Peter Schiff to take on Chris Dodd?

A Wall Street prognosticator who forecast the bust of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage giants has launched a campaign to face off against Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., who famously pronounced just months before the billion-dollar collapse that the organizations were “fundamentally sound and strong.”

Peter Schiff, who had confirmed that he would decide whether to campaign against one of the more senior Democrats in the U.S. Senate based on support he could gather, reported commitments of more than half a million dollars from supporters in just the first few hours of his website work starting today.

For more than a decade, Schiff has not only observed the U.S. economy, but also guided his clients in their efforts to restructure their portfolios. In his book, “Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse,” he describes his observations on the growing federal, personal and corporate debt, lack of savings, the falling dollar and the absence of domestic manufacturing.

Dodd, who had gotten significant campaign contributions from the mortgage giants, was unabashed in his proclamation that the “government-sponsored enterprises” were solid financially, only a few months before their collapse.

Billions ultimately were transferred to the organizations to address problems which are not yet fully resolved.

Dodd had encouraged people to “have confidence” in the mortgage interests.

About the same time, he was discovered to have allowed into legislation authorizing more billions in federal help for the banking industry a section providing for $165 million in bonuses to executives of American International Group, the conglomerate that was given billions in taxpayer money and which had been a contributor to his campaigns.

Schiff, in his book, talks about the U.S. going from being the world’s greatest creditor to its greatest debtor.

He offers his own suggestions, too.

In “Crash Proof,” he suggests that even though the economy of the U.S. is a “house of cards,” there are opportunities even today.

His suggestions include consumer’s reconsidering their portfolios and investments, ways to capitalize on the precious metals market, and the importance of having ready access to cash.