GOP Housing Feud Goes From Simmer to Boil
We told you last week about a growing note of discord between House and Senate Republicans' political message on mortgage aid. While House conservatives lambaste the Obama administration's $75 billion foreclosure plan as too pricey, their Senate counterparts are continuing to back a $121 billion-plus mortgage proposal from Columbia University professor and former Bush economic adviser Glenn Hubbard.
Now the intra-party tension over housing is becoming harder and harder to mask, as Roll Call reports (sub. req'd):
The [Senate GOP's] plan would potentially cover trillions of dollars of real estate and cost taxpayers up to $300 billion in subsidies. It's the sort of big-government spending plan that House Republicans have been railing against -- at least when they come from the lips of Democrats.But House Republican leaders have avoided criticizing their more centrist Senate brethren, preferring to focus their fire on Democratic plans to bail out struggling homeowners instead, like Obama's $275 billion proposal announced last week to rework distressed mortgages to prevent foreclosures.
Josh
Elana
Matt
Eric
Ooh, another front in the Gooper civil war! Pass the popcorn.
February 23, 2009 11:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
"like Obama's $275 billion proposal announced last week to rework distressed mortgages to prevent foreclosures."
Isn't that supposed to be $75 billion?
February 23, 2009 11:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
I was confused about that a week or two ago too. $75 goes immediately to stymie impending foreclosures and $200 billion goes to Freddie and Fannie for cheap mortgage promotion (which prevent foreclosures?).
Here's a link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090219/bs_afp/useconomyhousingobamaprogram
February 23, 2009 11:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Come on this is par for the course with the GOP. I mean come on do you guys ever hold the GOP feet to the fire when it comes to chutzpah. Jindal was on meet the press this past weekend and happens to be a big factor in the Sunday wrap-up on TPM's front page spouting the same hollow critics of the Stim that the GOP has been echoing for weeks. He says how is spending 300 million on our nation’s national fleet of cars stimulus? Uh, that is very easily explained; the auto industry is in trouble which means that the suppliers to the auto industry are in trouble which means that the employees in both of these fields are in trouble. So how does Jindal explain that this is not stimulus? Oh, that is right who cares about the fact because the media has contributed their own version of the fairness doctrine without Congress by bringing more and more of the opposition in front of the cameras.
He goes on to criticize the NEA. Ok I realize the NEA has not always been politically correct in its grant giving but give me a break these are artist by gosh. And I would hope that everyone realizes that those artist many times employ people as assistants, buy supplies and are themselves employed. Again how is this not stimulus? Maybe Jindal just does not like the fact that we give grants to artist but whatever the case it is fairly easy to see how these can be viewed as simulative. Call these guys and gals out their arguments are hollow!
February 23, 2009 11:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
He goes on to criticize the NEA. Ok I realize the NEA has not always been politically correct in its grant giving but give me a break these are artist by gosh
The GOP always goes after the NEA and makes fun of it. Look up "Philistine" and like "hypocrite" it comes up with a one word definition: Republican.
Art doesn't matter to the GOP. It does to us cause we get how important it is to civilization. Well most of do. I've Bill Maher go off on art like it doesn't matter, but he's more than half way a libertarian, really. If there's anyone I dislike more than Republicans, it is Libertarians. They think we evolved like big cats - solo hunters. No we didn't - we're a troop of chimpanzees or baboons and unless we cooperate, we go extinct.
February 23, 2009 11:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
chimpanzees or baboons? Speak for yourself.;)
February 23, 2009 12:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
I prefer bonobos, myself. . .
February 23, 2009 12:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Its cotamundies for me.
February 23, 2009 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Did you hear the news stores about the Thomas Kinkaid art empire being sued by his own former franchise owners. Now Kinkaid was the type of artist the GOP could get behind and exactly the kind of crap that wrong with the many art buyers. He never sold originals, he only sold prints, touched up prints and paraphanalia covered with images of his paintings.
Sorry it may be off topic but when I saw this in the news a while back it brought a wry-smile to my face. I wrote a paper about Kinkaid in grad school and as a business man he seemed quite sound and successful but the art industry (like the NEA) always distanced themselves from artist like Kinkaid.
If I offended anyone with my comments about Kinkaid, I apologize. I realize art is a subjective pursuit and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so you can take my opinions for what they are.
February 23, 2009 12:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
OK, so yours and Tena's comments both offend me a little (luckily I'm fairly thick-skinned), as I am a Philistine who thinks "art should be pretty", and I resent being lumped in with the Republicans.
Then again, I don't rail against those who have other opinions about art, as I do value diversity in opinion. ("Some of my best friends are artists.")
February 23, 2009 12:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Republicans mouth cynical political rhetoric against the stimulus legislation that is swallowed up by the uninformed. It follows Rush Limbaugh’s suggestion as a tactic to weaken the Obama Administration. The best way to sum up this Republican position is “… Republicans to America - Drop Dead.” And “… Jindal to Louisiana - Drop Dead.” So accept their rejections immediately and distribute all that rejected funding from those 4 states pro rata amongst among the other states.
February 23, 2009 1:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
The GOP is in serious trouble these days, they can't get together on fiscal issues? Look for them to bring up something that will unite the party, I'm thinking they'll start talking about social security or something that will unite the party and get their base, or what's left of it, riled up.
February 23, 2009 1:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Personally I hope that Louisiana has some serious NGO's who are going to emphasize the fact that Jindal srapped 98 million in relief to the unemployed. The governor completely ignores the simple fact that the GOP in LA has simply enacted the "death of a thousand cuts" to the states budget to make it more in line. Of course this has only inreased the spending needed for education and medicaid, but who cares if the private industry righting off their debt and then putting future prices marked up. It still looks like a tax cut to the GOP constituents. Unfortunately this is exactly the kind of short-sided thinking that has been hampering our ability to truly make progress in these areas.
February 23, 2009 1:43 PM | Reply | Permalink