They Bravely Ran Away, or Would You Believe a ‘Redeployment’?

As serious challenges to the US Economy are reported with glee Pelosi and Reid are trying to bravely turn their tails and flee. With $200B in estimated costs to fix the subprime bombs at Freddie and Fannie, $85B to AIG, Lehman Bro’s and Merril Lynch on the Auction Block, high energy prices, rising unemployment and massive panic on Wall Street, the ‘leaders’ of the Democratic House and Senate try to skate out of town to leave their mess allowing Obama to apportion blame rather than fix the underlying issues now.

In Monty Python’s cult classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail, we are introduced at one point to Sir Robin who runs away when faced with danger. His minstrels, which could pretty well be today’s mainstream media, sing as they run to keep up with him:

Brave Sir Robin ran away...
bravely ran away away...
When danger reared its ugly head, he bravely turned his tail and fled.
Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about, and valiantly, he chickened out.
Bravely taking to his feet, he beat a very brave retreat.
A brave retreat by brave Sir Robin.

And what could bring me to pay homage to such an institution in English Comedy? The comically announced intention for Sen. Harry Reid (D – NV) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D – CA) to adjourn the congress in the midst of a significant challenge to the overall stability of the American economy.

I am not a doom and gloomer and I recognize the farcical inaccuracy of Obama, Reid and Pelosi talking up the current difficulties as the ‘worst economy since the Great Depression’, but these are challenging times and one of the duties of our elected government is to stand fast and put up a brave face, and right now only two leaders in the American political scene are doing that, their names are George W. Bush and John McCain.

Although woefully unreported by the decidedly partisan Liberal mainstream media, both Bush and McCain have tried, unsuccessfully, to reign in the excess at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, Bush in 2003, and McCain in 2005. They were opposed by long term Freddie/Fannie ‘family members’ Sen. Chris Dodd (D - CT) and Rep. Barney Frank (D – MA), the Congressional Black Caucus, a wide range of Democrat Senators and Representatives, as well as some from their own party as well.

These same names appear at the very top of political contributions from Freddie, Fannie, their leadership, and many of their employees. Democrats have benefitted from political contributions from Freddie and Fannie and Lehman and Goldman-Sachs and other Wall Street giants by a factor of 150% compared to Republicans. And Wall Street has seen a similar benefit from the largesse of their ‘friends’ in Congress.

So now, when there is a crucial need for leadership within the Congress and from the Administration, when there is a clear need for criminal investigations not only into the leadership of the GSE’s and the other recently weakened Wall Street companies BUT ALSO the members of Congress and the Administration who benefitted from or enabled them, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid want to run away from the swamp and leave Bush to pick up the pieces.

I agree there should be investigations, but Congress can not be trusted to perform them, The investigation simply must delve deeply into the ties that bind these failed institutions and companies to the Senators and Representatives that have protected them, encouraged them, enabled them, and (in the case of requiring sub-prime mortgages for people who could not qualify for conventional mortgages) FORCED them into the situation that has the markets in turmoil and which could top $500B in costs to the American Taxpayer.

While there is an opportunity for political benefit for Republicans if the do-nothing Democrat Congress retreats and the Bush Administration does manage to shore up confidence, the first cause is not to seek political gain, it is to lead the Nation, to protect the American Taxpayer, and to put into place soild proposals to rectify the challenges the economy faces today.

Proposals like this take time to develop, more time than is allowed in the 24-hour news cycle, and this has led to a neophyte kneejerk proposal from the Part-Time Junior Senator from IL and criticism of a lack of a plan from John McCain.

Well, Sen. John McCain (R – AZ) has just today announced a proposed a Mortgage and Financial Institutions Trust, similar to the Resolution Trust Corporation that successfully managed the challenge of the Savings and Loan bailout from the late 80’s. Economists from the Carter, Reagan, Bush 41 and Clinton administrations all agree that this is a good and workable solution with a similar chance of success if developed and managed properly.

The time is for leadership, the need is for leadership. McCain has proposed just such a thing, while Pelosi, Reid and Obama seek only to apportion blame and take political advantage.