A Frank Fit (Wizbang)

What makes me think Barney Frank is behind this?

Maybe it's the way the Washington Post writers said the following:

"In a move being coordinated with the Obama transition team, senior Bush administration officials are preparing to ask lawmakers for the second half of the $700 billion financial rescue package, despite intense opposition in Congress"

Or,

"The initiative, if it goes ahead, could create an unusual political straddle between the Bush and Obama administrations. If Congress were to vote down the measure, either President Bush or Obama might have to exercise a veto in order to get the money. While Obama officials prefer that current administration issue a veto, the White House is declining to address that question."

Reading between the lines, this is an obvious set up by the Bush administration, conspiring with the incoming Obama administration, to extend its desired use of the remaining TARP funds (no small sum: $350 billion) as it originally agreed with the Congress it negotiated with. This might seem like a distinction without a difference given the makeup of the new Congress (Democrats retained and increased power) compared to the makeup of the current Congress. The back story, as I have noted before is that House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank is not, and has never been, happy with the way the massive TARP legislation turned out because it gave immense power to the Secretary of the Treasury (I believe Lord Acton would have described it as absolute power) and much less to Congress.

The present dilemma seems to highlight what I predicted in the Frank Back on Top post....how much power will the new Treasury Secretary actually have in the distribution of the remaining TARP funds? It appears that the Bush administration has played its hand in favor of the Executive Office appointment (that would be the Treasury Secretary). All the Obama administration has to do is stay on point: there is only one president at a time.

Barack Obama may never say so publicly, but he should in some fashion pay tribute privately to President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for their extraordinary success in restoring the power of the Executive Office.

Comments (5)

This is a time where some o... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by markl | January 10, 2009 8:07 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

markl

This is a time where some oversight is needed. The way the TARP legislation was written, the money is going into a black hole. The assumption was that banks would start to lend, but that hasn't happened as much as it should have. See this article from WSJ yesterday:

Executives who have received TARP funds say they aren't in a position to immediately turn around and make loans with the funds.

Please. I can go in and get same day financing on cars, and can get a home loan in a matter of days, but they can't loan money after three months? It looks to me like they are getting a nice little interest float on the money.

Part of the reason for this mess was too much free reign given to financial companies to create opaque investments. With this much money being handed to them, I want transparency, not more of the same shell game.

The downside is that Congress will force the banks to fund pet projects - one of the other reasons we are in this mess.

I don't trust either of them, but someone needs to be trying to mind the store.

Posted on January 10, 2009 08:07

Not transition to Obama??? ... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by Ted | January 10, 2009 10:08 AM | Score: -6 (6 votes cast)

Ted:

Not transition to Obama??? Perhaps Biden.

For this, the nation owes more than thanks to three unlikely modern day patriots: professional poker player, musician, and retired attorney, Leo Donofrio; life long Democrat and former Pennsylvania assistant attorney general, Phil Berg; and Soviet emigree and attorney, Dr. Orly Taitz (she's also a dentist).

While Mr. Donofrio painstakingly established the airtight case that BHO could not be an Article II "natural born citizen" (at BHO's birth, dad was British/Kenyan, not American, citizen) Leo's Stay of the 12/15/08 electoral college vote was denied by SCOTUS as procedurally unripe.

Nevertheless, since no congressman and senator objected on 1/8/09 to Congress' count and certification of the electoral vote which would have turned resolution of Obama's eligibility issue over to Congress -- rendering moot the Berg and Taitz (Lightfoot) cases -- Berg finally does achieve standing on the issue of actual harm, to be addressed at the Friday 1/9/09 SCOTUS Conference on Writ of Certiorari. Obama's failure to submit evidence of his constitutional qualification for the 1/9/09 conference will mean he cannot thereafter challenge Berg's request to enjoin the 1/8/09 Congressional electoral count and certification, albeit retroactive, scheduled for SCOTUS conference Friday 1/16/09. Moreover, Chief Justice Roberts has scheduled a full Court conference on the Lightfoot case Friday 1/23/09 in the event there needs to be a Constitutionally mandated action, the Inauguration itself, to enjoin retroactively.

Now that BHO is in checkmate and cannot be POTUS, he can be a patriot as well. He need not subject the nation to the expense and trauma of requiring SCOTUS to overrule his 'Presidency'. BHO can and should voluntarily step down with Biden becoming Acting POTUS under the 20th Amendment, and under the agreement all potential claims by the Government for itself and on behalf of others against BHO are released.

Posted on January 10, 2009 10:08

Hey Ted. Santa Claus is re... (Below threshold)

3. Posted by Tom Blogical | January 10, 2009 12:12 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Tom Blogical:

Hey Ted. Santa Claus is real. No, really!

Posted on January 10, 2009 12:12

Although, I think this is a... (Below threshold)

4. Posted by MPR | January 10, 2009 12:33 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

MPR:

Although, I think this is a waste of time, it should be put to rest. Once again the liberal press took a look at this and gave Obamamlala a pass but, was dumpster diving to get to bottom of stories on everybody else.

Posted on January 10, 2009 12:33

Markl, the oversight from c... (Below threshold)

5. Posted by WildWillie | January 10, 2009 6:24 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

WildWillie:

Markl, the oversight from congress should have been going on two years ago but it did not. We are in this situation because both parties, but mostly the democrats in leadership, failed to address this issue. NOw everything is a crisis. Pathetic party. ww

Posted on January 10, 2009 18:24