proceeded to call America a "nation of whiners." Now that's the kind of political straight-talk that voters love to hear! Just lost your house? Boo hoo! Can't afford to pay your medical bills? It's all in your mind! STFU and pull yourselves up by the bootstraps, losers! What's that? You had to sell your bootstraps to pay for gas? What a bunch of whiners. So much for feeling your pain. Lest we forget, Phil Gramm is a multi-millionaire who until very recently was a lobbyist for a Swiss bank, so it's perhaps understandable that he has absolutely no clue about the price of a gallon of gas or a loaf of bread. But what's more disturbing is that this jerk - who also happens to be largely responsible for rising gas prices http://www.rawstory.com/news/2008/McCain_aides_worked_to_create_defend_0619.html and the mortgage crisis - is in charge of writing John McCain's economic policy. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/28/mccain-adviser-phil-gramm-shaped-mccains-economic-policy-while-lobbying-for-foreign-bank/ McCain immediately denounced Gramm's remarks. Well - not quite immediately. First one of his spokespeople stood by them: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/10/mccain-campaign-originally-stood-by-gramms-comments/ ....in an initial statement published by Politico and then, seemingly, removed from its site, a McCain campaign aide actually stood by Gramm's remarks, saying the interview as a whole was merely meant as a preview of the Senator's economic agenda. Obviously that approach didn't go down too well, so it wasn't long before McCain stepped into the spotlight and tried to rescue himself from his buddy's remarks. "I believe the mother here in Michigan and around America who is trying to get enough money to educate their children isn't whining," he said. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/07/10/mccain-gramm-does-not-speak-for-me/ "America is in great difficulty and we are experiencing enormous economic challenges as well as others. Phil Gramm does not speak for me. I speak for me. So, I strongly disagree." Really? Funny that, because about three weeks ago, this happened: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/24/1163504.aspx At a town hall in Fresno that primarily focused on energy issues, McCain was asked a question about the price of gas and the viability of various short-term solutions. "In the short term I'd like to give you a little relief for the summer on the gas tax," McCain began, referring to his controversial proposal to temporarily suspend the federal tax on gasoline. But then he made a surprisingly candid admission: "I don't see an immediate relief, but I do see that exploitation of existing reserves that may exist -- and in view of many experts that do exist off our coasts -- is also a way that we need to provide relief. Even though it may take some years, the fact that we are exploiting those reserves would have psychological impact that I think is beneficial." Hmm, a psychological impact, you say? Well I guess that would be useful if we were in a mental recession, wouldn't it. Anyway, it seems that Mr. Gramm was less than suitably chastened by McCain's denouncement. According to MSNBC: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/11/1194756.aspx "Gramm defended his recession comments, saying journalists have been 'amplifying bad economic news' and too many people believe things are worse than they really are. Gramm said he was speaking for himself when he spoke Wednesday to The Washington Times editorial board. 'I wouldn't claim to speak for McCain,' he said." Which is strange, because as Talking Points Memo notes, Gramm didn't just meet with the Washington Times editorial board that day... http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/but_but_gramm_spoke_for_mccain.php Speaking today from New York, where he was meeting with the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board on McCain's economic policies, Gramm said the nation's economy was initially thought to have grown by an anemic 0.6 percent in the first three months of the year. What's even more strange is that Phil Gramm appears to still be John McCain's chief economic adviser. By EarlG Democratic Underground http://www.democraticunderground.com/ Harry Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Eat the rich Guest Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:33 am    Post subject: Re: Just lost your house? Boo hoo! Phil Gramm reflects the views of most Republicans I've had the displeasure of discussing politics with. As long as they are doing ok, then everything is ok. It takes empathy to realize others are suffering. It takes compassion to care. These are two qualities that most Republicans lack. Of course, when they have problems they have no problem "whining" about it. Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Spartakus Guest Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:33 am    Post subject: Re: Just lost your house? Boo hoo! "bill" <b...@v.com> wrote: Quote: "Harry Hope" <riv...@ix.netcom.com> wrote: Last week John McCain's chief economic adviser Phil Gramm said that the country's financial woes are merely a "mental recession." He then proceeded to call America a "nation of whiners." Quite the charm offensive the McCain campaign has going these days. [...] Quote: Feds cite Schumer in collapse of IndyMac: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/07/feds-cite-schum.html Office of Thrift Supervision: "The OTS has determined that the current institution, IndyMac Bank, is unlikely to be able to meet continued depositors' demands in the normal course of business and is therefore in an unsafe and unsound condition. **The immediate cause of the closing was a deposit run that began and continued after the public release of a June 26 letter to the OTS and the FDIC from Senator Charles Schumer of New York.** Bullshit. The fact that IndyMac had been swirling around the toilet bowl was known for at least a year, as evidenced by the price of its stock. It went from $30.73 a share in July 2007 to 80 cents by June 2008. That's a hell of a tanking in 11 months. It could have been much less worse if the Office of Thrift Supervision had been DOING THEIR JOB. Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Guest Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:33 am    Post subject: Re: Just lost your house? Boo hoo! On Jul 14, 9:19 pm, Eat the rich <goofin...@gmail.com> wrote: Quote: Phil Gramm reflects the views of most Republicans I've had the displeasure of discussing politics with.  As long as they are doing ok, then everything is ok.  It takes empathy to realize others are suffering.  It takes compassion to care.  These are two qualities that most Republicans lack.  Of course, when they have problems they have no problem "whining" about it. I really believe they are hoping for the elimination of 20-40% of America's population. Remember, 18% of America's population has zero or negative net worth, and another 20 or so% have just above zero. You think these people are of any use to the elites out there? Mike Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor bill Guest Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:56 am    Post subject: Re: Just lost your house? Boo hoo! "Harry Hope" <rivrvu@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message news:nr5o74hr0gfhhr0iubk3jgk0r744l3gh43@4ax.com... Quote: Macaca. Potatoe. Read my lips, no new taxes. And now add a new entry to the list of the greatest political gaffes of all time. Last week John McCain's chief economic adviser Phil Gramm said that the country's financial woes are merely a "mental recession." He then proceeded to call America a "nation of whiners." Now that's the kind of political straight-talk that voters love to hear! Just lost your house? Boo hoo! Can't afford to pay your medical bills? It's all in your mind! STFU and pull yourselves up by the bootstraps, losers! What's that? You had to sell your bootstraps to pay for gas? What a bunch of whiners. So much for feeling your pain. Lest we forget, Phil Gramm is a multi-millionaire who until very recently was a lobbyist for a Swiss bank, so it's perhaps understandable that he has absolutely no clue about the price of a gallon of gas or a loaf of bread. But what's more disturbing is that this jerk - who also happens to be largely responsible for rising gas prices http://www.rawstory.com/news/2008/McCain_aides_worked_to_create_defend_0619.html and the mortgage crisis - is in charge of writing John McCain's economic policy. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/28/mccain-adviser-phil-gramm-shaped-mccains-economic-policy-while-lobbying-for-foreign-bank/ McCain immediately denounced Gramm's remarks. Well - not quite immediately. First one of his spokespeople stood by them: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/10/mccain-campaign-originally-stood-by-gramms-comments/ ...in an initial statement published by Politico and then, seemingly, removed from its site, a McCain campaign aide actually stood by Gramm's remarks, saying the interview as a whole was merely meant as a preview of the Senator's economic agenda. Obviously that approach didn't go down too well, so it wasn't long before McCain stepped into the spotlight and tried to rescue himself from his buddy's remarks. "I believe the mother here in Michigan and around America who is trying to get enough money to educate their children isn't whining," he said. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/07/10/mccain-gramm-does-not-speak-for-me/ "America is in great difficulty and we are experiencing enormous economic challenges as well as others. Phil Gramm does not speak for me. I speak for me. So, I strongly disagree." Really? Funny that, because about three weeks ago, this happened: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/24/1163504.aspx At a town hall in Fresno that primarily focused on energy issues, McCain was asked a question about the price of gas and the viability of various short-term solutions. "In the short term I'd like to give you a little relief for the summer on the gas tax," McCain began, referring to his controversial proposal to temporarily suspend the federal tax on gasoline. But then he made a surprisingly candid admission: "I don't see an immediate relief, but I do see that exploitation of existing reserves that may exist -- and in view of many experts that do exist off our coasts -- is also a way that we need to provide relief. Even though it may take some years, the fact that we are exploiting those reserves would have psychological impact that I think is beneficial." Hmm, a psychological impact, you say? Well I guess that would be useful if we were in a mental recession, wouldn't it. Anyway, it seems that Mr. Gramm was less than suitably chastened by McCain's denouncement. According to MSNBC: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/11/1194756.aspx "Gramm defended his recession comments, saying journalists have been 'amplifying bad economic news' and too many people believe things are worse than they really are. Gramm said he was speaking for himself when he spoke Wednesday to The Washington Times editorial board. 'I wouldn't claim to speak for McCain,' he said." Which is strange, because as Talking Points Memo notes, Gramm didn't just meet with the Washington Times editorial board that day... http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/but_but_gramm_spoke_for_mccain.php Speaking today from New York, where he was meeting with the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board on McCain's economic policies, Gramm said the nation's economy was initially thought to have grown by an anemic 0.6 percent in the first three months of the year. What's even more strange is that Phil Gramm appears to still be John McCain's chief economic adviser. By EarlG Democratic Underground http://www.democraticunderground.com/ Harry \ --- Feds cite Schumer in collapse of IndyMac: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/07/feds-cite-schum.html Office of Thrift Supervision: "The OTS has determined that the current institution, IndyMac Bank, is unlikely to be able to meet continued depositors' demands in the normal course of business and is therefore in an unsafe and unsound condition. **The immediate cause of the closing was a deposit run that began and continued after the public release of a June 26 letter to the OTS and the FDIC from Senator Charles Schumer of New York.** --- Senators deny deals from Countrywide "It was something he handed out like party favors." http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004476987_vip14.html?syndication= Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd Donna Shalala Sen. Kent Conrad Conrad received Mozilo's phone number from former Fannie Mae Chief Executive James Johnson, who was chased from his job vetting running mates for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama four days after The Wall Street Journal reported that he may have received preferable treatment on his own Countrywide loans. Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Guest Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:04 am    Post subject: Re: Just lost your house? Boo hoo! On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:56:04 -0500, "bill" <b@v.com> wrote: Quote: Feds cite Schumer in collapse of IndyMac: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/07/feds-cite-schum.html Office of Thrift Supervision: "The OTS has determined that the current institution, IndyMac Bank, is unlikely to be able to meet continued depositors' demands in the normal course of business and is therefore in an unsafe and unsound condition. **The immediate cause of the closing was a deposit run that began and continued after the public release of a June 26 letter to the OTS and the FDIC from Senator Charles Schumer of New York.** That's the GOP accusing the neighbor of arson for yelling "fire". Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Guest Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:46 am    Post subject: Re: Just lost your house? Boo hoo! On Jul 14, 9:45 pm, darkstar7...@gmail.com wrote: Quote: On Jul 14, 9:19 pm, Eat the rich <goofin...@gmail.com> wrote: Phil Gramm reflects the views of most Republicans I've had the displeasure of discussing politics with.  As long as they are doing ok, then everything is ok.  It takes empathy to realize others are suffering.  It takes compassion to care.  These are two qualities that most Republicans lack.  Of course, when they have problems they have no problem "whining" about it. I really believe they are hoping for the elimination of 20-40% of America's population. Remember, 18% of America's population has zero or negative net worth, and another 20 or so% have just above zero. You think these people are of any use to the elites out there? They are short sighted. Without a stressed labor force to fleece they wouldn't have their wealth. Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Tom Sr. Guest Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:10 pm    Post subject: Re: Just lost your house? Boo hoo! On Jul 15, 12:19 am, Eat the rich <goofin...@gmail.com> wrote: Quote: Phil Gramm reflects the views of most Republicans I've had the displeasure of discussing politics with. As long as they are doing ok, then everything is ok. It takes empathy to realize others are suffering. It takes compassion to care. These are two qualities that most Republicans lack. Of course, when they have problems they have no problem "whining" about it. I completely *agree* with, EtR! This is basically what I have said and thought for over 4 decades now and the more I see of people and the world, the more evidence I see to support the truth of it. Republicans/Neoconservatives' politics are based on their selfish and self-centered interests. Democrats/Progressives' politics are based on the interests of themselves *and* for *other* people, sometimes the world as a whole. This extends beyond politics. These show the core beliefs, the world- view, of people's personalities and how they behave in life. This is so obviously seen by many, if not most, of the posters to these newsgroups. The hatred of others that fills the Neoconservatives. The concern for not only themselves but all people that can be see in Progressives' posts. It is a generalization, as people are not 100% self-centered or world- centered, but it become very clear after reading a number of posts by a person what their core-personality is. I suspect if there are replies to our posts, we will be able to see this in them. -Tom Sr. Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First         Society Issues Talk Forum Index -> Liberalism All times are GMT Page 1 of 1   Jump to: Select a forum Society Issues Talk----------------Society Issues TalkDemocracyLiberalism  You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum 150 Attacks blocked Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group