Video: Barney Frank won’t promise confidentiality to AIG despite death threats
posted at 4:35 pm on March 18, 2009 by Allahpundit
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Here’s the lowlight from today’s hearings that has Shep drawing (overheated) comparisons to McCarthyism and the boss worrying, not unreasonably, that Congress’s spiraling anti-AIG demagoguery is going to get someone hurt or killed. Why this turd can’t promise to keep the names secret is beyond me; if simple decency isn’t a good enough reason, he might want to consider the effect this is going to have on the talent pools troubled banks are trying to draw from. Want to hear Barney Frank read your name on national television for the edification of every angry populist lunatic watching? AIG, Citigroup, and Bank of America are now hiring!
What makes this especially galling, of course, is not only Frank’s own culpability in the financial crisis — which he’s now going to “fix,” you’ll be glad to know — but the imperiousness he displays here and in his statements about asserting the feds’ “ownership rights” over AIG. What a wretch.
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Love it when a congresscritter starts to sputter. Gotcha!
Last time was when Waters slipped “Socialism” and the oil co. CEO said, “Right. We’ve seen that movie before.”
Good on Liddy for asking him twice. In fact, I thought it was Liddy 12 – Congress 2 (The Republican who was so understanding). Oh and Bambi FBHN 0
Flying Israel
Caststeel on March 18, 2009 at 5:46 PM
Why should they reject the bonus? In the 90s the Dems interfered with salaries, so companies had to get creative with bonuses to attract top employees.
Do sports stars have to give back money when their team does poorly? Do movie stars give back cash when a movie bombs? Do authors like Pelosi give back advances when their book tanks? Do musicians have to give back money when an album flops?
It’s a contract.
The fed already taxes bonuses at a higher rate, so more than half of that goes back to the government. A good chunk of the rest of it goes into the economy, you know, the private sector – where it creates JOBS.
How much does it cost the taxpayer to send Obama and his entourage to LA to campaign on The Tonight Show?
reaganaut on March 18, 2009 at 5:47 PM
Every six years, every Representative should run in a nationwide election, especially since the Federal Government has such long arms. If a lunatic congressman can have direct influence on every person in the US, he damn well better stand for re-election on a national ballot. I am sick and tired of having a representative that I cannot vote for or against.
Pelayo on March 18, 2009 at 5:48 PM
I know – I live in MA and no one represents me.
I think 6 years is enough.
The rumor mill has him connected with Kennedy’s senate seat. Makes sense with all the face time on TV lately. They were worried about losing a house seat in the next census, but with Team Obamacorn on the job, I think they are safe. Frank may be extra vocal in doing Obama’s dirty work in exchange for a favorable headcount in MA.
reaganaut on March 18, 2009 at 5:52 PM
I can’t imagine him getting that close to a woman, honestly.
tcn on March 18, 2009 at 6:02 PM
It is blatantly clear that Elmer( Frank) Fudd is a putrid puddle of snake vomit.
rplat on March 18, 2009 at 6:03 PM
Apparently it’s a lot easier to sacrifice AIG employees rather than take a realistic look in the mirror,what a hypocrite.
heshtesh on March 18, 2009 at 6:06 PM
WOW! The threads of thought run together, but you thought to post it. Cool.
One good thing about my miserable California is we have confirmation elections for state judges every so often. The power is rarely used, but we got rid of three of Jerry Brown’s hyper-leftist judges once.
Feedie on March 18, 2009 at 6:07 PM
nevermind that those people engaged in reckless, possibly fraudulent, activities, and played a major role in bringing down the entire international financial system.
contracts are contracts, and they should be honored. at the same time, putting these people’s names in the congressional record as recipients of federal funds is also surely within the law. (the “death threats” story is an obvious canard; liddy probably read some online comment from somewhere. if you examine this very thread, you should still be able to find several equally menacing ones that the mod’s been busy deleting. you would not want to see one of these comments in the media, held up as proof that HA is a violent extremist site, would you?)
this is a populist tactic to force AIG employees to reject the money or else face of public humiliation. it’s probably not very smart, but we’re talking about politicians, so what’s new?
but hey, it’s just a ‘hate barney frank’ thread anyway, so have fun.
sesquipedalian on March 18, 2009 at 6:17 PM
Barney Frank is a punk!!
They sit there in Washington calling private citizen after after private citizen before their stupid fat thrones demanding answers! Demanding answers to this! Demanding answers to that!! I wish some of these private citizens would get a little courage and just tell these arrogant thieves that this whole crisis began with them!!! Would someone just stand up there in Washington and start demanding some answers from them!! The people of this country would go wild with support! If any CEO in AIG deserves to be fired then so does Barney Frank and quite a few other people in congress!
The Democrats and the Federal government is out of control!! This is insane! Every day is like some kind of surreal freaking dream!
Politicians are not gods! Sure,, congressman and senators deserve a certain amount of respect due to their office,, but they are not kings! They are not our lords and we are not their freaking property to be taxed, fondled and played with any and every time they get an urge!! This is sickening!! Barney Frank,, the man who had a sex/porn ring out of his own home,, who oversaw the failing of Fannie Mae on Freddie Mac,,, is sitting on his stinking arse,, waving his fist around, spitting all over himself and demanding names be made public of private citizens regardless of the threats to their lives or their families lives!!! And for what????!!! Are these people illegal aliens??? Terrorists??? Tax evaders??? Murderers?? Rapists???? Traitors??? No,, they are Americans,, private citizens who worked in a business and earned and received bonus due them in the contracts they made with their employers!!! This is insane!!!!
And if anyone is stupid enough to think this is going to end with AIG,, I’ve got some swamp land and a bridge I’ll be glad to sell ya!!!
JellyToast on March 18, 2009 at 6:17 PM
May this man be the poster-boy for the 2010 elections.
Marcus on March 18, 2009 at 6:18 PM
Barney Frank should be in prison!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kjeil on March 18, 2009 at 6:20 PM
Along with Dodd.
Christian Conservative on March 18, 2009 at 6:30 PM
Hmm – I guess my earlier comment got bounced, possibly for being construed as a threat towards a sitting official of the United States Government.
That was not the intent of the comment at all. It was merely to point out, as others have alluded, that the violence Frank may find himself being concerned with won’t be directed at any of the sideshow players from the Wall Street firms.
Make no mistake, this isn’t in any way an advocacy of such, simply a recognition that the root cause of the major episodes where Americans have turned on each other – the Revolution and the Civil War – while they may be dressed up with garnish blandishments about ideology and moralisms, the real catalyst that set the blood to boiling, then spilling, were about taxes and the roles of the government and the people, and their interaction.
And these are not the very topics we are discussing, with vigour, on a daily basis here, and around this whole innerwebz thingee?
What are those discussions likely to become like – when job losses begin to cascade, and the unemployment rate begins to hit 15 or 20% nationally – higher in some areas. When the wicked combination of inflation and the devaluation of the dollars people are holding render what were once decent, but not extravagant paychecks into so much worthless paper and ink?
Will it actually get to the point we begin to experience systemic and widespread outages, shortages, and possibly even food shortages for some areas as costs skyrocket, transportation and distribution infrastructures begin to buckle, and the well oiled, just in time structure of our modern day lives begins to unravel?
Forget fresh fruits and vegetables at anywhere near anything like a reasonable price during “off” seasons, unless you live in the California Central Valley area.
Remember $5/gallon gas? Miss it? Just wait – it’ll be back. But not for long – because – but could it get to a point where gas – when it is available – is selling for $20 or $30 a gallon?
But, of course, it won’t really matter anyway, once Team Skippy’s crack foreign policy team blunders us into a nuclear exchange with either the Iranians or Pakistanis.
Good thing they aren’t doing this on purpose, or anything.
Wind Rider on March 18, 2009 at 6:31 PM
Porky Pig should be handcuffed and frog marched to an 8′ x 10′ jail cell.
Porky’s protestations are akin to a firefighter setting fire to a forest; one of the very persons responsible for protecting the public and he’s hip deep in creating this mess.
jdflorida on March 18, 2009 at 6:32 PM
If this doesn’t change in 2010, I do not know what to think. We have GOT TO get some sense back into people about how DANGEROUS liberal ideology IS…and, unfortunately, that means we have to actually start studying voting records instead of rhetoric. Seriously, though, we MUST evict the lot of them. IN BLUE states.
Mommypundit on March 18, 2009 at 6:32 PM
My comment got bounced, too. I said I wanted to see him get a good punch in the mouth. Guess I aired my fantasies a bit too loudly.
Mommypundit on March 18, 2009 at 6:33 PM
what a wretch.
sesquipedalian on March 18, 2009 at 6:35 PM
Does anyone have any doubt as to the level of security Barney, fatarse Frank would demand for himself if anyone so much as threatened to trip him in the hallway?! I heard him blowing his big mouth while I was coming home from the DMV with my daughter and I about blew a gasket! It’s unbelieveable that he gets away with all he does- he needs to be thrashed at the next tea party. Can’t we demand he be removed from office?
anniekc on March 18, 2009 at 6:37 PM
Bwaney Fwank is a complete disgrace — these people who accepted bonuses are not criminals; they were being properly compensated for the work they performed…they fulfilled the obligations of the contract they signed.
This is shameful scapegoating — this is a disgraceful power display by one of the worst of the worst in congress.
Dodd and Fwank should both be removed from office and charged for their roles in the collapse of the economy.
Richard Romano on March 18, 2009 at 6:43 PM
“The record does not support the claim that the employee compensation information is a trade secret,” Justice Bernard J. Fried of New York State Supreme Court
sesquipedalian on March 18, 2009 at 6:46 PM
Barney Franks should be doing a perp walk.
Johan Klaus on March 18, 2009 at 6:51 PM
I propose a new ritual in every tea party:
Beheading and burning the effigy of Bawney th’Fwank.
Anyone second the motion? Call the moron OUT!!!
btw I saw at the St. Louis tea party a witch effigy of Miss America Queen Nancy Pelosi. Well done.
rishika on March 18, 2009 at 6:58 PM
This is stupid. Why would you delete a comment about frog marching Barney Frank?
anniekc on March 18, 2009 at 7:10 PM
Hypocritical congressmans incompetence.
Johan Klaus on March 18, 2009 at 7:12 PM
Never forget!
Barney and O’Reilly!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAuOEdttjZQ
JellyToast on March 18, 2009 at 7:15 PM
I’m sure he’d find it all very butch.
Jim Treacher on March 18, 2009 at 7:17 PM
The hangman’s noose it too good for this vile cretin.
Maybe a pool with sharks with frickin’ laser beams on their heads. Yes, that would do nicely.
omnipotent on March 18, 2009 at 7:31 PM
These people are outrageous. They do not have a clue just how close people are to picking up pitchforks and bodily taking Congress over.
jdawg on March 18, 2009 at 7:44 PM
“simple decency” um AP come on, man. This is Barney Frank for crying out loud. he doesnt HAVE any.
Also this whole thing is an act, its WWE at the congress. You notice they aren’t talking about the Veterans medical Insurance SCANDAL or the tax bloated budget?
They offered the bonus money to keep people on the job and now after getting the product they don’t want to pay for it. Hmmmm. That doesnt seem quite right. AND HE HELPED PLAN IT!
dogsoldier on March 18, 2009 at 7:47 PM
Is Barney still cruising for White house pages?
Jamewah on March 18, 2009 at 7:56 PM
The Dems are imploding spectacularly.
chunderroad on March 18, 2009 at 7:57 PM
sesquipedalian,
Since you’re on this transparency kick, why not do us all a favor and reveal your real name and address and salary details on your next post?
shazbat on March 18, 2009 at 8:18 PM
MY GOD!!!
There are two people in American politics that I have nothing but contempt for. First, San-Fran-Nan, second, Bawney Fwank, what a frikken ass-hat. Can’t keep AIG employee names confidential, but you better not release the name of the guy he did last night, that’s a State secret.
Clue to Bawney, if you want to see who is responsible for AIGs problems, look in the damn mirror you pompous ass. For Fwank to be hoisted on his own petard, to him would be a turn on.
These A-HOLES made these laws and policies, now that they have come around full circle to bite them in the ass, they feel the need to displace the blame away from themselves, go figure.
Are the Wall Street guys greedy? Absolutely, Fwank and the boys knew it, they told the money men that the profit would be private, the risk, public. It’s a no brainier for the money guys. To bad for Bawney&CO. it blew up in there face. Now WE are on the hook, and Bawney needs to point fingers to cover his well plowed ass.
OH yeah… Bawney, please put your teeth in when you’re on camera…
M-14 2go on March 18, 2009 at 9:06 PM
As long as we’re going to name names, let’s have the four fools from Freddie that also got retention bonuses.
Since this thing is apparently standard in the industry, lets have ALL the names and amounts for anyone getting any part of the Stimulus or bailout.
Then we can start doing the social mapping of money to congresscritters.
unclesmrgol on March 18, 2009 at 9:10 PM
Idiot
kara26 on March 18, 2009 at 9:17 PM
Let’sget to it.
nolapol on March 18, 2009 at 9:34 PM
He’s being a realist. Anything that comes into the clutches of this Congress would be leaked within 24 hours.
Still, this ball of sweaty Crisco didn’t even bother to feign concern about these people and their families.
Infriggincredible.
Dr. ZhivBlago on March 18, 2009 at 11:43 PM
Astounding crapulosity from the Left’s favorite invert.
thegreatbeast on March 19, 2009 at 2:07 AM
I watched the whole thing on C-SPAN. Liddy must have explained to these cretins about 20 times that the employees received retention bonuses for staying with the company to complete the winding down of their book of business, after which their job would be eliminated. If they didn’t get the bonus they were promised, they would just leave. Congress would save the taxpayers thirty million on the bonuses, the company would go into a death spiral, and we would lose trillions of dollars. A child could understand this, but not these so-called “representatives” of the people. Yeah, save 30 million, lose 10 trillion….thats Congress in a nutshell. I won’t even mention the execrable name of the Banking Queen and his role in this disaster.
gordo on March 19, 2009 at 2:47 AM
“What a wretch.”
AP
Are you referring to the man or your reaction to watching him do his waltzing right over the truth.
Either way, spot on.
SKYFOX on March 19, 2009 at 5:35 AM
Why is this sputtering, blubbering bubbleheaded moron still in Congress? Why do the people of his district keep voting this idiot back into office over and over again?
Personally, for all the hostility I have towards AIG right now, I would have loved to have seen that CEO flip Frank the bird yesterday, just so we could see Frank throw a full blown conniption fit on live TV.
pilamaye on March 19, 2009 at 7:04 AM
Hey, you latte sippers in Newton, Mass. You proud of this fool? Going to keep reelecting this guy to further humiliate your state?
EMD on March 19, 2009 at 7:57 AM
When a democrap says he may be ‘guided somewhat by what security’ officials may say, it means that they will only be guided by political expediency and security be damned.
eaglewingz08 on March 19, 2009 at 8:15 AM
They knew about the contracts and gave them the money and now they will be outraged if they don’t give it back. Or completely go against the what the United States is built on and make a special tax. This is why Government has to let companies fail. Death threats to people who are doing their job and being paid what is promised. When Barney has never done his job he just collects a check.
Tremmy on March 19, 2009 at 9:20 AM
I keep daydreaming about a scenario where I am dragged before the kangaroo court in congress.
“Frankey, sit down and behave yourself. These people commited no crimes and if you want their names, you can get off your fascist ass and go to AIG and ask around.”
Grafted on March 19, 2009 at 9:50 AM
who in the hell dose this moron think he is. You want names ? How about this Barny Skank go read the roll call of the house and senate and you’ll see all the names of all the the people who really caused this problem . Then proceed to put their necks in the noose and swing .
Why dosnt somebody have the balls to say ” Mr Frank your the cause of these problems , so dont go pointing your fat piggy finger at me. To try and cover your own fat Arse”
Mojack420 on March 19, 2009 at 11:22 AM
i suggest we put
ALL the members of congress names
on the LIST FIRST..
and their address and phone numbers
and their ssn numbers too
this way hopefully
Someone will SHOOT
BARNEY FRANKS AND ALL OF CONGRESS FIRST..
jcila on March 19, 2009 at 3:08 PM
Who do you suppose got hit in the chin with more balls? Johnny Bench (Cincinnati Reds), Steve Yeager (Los Angeles Dodgers), Yogi Berra( New York Yankee), or Barney Frank
Just Askin
cando333 on March 19, 2009 at 11:39 PM
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