And now for the GOP talking points, David Gregory.

[Barack_America]

Hilarious. Jeanne Cummings (Politico) was just on MSNBC, proposing what she *thought* the GOP talking points regarding the Housing Plan *might* be.

Next we have David Gregory expounding on those points in great detail, having clearly given them a lot of thought (or at least intense memorization).

So for those interested, here are the GOP talking points that Mr. Gregory was so kind to share with us:

1. Reducing someone's mortgage payments to roughly 1/3 of their income may not help them if they have additional debt (i.e. student loans and credit card debt). He claims that 50-60% of people will re-default on their mortgages.

-Rebuttal: People tend to pay their mortgage payments first. That's exactly why the mortgage crisis lead to a credit card crisis. People started piling debt on their credit cards in order to have enough money for their mortgage payment. This is a part of the coming GOP war on provisions allowing bankruptcy judges to rewrite mortgage terms. Stay tuned.


2. It's too expensive


3. It doesn't do enough for homeowners who are keeping up with their mortgages, but find themselves owing more than their homes are worth.

-Rebuttal: Yes, it does. http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/02/18/Help-for-homeowners/


4. The solution is to write down the principle of the loan.

- I'm not a financial expert, but couldn't that decrease home values even further, compounding the problem such that even more people find themselves owing more than their houses are worth? For example, if your neighbor drastically reduces the principle on their home, does that affect your home's value? And wouldn't the banks want to be reimbursed for the difference? If so, wouldn't that be extraordinarily "expensive"?


These "arguments" coming soon to a Republican mouthpiece near you. :eyes:


Edited: to change "principal" to "prinicple". wrote that when Obama was thanking the principal of Dobson High. lol.

[Thrill]

1. David Gregory is a disgusting piece of crap

The ratings for MTP will continue to drop

[KittyWampus]

12. true but as the OP pointed out, now we know what the Republican spin is and can rebut it

[Hepburn]

17. Is the some reason to insult crap by comparing it to Gregory?

:shrug:

[DJ13]

2. may not help them if they have additional debt

Then we reinstitute usury laws to cap interest rates and the crisis can be dealt with.

Im sure we can count on the GOP to help us cap rates, right?

lol

[Barack_America]

3. My thoughts exactly.

As if the credit card companies are going to be able to slink away from this untouched. Ha!

Motherf*ers, you're next!

[Cant trust em]

4. I think that probably starting with the debt mounting in the hundreds of thousands...

is the best start.

This argument is so typically GOP. Ignore the big picture and focus on the minutae.

[MoJoWorkin]

5. But the CNN financial gal (Gerri WIllis)LOVES the plan, along with Tony Harris.

So far, CNN is still talking up the plan.

Suzanne Malveaux doing a good job now.

[Jennicut]

6. Gerri Willis, she has always been good

She usually is an advocate for what will help the average person

[EC]

7. The more than the house is worth meme is nonscence

yes, at this time people owe more than the worth of the home, but it is still an investment that will eventually start growing again and if loan payments are lowered so people can pay them and stay in their homes, eventually their priciple will be lower than the worth of the home (maybe 10 years from now) but the home is still an asset...

[Barack_America]

8. That's what I was thinking.

And doesn't lowering the principle on the house suggest that, yes, the current value is what the house is *worth*, when the value of many homes now is artificially LOW due to nearby foreclosures? That's what makes me scratch my head why people would think that lowering principle is a good way to stabilize home prices. Seems to me it's just going to bring home prices down more.

But, by lowering the interest rates and allowing more of the payment to be applied to the principle, would allow the house "value" to stay higher and allow people to afford the payment.

Like I said though, I'm not a financial expert.

[Zen Democrat]

9. David Gregory does not have clean hands to opine on the housing crisis because of his wife!

David Gregory's wife, as many of you know, is Beth Wilkinson. Ms. Wilkinson was the Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of FANNIE MAE from 2006 until her resignation on September 19, 2008, after the government took it over.

Why Old Stretch should even be allowed to voice an opinion without a public disclaimer on the network is beyond me.

Yet, I still attempted to watch MTP for a few weeks after he took it over. But no more. He's just terrible.

[Barack_America]

10. Ah yes, thank you for bringing that up.

It's no wonder he was so well-versed on the GOP/corporate talking points.

Well-remembered!

[City Lights]

13. And Beth now works as a white collar criminal defense attorney.

From Wiki:

In January 2009, Wilkinson announced she is to join the partnership of the New York City-based law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison resident in its Washington, D.C. office focusing on white collar criminal defense.

How convenient.

[rvablue]

14. Thanks, City Lights, for posting this and I hope you continue to repeat

it every time there is a Gregory post.

When I find out information like this it makes my blood boil.

Back in the day when journalists actually had to adhere to a set of ethics, Gregory, being that he is married to woman who financially benefits from getting these crooks off the hook, would not be allowed to get on TV and expound on issues that could either hurt or help his wife's clients.

UGHHHH! I'm mad....at the revelation...not your posting it, of course.

Please continue to share this in DU and I will too......it's so unprofessional, unethical and frankly dubious.

[City Lights]

15. My blood boils, too...thanks for helping spread the word about Gregory.

I was shocked when I Wiki'd her and discovered her new place of employment. :mad:

[KittyWampus]

11. Thanks, this is a very useful and informative thread. K&R.

[SpiralHawk]

16. Gregory is totally on Bended Knee for the Republicon Corporate Borg

A shameless infotainer/propagandist.

[AtomicKitten]

18. The wingnuts already proved they have no clue when it comes to anything on the economy.

They are just chattering teeth now.