July 15, 2008 11:38AM

Senator Bunning’s Powerful Comments

By Brian Sullivan

Still listening to the Bernanke testimony …

In my business you hear so many of these testimonies that they start to run together. You also often hear questions from Congress that are either off-topic or unclear to the day’s news. Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) was neither of those today.

Around 11:15am he made a statement of the likes I haven’t heard before in one of these generally tame testimony question-and-answer sessions. Discussing the Administration’s plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and what he believes is a power-grab by the Treasury and Fed, Bunning launched into what can only be called an angry speech (there was no question involved). He said when he woke up Monday and read about the Fannie and Freddie backstop plan he felt that he was in France, not America, and that we had begun to practice “amateur Socialism” in this country. Bunning also noted he felt the Fed was looking for a ‘blank check’ to try and spend its way out of this problem. He clearly has no interest in what he views as a move to give the Treasury and the Federal Reserve more power.

Whatever you think about his comments, or Bunning himself, it is clear that the Administration is losing some support for the Fannie & Freddie plans with powerful members of its own party.

15 Responses to “Senator Bunning’s Powerful Comments”

Comment by chuck

July 15th, 2008 at 2:04 pm

Brian I’m with the Senator on this one. And I agree with Eric Bolling’s statements which he made on Fox News Friday night when the matter first surfaced.
As mortgage banks go,Freddie and Fannie deserve to fall flat in the marketplace. Why? If they’re stock is low,thier earnings are low, they deserve to file Chapter 11 and not be saved by taxpayer’s money. Pure and simple. When ever beauracrats enter into the marketplace; all they can do is worsen it not make it better. Also why wasn’t mortgage version of an FDIC created? Created to for regulators to sieze instutions like Freddie and Fannie. But both banks honestly to need to be cleaned up; given the corruption in those banks that has surfaced over the past few years.
Comment by Derek Frey

July 15th, 2008 at 2:17 pm

Senator Bunning for President! He proved that he and Ron Paul are the only two people on the hill who actually understand economics as well as the constitution.
Comment by josh

July 15th, 2008 at 5:50 pm

you missed his best quote: he said “giving Fannie and Freddie more power is like giving a kid who plays baseball in the street and breaks your window a bigger bat and expecting it to solve the problem”
Comment by Susan

July 15th, 2008 at 5:59 pm

I agree with Senator Bunning completely. I saw you on Shep’s show today. I really wish that Fox Business Network was carried by the Dish Network. My contract expires with them in September and we are changing to DirectTV just so we can have the Fox Business Network.
Comment by Terry Anderson

July 15th, 2008 at 6:30 pm

I agree with Senator Bunning. The Feds seem to change terminology….”Rescue” V.S. “Bailout” to stay within the Constitution. I believe we tax payers have enough hanging over our heads without adding anymore.
Comment by Mark

July 15th, 2008 at 7:04 pm

Hi Brian,

I was searching for Bunning’s comments and found your blog. I wanted to say, I had just been introduced to you last week when you sat in for Cavuto and I am highly impressed - I really hope Fox finds a bigger role for you and I don’t give credit lightly. You are very even keel and bright and made the show very enjoyable - the ability to recite Edward Allen Poe (I believe) was completely out of left field. Keep up the great work - I wanted to let you via email but I don’t see an email address here, so I’m using the blogs.

Thanks,
Mark
Comment by DOGISMYTH

July 15th, 2008 at 11:01 pm

you don’t get brian sullivan because you work for Faux news, and they say you can’t get it. Kudos for Bunning today. Thumbs down for Fox for distorting the truth…as usual.
Comment by I'm A Sucker

July 16th, 2008 at 2:12 am

Bunning is dead on!!! Let the free market decide. We don’t need the FED. We’re in this situation because we don’t have a free market. We have socialism for the rich.

Do you want to be rich? Invest your money and do not save. If something goes wrong, the FED will bail you out with tax payers money. Only suckers save. The dollar is design to go down every year. Interest doesn’t even cover inflation. Don’t be an idiot.
Comment by ejhickey

July 16th, 2008 at 2:18 am

Senator Bunning put Ben and Hank on their respective fannies and they never recovered. They could absolutely not handle the direct questions he kept firing at them. At one point the senator had Il Duce Paulson stammering. This is what happens when reality intrudes into the Senate. the questions Senator Bunning kept hurling are the same ones that overseas investors and the American taxpayers are asking. Too bad there isn’t a Hall of fame for Senators. Jim Bunning deserves to be in that one too.
Comment by Chiefos McStacy

July 16th, 2008 at 10:42 am

Mr. Sullivan,
Once again you find the gems of the day, and share them with us. The Senator from Kentucky is dead on. More and more industries are looking to Uncle Sam to prop them up in times of trouble. We have seen this so many times that some Americans have become desensitized by the concept. If we are to continue to have a free market capitalist system, we (the government) have to stop being the rich dad who bails his kid out every time he does something wrong. That precedent could and will bankrupt this country as it would remove the built in limits and liabilities that a free market fosters. Companies would go away from sound business dealings and take more chances, knowing that if the bottom dropped out, Uncle Sam would pick up the tab.

This housing crisis is just an example of the old adage “You reap what you sow”. The idiotic mortgages that were handed out to anyone with a SSN number, regardless of ability to pay, were just unethical ways to artificially influence the housing market. These brokers and loan officers lined their pockets with ill gained fortunes, and these companies showed massive profits, which were completely bogus. A lot of people got filthy rich creating this problem, and now they all can walk away while “We the people” clean up the mess. That is absolutely unacceptable. The other false reality was the ridiculous increase in home values. How could anyone justify paying $900,000 for a home and land that at best cost $200,000 to develop and build, I guess stupid is as stupid does.

This last episode of Fantasy Island is now over and the harsh reality of VALUE has returned, so buck up, hunker down, and take your medicine! If you believe in a free country, and the free market. If you want to live in a place where you are free to live, enjoy liberty, and pursue happiness, don’t allow our government the right to “fix” everything. Tell whoever represents you that this is unacceptable!

Chiefos McStacy
Comment by Rudy Adams

July 16th, 2008 at 11:09 am

Senator Bunning for President!

Thanks Faux News!
Comment by M. Ross

July 16th, 2008 at 4:35 pm

Thank god for Senator Bunning! A voice of sanity amidst the cronyism and corruption of this insane financial debacle. What can we do to support him in stopping the Fed from totally tanking the dollar.
Comment by James

July 16th, 2008 at 11:50 pm

This situation is what happens when you have a privately-owned central bank and legislators who are addicted to spending and big government. Senator Bunning appears to understand that giving more power to a central bank, gives you more socialistic solutions. The FED setting interest rates is just one example of “price fixing”. Why is it that fixing the cost of labor is bad and fixing the cost of money isn’t? Senator is one of only a handful of legislators I’ve seen in the last couple of decades that truly sounded like a “conservative”. At least he did on the issue of greater FED control.

Most Americans are sick of bailouts, but it is the first solution any big spender in Washington can think off. How about a natural free market occurence called business failure. You have to have failure in a capitalist free market. Otherwise, bad business models and incompetent management are allowed to continue to the detriment of all.
Comment by RussianMobile.Info

July 23rd, 2008 at 8:15 pm

This is very intresting!
Comment by David

July 25th, 2008 at 11:07 pm

Dear Mr. Bunning,

I can only hope my Senators from Oklahoma and others across this great Nation understand the underlying problems with our economy - THE FED - as well as you Mr. Bunning exhibited after viewing your comments to the Senate Banking Committee recently.

From your comments I feel you (and a few others like Ron Paul) have read, “The Creature from Jekyll Island - A second look at the Federal Reserve.”

This banking bailout bill (written mostly by Bank of America and Countrywide) will end up benefiting banks the most while making debt slaves of the children of this nation through the future taxation to pay for this boon doggle.

This bill that is being rammed down the American taxpayer’s throat under the pretense that it will somehow benefit home owner’s faciing foreclosure!

Mark my words that Treasury will use their blank check within a matter of weeks - not months - and in the end it will put us on the hook for at least One Trillion dollars - after Ccongress raises whatever initial caps they put in place. I hope you filibuster this bill and may I suggest you read aloud on the Senate floor, “The Creature of Jekyll Island” followed by “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” and finally Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Make over.”

Through CSPN coverage and the media reporting what you are reading you will help educate a financially ignorant population and put us on the path to financial prosperity first as an individual and second as a nation. Heck you might even end up educating the members of Congress and the Senate in the process.

American’s must WAKE up to what is going on in this country. The transfer of wealth to the FED (private Bank) is blantantly obvious as they take on more and more collateral and help Wall-Street CEO’s and a select few others which are bailed out repeatively by this goverment.

Trickle down economics is not working!

The FED, through their action (not words) is intentionally devaluing the US dollar. They are doing this by adding more and more liquidity (dollars) to the system. The total SLOSH is approximately $200 Billion!

A basic understanding of supply and demand explains that too many dollars floating around makes the dollar worth less.

Of course now Commerical Banks and EVEN Investment Banks can pledge collateral including credit cards and auto loans and through the FED’s discount window, so they can then take these converted funds and speculate in the commodities market, which in turn drives up prices of Oil and increases inflation further. All this action in in a vain attemot to shore up the banking system as the Fed IS a private bank and they look after their own.

Meanwhile the American’s standard of living is being destroyed through inflation (bought milk, eggs or gas lately?) by devaluing of the dollar which makes travel abroad ridiculously expensive not to mention the loss home value but worse, the destruction of investments through a “Free Market” which is constantly interfered with by the FED.

Since the FED is scarificing the US dollar by their actions,, and is NOT going to support the dollar by reducing liquidity anytime soon, I suggest you help them in a way that will help ALL Americans, HELP support the banking system and HELP reduce or maintain the current budget deficit.

Why not send every household $300,000.00 and tax US on this amount which benefits tresuary and allows American citizens to pay off our mortgages, debts, and put the rest into the banking system where it will bolster the bank’s reserves which are so desperately needed.

The FED is intent on destroying the dollar so help them but HELP Americans in the process. Either way the dollar is going to be devalued! Who do you want to help? Is it private banks or American citizens?

Call it a trickle up economics.

I will leave you with the words of Thomas Jefferson, penned some 200-years ago,

If the American people ever allow private banks
to control the issue of their money,
first by inflation and then by deflation,
the banks and corporations that will
grow up around them (around the banks),
will deprive the people of their property
until their children will wake up homeless
on the continent their fathers conquered.”

There are a few of us in this country that understand how bad this bandaid (Bailout bill) placed on a gashing wound (insolvant banks) will possibily destroy this country financially in the future just as Thomas Jefferson realized 200-years ago.

Unfortunately, it is occurring on your watch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7MCohPgkXo

God bless you as you take on the biggest fight of your life.

Sincerely,

David A. Kane
Father of 3-boys under 12-years old.