*update* chris dodd's tarp amendment re bonuses came from the white house!

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:00pm

must be hard to keep straight when the law specifically exempted contractually obligated bonuses agreed to before february 2009. no wonder they thought they were allowed to give them out. senator chris dodd told them specifically that they could.

have some bonuses boys

Updated On: 3/19/09 at 09:00 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:02pm

Cardinal Rule # 1

Never diss a DEM no matter how much they deserve it.

[Q]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:03pm

I think it's WAY past time that we take an Icelandic approach to all this and fire every last one of them and start fresh.

And then get a lesbian to run things.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:05pm

Dodd can say goodbye to his seat in 2010...

He is getting slammed in so many directions, I would not be surprised to see a Democratic challenger for his seat.
Updated On: 3/17/09 at 09:05 PM

[tazber]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:06pm

Is this the same chris dodd who eased regulations on certain businesses and them subsequently received campaign contributions from them?

Couldn't be.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:09pm

careful taz, these are the democrats who are draining the dc swamp and cleaning things up. y'know, like ethics giants like charlie rangel.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:19pm

Other ethically challanged dems include

Chuckie "Cheese" Schumer
Bob Melendez
Frank Lautenberg

Chuck & Frank accepted campaign donations from Bernie M along with Hillary & Charlie "I Did Nothing Wrong" Rangel

Imagine the firestorm had the been members of the GOP

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:34pm

"Never diss a DEM no matter how much they deserve it."

Only YOU say this, Roxy. I see plenty of people from the liberal end of the spectrum dis Democrats when they deserve it. Once again, you have an opinion, and it isn't informed.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:49pm

Namo

Don't get lost in thought. It is unfamiliar territory

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 10:31pm

"Imagine the firestorm had the(sic) been members of the GOP"

Roxy...hate to burst that big ole bubble you live in. But, Madoff also made donations to Republicans as well. This was covered a couple of weeks ago, in another thread, where you posted about the Madoff donations. I know it's hardfor you to give up things that you think make your point, but in this case...you're wrong....AGAIN.

I assume you'll be the one starting the firestorm?

Updated On: 3/17/09 at 10:31 PM

[Roscoe]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 11:05am

why did chris dod sponsor an amendment to tarp that specifically exempt etc?

Because he was paid very well to do so. Chris Dodd is on the take, as all politicians are. Pretending otherwise is pointless.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 8:55pm

remember when obama promised that this would not happen this time and criticized the bushies for mismanaging it the last time around?
me too

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 8:40am

did that $101k aig gave to obama buy them their bonuses?
who had chirs dodd alter the amendment?

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 8:57am

oh god, it's like an everlasting gobstopper.
what did the white house know and when did they know it?

[madbrian]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 8:58am

Papa, even for you, that's a huge leap. All this exchange tells us is that Chris Dodd is a moron who's trying to cover his ass right now.

BLITZER: What I hear you saying is that, you personally, you did this in order -- at the request of officials at the Treasury Department, Timothy Geithner, among others.
DODD: Well, I didn't say who it was. But just say this, I wouldn't have modified my own amendment at my own insistence. I mean, I spent a long time to having people try to be -- change it. And obviously they came. And the alternative was losing the amendment. And I didn't think we should do that at all.

BLITZER: Who asked you at the Treasury Department to do it?

DODD: Well, they were people, obviously, coming and negotiating with the staffs back and forth. And I don't know their names specifically, it was at a staff level, people were talking about it.

BLITZER: So it -- but it wasn't just your members of your own staff at the Senate Banking Committee who did this, you personally knew about it at the time, is that right?

DODD: No, I didn't know the exact details. I knew they were coming with modifications to it, and whether or not we'd accept some.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 9:05am

follow the rest of the links, mb. like this one from before things went to hell in a handbasket:

obama and dodd clash over bonuses

Updated On: 3/19/09 at 09:05 AM

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 10:07am

MB - let him leap.

He undermines the valid arguments he does have when he does this.

Interestingly, Obama has taken responsibility for the issue and indicated that ultimately, the buck does in fact stop with him. He could have tried to blame the Fed for failing to inform his Administration is a timely fashion, but he took responsibility for the fiasco. It is a nice change of pace.

Dodd, well,I would not be heartbroken if he decided not to seek re-election.
Updated On: 3/19/09 at 10:07 AM

[tazber]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 10:19am

It will be a nice change of pace when the bonuses are either taxed at 100% or paid back.

Until then (and I doubt it will ever happen to the extent that it should) "the buck stops with me" is just a nice turn of phrase.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 10:26am

To me, taking responsibility for the fiasco is more than just words. Maybe it is all my years working with weasels who try to blame others for their screw ups, while watching political leaders from both parties do everything they can to avoid responsibility for the mess they make, but it does mean something to me.

They are not going to be able to target these bonuses specifically - I think it will be challenged as a discriminatory tax, or a bill of attainder and the government will fail in it attempt to do so. Some folks have returned them. Others will keep them but become pariah's once the names are released. EDIT - further research has indicated it is possible. My bad.

This is just a clusterfvck of timing.

This pisses me off as much as anyone else, but if the underlying contracts were valid, the only real way to void them were for AIG to file bankruptcy and have a judge do so. The only other way to void them would be to demonstrate some kind of fraud perhaps in their inception...

EDIT - I have checked and it appears that there are means to draft a statute broad enough that it will pass constitutional muster to tax the bonuses 100%.
Updated On: 3/19/09 at 10:26 AM

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 11:01am

"for everyone in d.c. scrambling how to blame someone else, just go ahead and talk to me," the president said, deviating from his prepared remarks, "because it's my job to make sure we fix these messes, even if i don't make them."

bold leadership, huh?
i'll take responsibility, but it's not really my fault, ok?

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 11:05am

Compared to his predecessors - yep, to me it is. It is the truth.

To you, maybe not.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 11:22am

well, when you have gotten past blame bush mode...wait, that's never gonna happen. so enjoy your time singing hail to the leader who bear no responsibility for anything. ever. m&m's wouldn't melt in his mouth, eh?

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 12:36pm

I guess you failed to notice the plural. Your intent to completely forget the past 8 years seems to have clouded your judgment. I blame Bush's policies for a good part of the mess we are in, but I also blame both houses of Congress, and both parties, for not doing their job. We are in trouble right now, and there is plenty of blame to go around, due, in my mind, to a failure by a whole host of people to take responsibility for their actions.

Obama was better than the other option presented, but was not my first choice. He is going to make mistakes, and I hope he takes responsibility for them and tries to rectify them. If he does not, he will not earn my vote in 2012.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 2:50pm

dodd blames obama:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aT_tMXRy2vDs&refer=us

pelosi blames obama...and the senate:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2009/03/pelosi_dont_blame_us_for_aig_m.html?hpid=topnews

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 3:05pm

of course, obama's guru axelrod says that people dobn't really care about this anyway. wow.
aig? people don't care about aig.