Another rescue?
We’re not going to call it TGIF this morning in The Huddle, as G7 finance leaders meet in Washington to address the spreading global financial crisis, the Asian and European markets are getting crushed and congressional leaders are considering yet another stimulus that could cost $150 billion. It’s also a black Friday for Republican fundraisers reading The Wall Street Journal this morning, finding out that they are getting absolutely crushed in congressional money race.
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: The entire world’s markets plummeted again, with the Nikkei falling 10 percent, European stocks fell and trading was halted in Russia, Iceland, Austria, Romania, Ukraine and Indonesia.
It gets worse – Dow futures are down 300 points as of 6:30 a.m.
Now that we’ve brightened your day, it’s Congress to the rescue! Again!
The New York Times Louis Uchitelle reports that “the Democratic leadership in Congress is ‘seriously considering’ a large fiscal stimulus proposal, which would send a significant amount of money to states and cities.”
The Times story continues, with Rep. Barney Frank saying “the biggest chunk, perhaps as much as $150 billion, would go to states and cities to sustain their everyday spending.”
The Washington Post catches up on the Times’ scoop yesterday about Treasury wanting to infuse cash into banks by taking equity stakes. From today’s WaPo: “The proposal already is generating controversy on Capitol Hill and among private-sector firms concerned that a broad intervention of this kind would represent a vote of no-confidence in the entire banking industry, not just troubled institutions.”
Somehow Republicans have decided to build up Chris Dodd and Barney Frank as the new villains of the housing meltdown. Politico’s O’Connor and Parnes find that John McCain, John Boehner and conservative talk radio have all seized on the duo in the blame game. With O’Connor reporting from the Capitol bureau and Parnes on the trail in Wisconsin, they write: “This latest back-and-forth shows how political the economic crisis has become after party leaders on both sides of the aisle helped usher legislation through Congress last week granting the Department of the Treasury historic authority to buy up to $700 billion in distressed mortgage-related assets. Republicans and Democrats observed a tentative truce during negotiations over that bill. But this week they were back at one another’s throats, and Republicans decided that targeting Dodd and Frank – not terribly well known outside the Beltway — might make for good campaign rhetoric.”
Another rescue?
We’re not sure this will make you feel better, but Forbes is reporting in its Oct. 27 issue that Warren Buffet’s net worth increased $8 billion during the September turmoil.
DEMS WIN BIG IN $$ RACE: The Wall Street Journal finds an unbelievable spending advantage by House Dems: “Through Wednesday, the party had spent $23.5 million, compared with $1.5 million spent by national Republicans. If current trends hold, the Republicans could lose 20 to 30 seats in the House, double the number anticipated last summer, several Republican strategists said. That would reduce the party's ranks to levels not seen since before it took control of the House in the "Republican Revolution" of 1994.” Senate Democratic committees have outspent Republicans $23.5 million to $13 million.
Also on the election front, Congressional Quarterly has changed its rating on four GOP-held Senate seats -- Minnesota, Kentucky, Georgia and Virginia. CQ is typically fairly conservative in its projections and ratings, so this is significant. The Kentucky race for Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is now a “leans Republican” instead of “Republican favored,” for example.
SPIES WHO LOVED? Several news organizations report that the chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, John D. Rockefeller IV, is investigating allegations that U.S. spies eavesdropped on Americans living overseas, including some conversations in which government personnel were talking to their spouses at home. … From the Washington Post: “U.S. spies routinely listened in on intimate conversations and sometimes shared the recordings with each other.”
PROSECUTION RESTS: And the defense team is ready to roll in the Ted Stevens trial. Politico’s John Bresnahan with the overnight dispatch in The Crypt: “Defense attorneys for Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) have issued a proposed list of character witnesses that is heavy on minority representation, a move seemingly designed to appeal to a jury panel that is majority African-American. …
On the list of proposed character witnesses for Stevens are four African-Americans, including: former Secretary of State Colin Powell; Gwen Sykes, CFO of Yale University; John Ray, the former D.C. councilman and a one-time Stevens' aide; and William Coleman, former secretary of Transportation.”
HILARIOUS HUMMUS: Who knew the usual dour Ralph Nader had a sense of humor? Hotline picked up on this fundraising pitch yesterday from Nader: “I've had a lot of hummus. Hummus is nutritious. And delicious. It makes you stronger and healthier. So, Bloomberg's report on the Lebanese claim to hummus got me to thinking about an idea that would help us raise funds to push our substantive agenda onto the front burner of American politics.
If you donate to Nader/Gonzalez by midnight tonight an amount that has the number three in it (three being the number of lemons in my mom's hummus recipe), we'll e-mail to you Rose Nader's hummus recipe tomorrow.”
WJLA Washington Weather: Highs today should still make it into the mid to upper 70s. Expect mostly sunny skies as high pressure builds into our region, and this high will dominate our weather through the weekend.
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Another rescue?
By: MARTIN KADY II on October 10, 2008 @ 7:12 AM
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