Ain’t the Obama-Worshipping Westside Liberals Great?

By Kip Dellinger

Well, it appears that along with the most partisan media campaign for a Presidential candidate since the 1800s and very early 1900s, Barack Obama caught a break with the meltdown of the credit markets. The credit market meltdown when viewed by rational economic historians will rest principally with the Democrats in Congress and the community activist groups that used quotas to force mortgage lenders to make too many ridiculous loans.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bought over $400 billion of these loans between 2005 and 2007. Can one wonder why – given the support of these two organizations with their implicit Federal guarantees (which became explicit recently) – mortgage lenders and brokers gorged themselves on fees attributable to the loans?

In addition, those teaser rates and resets were a necessary evil to convince investors in the mortgages resold by Fannie and Freddie to domestic and foreign investors would receive a competitive interest rate over the life of the mortgage.

“Dellinger”, you say, “this is the Republicans fault and Bush’s and Greenspan’s because it happened on their watch!”

Well, not quite. There is ample evidence that Fannie and Freddie were two entities that the Republicans did want to regulate and that the Democrats – Barack Obama prominently among them – blocked serious regulation. Greenspan? Heck, he’s on video warning Congress in 2003 that if Fannie and Freddie were not reined in there was potential for a systemic meltdown in the housing credit markets.

By the way, if you think I’m making this up, just start with the Page 1 of the New York Times of Saturday, October 4 – the Charles Duhigg article (the Page 1 editor was surely reprimanded by the publisher for releasing this article prior to November 5).

In any event, there’s no changing the sentiments of the overwhelming Westside support for Obama. Even recognizing the truth about the responsibility for the credit market debacle, the appeasement types waving their white flags of surrender over the Iraq War would keep them firmly in Obama’s Camp – even as they may be angrily surprised when he does not cut and run from the entire Middle East and toss Israel overboard while engaging in flowery dialogue with every state sponsor of terrorism throughout the world.

For those frothing at the mouth over this comment, I humbly concede that Obama is the Second Coming…of Jimmy Carter; although on domestic economic policy, Obama will surely give us the McGovern Presidency we never had the opportunity experience in its entire socialistic panorama.

Democrats should surely be proud of their candidate, though, since he represents so much of what the Party stands for. Fair play? Well, heck, he methodically and intentionally disqualified for the ballot his entire opposition in his first election. What’s interesting isn’t whether or not he’s a buddy of Bill Ayers (they aren’t, just political acquaintances), but what the organization was about that brought them together. It was a grant-making organization for educational purposes; the grant was secured by Ayers and the spending, some $50 million, was directed in large part by Obama.

Much is made of the fact the grant was secured from an organization with the name “Annenberg” attached to it. Annenberg was, of course, a close friend of Ronald Reagan. But, like most institutions founded by conservatives, those bearing Annenberg’s name have been hijacked by liberal managers – like the U.S.C Annenberg School of Journalism where the long time Dean was lockstep liberal Geoffrey Cowan. Another example would be the John D. MacArthur Foundation.

In any event, the money for this educational grant was directed to community organizations that co-partnered with schools – not to teach reading or writing or mathematics – but “radical” (a term Ayers used in the grant request) political involvement by students.

Santa Monicans from the ancient days of the early 90s will recall what must’ve been the prototype for Obama’s chosen educational activities – it was SMRR sponsored Kid City (also known as Youth in Action).

But one imagines that Santa Monica voters with children will agree that this is a much better use of educational money than science or math or literature expenditures – after all they support Obama and many would probably defend his relationship with Ayers.

In Santa Monica, of course, some would actively encourage Obama to make Ayers Secretary of State (and his wife and co-terrorist Bernadine Dorhn the Attorney General). Incidentally, one of those co-partner organizations is ACORN. Recently the Democrats tried to funnel about $50 million to it in the Emergency Economic Stabilization bill.

Of course, those who say the Obama has no record of leadership in any of his electoral history, that he has never once actually instituted “change” (instead sticking to tired old big government, high tax solutions and appeasement of all enemies and ambivalence toward true allies), that he’s afraid to tell us what his grades were at either Columbia or Harvard law, that he is clueless about how the real economy works because he’s done little but hold elected office and serve as a “community organizer” (read: he’s always been part of the economic parasite class), are absolutely correct about his total lack of qualification to hold the office of President. We were, of course told that by both Bill and Hillary Clinton, too.

But, hey, isn’t American great. Anyone can truly be President. Even a guy that in the old Texas vernacular is “All hat and no cattle.”

Meanwhile, a few predictions. When the economy recovers sufficiently Obama will institute his tax increases – telling the middle class that he’s sorry but we need “sacrifice” and it will be necessary for those earning more than $75,000 (marrieds more than $110,000) to pay significant tax increases. Some of this will, of course, be because the Democrats will continue their ridiculous policy of asking taxpayers to pay for their own homes and support all those that can’t afford and shouldn’t own a home through subsidies.

In addition to tax increases, we will not only just get more regulation of all things in the private sector, we will also get micromanaged regulation of the wrong kind for which the Democrats are historically legendary. After all, it works so well for the Democrats in control of California and Michigan, for example; just look at our floundering state economies.

In any event, the combination of these two factors along with Obama’s efforts to nationalize medicine (deviously and in incremental steps) destroying markets along the way, will ensure that the economy stagnates at the same time it drowns in the money supply to pay for the Democrat-driver implosion of the credit markets created by utterly stupid Congressional housing policies where regulations enacted under their control mandated bad lending policies.

The stagflation of the Carter years will look like child’s play – especially, when two young generations discover that: yes, we might not realize the full benefit of offshore drilling and capturing natural gas for a few years, but it will be fully 20 years before we get any impact on our foreign oil dependency from your effete Green policies and Prius show cars.

Eventually, the Democrats will cede back a ton of seats in the House, starting with those currently held by Democrats that ran on Republican economic issues (the Blue Dogs among them). Obama will also set the stage for the next truly conservative Republican leadership.

In this regard, I know how hard it is for all you Santa Monica liberals to understand, but there really is a large part of American (and a large part of even California) that don’t think at all like you – that goes for both the tired old 60s SMRR crowd as well as the quiche and wine professionals and Hollywood types that inhabit West Brentwood (i.e. the North of Montana crowd).

So enjoy one party politics and making the U.S. a mini-economic wreck like California while you can. President Obama, enabled by a decidedly liberal Congress, will do more for the recuperation of the Republican Party than John McCain could possibly accomplish.

And it’ll be fun to have a Democrat President to pick on once the honeymoon with the press ends. Of course, based on the major media’s performance this year, it’s possible that what we’ll read and hear for the next four years is “things are just terrible, but you should be thankful to our Democrat saviors that it’s not worse.”

What will also happen is that long after the celebration has died down and the 2008 Presidential Campaign is put to bed, the Obama for President Campaign will pay to the Federal Election Commission – by far – the biggest fine for fund-raising violations and outright fraud in the history of elections in this country.

This will include campaign contributions received and retained from individuals identified as enemies of the United States as a country. As well, more than a few of those ACORN operatives will be tried, convicted and incarcerated for election fraud. You Democrats can tell your children how proud you are of who you voted for, and of your political Party, and that this is a wonderful lesson in “how American works” Congratulations in advance.

Meanwhile, I don’t think any of us in the tax profession will be going broke soon. An Obama Presidency will enhance our value to clients – high marginal tax rates do that.

Finally, for those of you sitting on pins and needles in anticipation of berating me over my intemperate remarks and my temerity to condemn, let alone criticize your Santa Monica Liberal sensitivities…well, go dress your wounds. For those of you frothing at the mouth in anger…. it’s just politics, even in Santa Monica that shouldn’t be life and death ...well, for most of the non-SMRR types anyway.