Frank, Dodd and Obama's high crimes

They hide in plain sight, and no one will police them for reasons that speak to corruption that has insinuated itself deep into the leadership of both the Democratic and Republican parties. The Bush Justice Department won't touch them, and it's not just because that entity will be changing the guard in less than two months.

I refer to those in Congress and others in government who promoted and acted under the auspices of the Community Reinvestment Act, which ostensibly made it easier for Americans to actualize "the dream of home ownership," but effectively amounted to affirmative action loans to the un-creditworthy.

Remember affirmative action? It was that lovely social program that (again, ostensibly) promoted access to education and employment to minority groups, usually ethnic minorities, women and those considered socioeconomically disadvantaged. In practice, education and job opportunities wound up being made available to many who were either indolent or unqualified, as opposed to disenfranchised, resulting in inequity, a lowering of standards and bitterness on the part of qualified, industrious Americans who were passed over for these opportunities.

In the case of sub-prime mortgages, the aforementioned un-creditworthy defaulted by the millions; then mortgage-backed securities collapsed, resulting in the current economic crisis. It's that simple.

So the responsibility for this fiasco rests squarely in the laps of those – largely, congressional Democrats – who vigorously advanced the Community Reinvestment Act. Like Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., and Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who continue – occasionally with belligerence – to defend their actions and failed institutions such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, when such comportment is indefensible, quod erat demonstrandum.

Yet, I would wager that less than a quarter of voting Americans are even aware of all this, due, yet again, to the far-left establishment press.

The "big bad suits" involved – these being executives in the private sector who are taking gargantuan bonuses and golden parachutes while the stock market induces motion sickness – whom one would think the far left elements in our Congress would joyfully attack with every means at their disposal, remain unassailable save for harsh criticism from the alternative media. The reason for this is that no one in government wishes to do much more than scratch the surface, lest their complicity be revealed.

In some cases, of course, though the establishment media is mum on this fact, the necessity for lawmakers to keep their responsibility under wraps rests with the fact that they received campaign donations from Fannie and Freddie. This includes President-elect Barack Obama, who was the largest recipient of these donations behind Dodd.

In the meantime, top auto executives are seeking a multi-billion dollar bailout in lieu of Chapter 11 reorganization. Why? Other than danger of the Earth spinning off of its axis and the lack of accountability connected to the former as opposed to the latter, the pain of the reorganization process – which would include renegotiation of contracts with parasitic unions – creates a built-in aversion. Those on the far left in Congress would support the bailout due to their being beholden to those same unions.

The incestuous relationships between Democratic lawmakers – and, no doubt, some Republican members of Congress and the Bush administration – and the principals in the sub-prime mortgage crisis amount to high crimes against the people of the United States of America. While Americans should be calling for Frank and Dodd to be dragged behind pickup trucks, it is likely that most would settle for impeachment and prosecution.

Away from the bluster and begging for bailouts, this columnist wonders what might be revealed if the finances of Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Nancy Pelosi or any other prominent liberal Democrat in Congress were examined. Would we see some movement right around the time the economy went south? A Justice Department probe into these matters might prove interesting, to say the least.

Since we're discussing incestuous relationships, it might also be enlightening to know if billionaire financier George Soros – who factored largely in the 2008 election (with his MoveOn.org political action group) and who has a history of tinkering with currencies to his personal benefit – lost money or if he actually made money during these last few months.

There has obviously been a fundamental breakdown of the machinery of government here, and as in so many cases, it is due to career politicians with agendas, whether they be personal aggrandizement or fringe political objectives. The irresponsible support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac notwithstanding, the Justice Department has been nothing if not negligent in failing to pursue a full-blown investigation of this debacle, regardless of President George W. Bush's lame-duck status.

Given the evidence at hand, it is as likely as a Beatles reunion that the Obama Justice Department will follow up on any of this.