Obama’s Housing Campaign
Let’s connect a few data points.
Last Friday, Jame Dimon demanded that all the players (except the actual homeowners) get locked into a room until some leader solved the housing problem he and his buddies created.
On Sunday, the Administration promised, for what seems the bajillioninth time, to really do something about foreclosures.
On Monday, the Democrats confirmed that Obama will accept his nomination at Bank of America stadium. They did this to have more skyboxes they could sell to the 1%.
Then on Wednesday, Shawn Donovan rolled out the latest incarnation of the foreclosure settlement–one which still helps just a small fraction of families suffering because the housing bubble crashed.
And now the Administration has a meeting planned for January 23–what sounds like just the meeting DImon demanded–to iron out the last bits of such a minimally helpful settlement. There are two details of this meeting that are especially noteworthy.
First, only the Democratic Attorneys General appear to be invited.
Materials about the proposed deal are being sent to all states, and Democratic attorneys general have been asked to meet on Jan. 23 with Miller, Donovan and Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli, said Geoff Greenwood, a spokesman for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller.
[snip]
Republican attorneys general will separately discuss the proposed settlement by phone the same day with their Republican counterparts on the negotiating committee in addition to Donovan and Perrelli, Greenwood said.
[my emphasis]
Even better? This meeting is in Chicago!
At the Jan. 23 meeting in Chicago, the federal and state officials will answer questions and discuss details of the potential deal in an effort to win support, Greenwood said.
None of the named principles of this discussion live in Chicago. Thomas Perelli is in DC. Shawn Donovan is in DC. Tom Miller is in IA. Even the banksters are from NY and Charlotte.
The one thing that’s in Chicago, of course, is Obama’s campaign headquarters. (Outgoing Chief of Staff and now campaign Co-Chair and former–future?–JP Morgan exec Bill Daley? He lives in Chicago!)
So to “solve” the foreclosure problem, we’re going to invite a bunch of people–but only the Democrats–to Obama’s campaign headquarter city to hammer out something that really only helps a fraction of those affected.
Yes we can.
I smell a rat! I think this will be much worse than, “Obama’s campaign headquarter city to hammer out something that really only helps a fraction of those affected.”
I think it is a bank bailout.
I think Dimon is demanding Obama fixes it so they can get back in the business of securitizing junk mortgages, by declaring all of the MERS transactions somehow miraculously, retroactively legal. Obama will say this is for the good of the economy to clear up all of the clouded titles so they can be foreclosed upon and re-sold.
I think this, because it is what Dimon said!
“Leadership is needed to overhaul the industry, including reviving the market for private-label residential mortgage bonds and reforming regulations governing mortgage repurchases and foreclosures, he said.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-13/if-jamie-dimon-were-in-charge-u-s-housing-market-would-be-fixed-he-says.html
when jaimie said,”jump!”,
barrack asked, “how high?”.
anybody heard from eric scneiderman, beau biden, or catherine masto?
what odds do the bookmakers give for these dem stalwarts not folding?
Sounds like Obama and his team have not learned the lesson of the Occupiers.
Bob in AZ
OMG! burnt just sent me this.
Eric Holder’s firm “Covington in 2004 also wrote a crucial opinion letter commissioned by MERS, providing legal justification for its electronic registry.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/20/us-usa-holder-mortgage-idUSTRE80J0PH20120120
Anybody think that Obama isn’t going to give cover for the banksters now?
Hmmm, seems to me that the clouding of title is a real thing whose residue no amount of legalistication can stop from landing somewhere, eventually. So what are these dudes really up to?
Relocating everything to Chicago always did seem rather, um, concerning to me.
OT: Passing of Etta James just announced.
Yep, have fun protesting this meeting too!
There’s something else in Chicago: Rahm, and his new “security” system, as klynn notes.
If I was figuring out what to do about mortgage fraud in terms of Obama’s re-election, the first thing I would suggest is firing Eric Holder. Blame him for dragging his feat on prosecutions due to his conflict of interest.
Then make a lot of noise abut some meaningless prosecutions of a few lower downs in the MERS fraud arena.
@bittersweet:
ah, bittersweet, but you’re not a banker’s grandson. obama is, and acts it.
@bittersweet: #4 and #8
Agreed on both counts, it is such a no brainer otherwise, because each of those millions of registered voters [to borrow the phrase from “Ghostbusters”] will support the team who saves their house. In Rahm and Daley’s world however, they think that the money can tamp down any negative ads arising from the sellout.
This assumes two facts not in evidence for them: that the banksters would give money to Obama when they really love Rove, et al., and that it actually worked for Mittens, Michael Huffington, Giuliani, Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina, etc. etc. etc. when they tried to buy other elections. They might have a shot, but only if they hide the message and the post Citizens United Rove-Koch-Gramm axis of sleaze will prevent that by buying up the airtime.
It is one thing to be invited, it is another to attend.
So heads up my dear Democratic AGs… I will never forgive you (and I suspect I will not be alone) if you even turn up for this, much less cave to our federal criminal class.
Nobody hammers Democrats like fellow Democrats. I wonder if Summers will be there. I can see him now, walking around the conference table with a baseball bat in his hands.
There is a lot to dislike about the Obama administration’s approach to the foreclosure crisis. But holding a meeting in Chicago with Democratic AG’s isn’t one of them.
Chicago has the most central airports in the country. If you need to get people together from around the nation, Chicago is where you want them to fly to, whether they are coming from east, west, north or south. They can get direct flights and get in and out in a day. Where else can you do that without stretching flying times for lots of people? East or west coast cities just won’t work as well.
As for inviting just the Dem AG’s: C’mon, the Republicans aren’t ever, ever going to be serious about addressing foreclosures, except to protect the banks. At this moment there are still AG’s on the Democratic side that want to do something. Let’s see if they can somehow sway this administration that seems so tone deaf on the issue.
@phred:
I took your suggestion and just wrote to NY, MN and CA Attorney’s General. I linked to the Reuters article and in much more carefully worded form, politely warned them that bowing to Obama’s invitation could make them complicit in his revealed cronyism.
These AG’s have written back to me on this subject before, so at least some law clerk in their office is reading their mail.
@Dennis Dorgan: Well, there’s Denver. There’s Detroit. There’s Dallas. All hub cities with more traveler friendly airports than Chicago.
And sure, not inviting the GOP, that’s smart! Rather than letting them blow off any settlement, you exclude them.
@Dennis Dorgan: OK, fair enough. Let’s see how transparent the meeting is–who’s there, what’s said, and what comes of it, if anything.
By Obama’s own words, his administration is the only thing between the banks and the pitchforks, and he has done nothing to show that he’s in favor of anything but getting the banks off the hook at minimal cost to the banks.
@Casual Observer:
“…he has done nothing to show that he’s in favor of anything but getting the banks off the hook ..”
you meant to write: “keeping the bank officials off the pitchforks”, right? :>)
@orionATL:
I don’t think he’s going to do anything to help anyone who isn’t in the 1%. Make sure your pitchfork isn’t in the back corner of the shed.
I’m praying for a Chicago blizzard that shuts the airports and the city down by the 23rd…it’s working so far…