Edwards Attacks 'Robber Barons' to Win Votes in Iowa (Update1)

[rndmprsn]

i like this guy more and more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a7yOh_r0YMsI&refer=home



Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- As the Democrats' 2004 vice presidential nominee, John Edwards ran as an ever-smiling optimist. These days, as he tries to catch up to better-funded rivals in Iowa's crucial caucuses, Edwards sounds more like the scourge of corporate America.

In campaign speeches and conversations with voters, the presidential candidate calls some companies ``robber barons.'' Business lobbyists have ``rigged'' the system to block fair trade policies and efforts to curb reliance on overseas oil, he says. Drug and insurance companies are to blame for 83-year-old Marguerite Erickson's $3,000-a-year health bill, he told her at a rally in Perry this week.

Did she believe it? ``You bet,'' she said after the event. ``I think he's got the right idea.'' ...

...Still, his rhetoric then, and even earlier in the current campaign, lacked the accusatory edge it has acquired in the past month. ``We need to take back America from the Washington insiders running the country,'' he said Aug. 14 in Pocahontas, Iowa. Earlier in the week, Edwards told a crowd in Perry, about 40 miles northwest of Des Moines, that health-care costs remain high because ``we have not taken on and beaten down the drug companies and insurance companies.''...

...During his trip from Louisiana to Kentucky, he said, he met people who didn't have health insurance or adequate schools and were in danger of losing their homes. This had a ``personal effect'' on him, he said. ``They didn't change my views. They just intensified them.''

[HeraldSquare212]

1. Yeah, it's those...

...damn hedge funds.

Oh, wait.

[JDPriestly]

2. I was just listening to a caller on Thom Hartmann who has

a sub-prime mortgage and is paying 10%. Home ownership is not just the American Dream. America was built on the idea that people should Own their own land and be self-sufficient -- 40 acres and a mule. Most Americans "save" by investing in their homes. People who can buy a house may be able to survive on their Social Security. If you end up paying rent out of your Social Security, you are going to barely subsist by relying on government subsidies for government housing when you are older.

When we first got our mortgage years ago, we paid 9 1/2 to 10% interest. That is horribly high. You are practically paying rent for the first years. To have a sub-prime mortgage at 10% is usury, short and simple. Just usury.


Edwards has a plan regarding predatory mortgage lending:

* Enact a Strong National Law against Predatory Mortgages: As president, Edwards will pass a strong national law to prohibit the worst abuses in the mortgage market: loan flipping, mandatory arbitration clauses, balloon loans, steep prepayment penalties, and other excessive fees. It would regulate all lenders, including non-bank finance companies, and strengthen underwriting standards to ensure that borrowers receive affordable loans suited to their means. Because abusive practices among some brokers are part of the problem, Edwards will ban broker kickbacks (yield-spread premiums) and work with states to establish uniform broker licensing standards and a national database for disciplinary infractions.
* Rewrite Certain Abusive Mortgages in Bankruptcy to Let Families Keep Their Homes: Many victims of predatory lending owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. These "underwater" mortgages are created by excessive interest charges or falling home values. Even if they declare bankruptcy, they must pay off their inflated mortgages in full or else lose their homes. As president, Edwards will let homeowners shed excessive mortgage debt in bankruptcy. They will be able to keep their homes by paying off their full market values and get new loans terms set by the courts. For example, a family owing $120,000 on a home worth $100,000 could cut its mortgage to $100,000, with the remaining $20,000 treated like other unsecured debt in bankruptcy. The relief would be available only once and at the discretion of the bankruptcy judge.
* Rescue Homeowners at Risk of Foreclosure: Many foreclosures can be avoided by timely help, such as renegotiating loan terms, finding a new lender, or catching up with past payments. Preventing foreclosures can also prevent vicious cycles that can bring down whole neighborhoods. Edwards proposed a national Home Rescue Fund to help prevent foreclosure. The Fund would work through local non-profits, government agencies, and community financial institutions. If necessary, the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac could work with community lenders to create affordable refinancing alternatives for these families.
* Hold Lenders and Investors Accountable: Edwards commends the FDIC for summoning lenders and Wall Street investors to a meeting discussing their role in the crisis. However, these conversations will only succeed if lenders and Wall Street give regulators specific commitments to mitigate foreclosures, such as waiving prepayment penalties, restructuring loan terms, and forgiving of back payments.


http://johnedwards.com/issues/predatory-mortgages/

[Blackhatjack]

6. And now you see why Repub backers are so fearful of Edwards...

Every one of these suggestions would improve the entire mortgage financing industry and would limit the exploitation of borrowers.

[HeraldSquare212]

7. And, in addition,

he's going to divest himself of his investmanets in predatory lenders. What a guy!

[Blackhatjack]

8. What makes you think he had investments in predatory lenders? You dreamed it?

[HeraldSquare212]

13. See above post

re: article in Forbes magazine.

[Blackhatjack]

18. I see no link to an article in Forbes Magazine..n/t

[NYCGirl]

22. I think he's talking about this:

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/17/ap4031436.html

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, who has called homeownership "the foundation of the American dream," said Friday he will divest his holdings in funds linked to lenders that have foreclosed on Hurricane Katrina victims.

"I will not have my family's money involved in these firms that are foreclosing on people in New Orleans," he told the Associated Press.

Edwards has reported $29.5 million in assets, millions of which are invested in the hedge fund Fortress Investment Group (nyse: FIG - news - people )., a company that paid him nearly half a million dollars last year for consulting advice.

Fortress has investments in lenders that offer subprime mortgages, higher priced loans for borrowers considered greater risks. The Wall Street Journal on Friday identified 34 New Orleans homeowners who face foreclosure actions from lenders connected to Fortress.

[LSK]

29. yeah, lets focus on his short term consulting gig

and ignore his decades of work as a lawyer suing Corporations.

[AzDar]

3. Mr. Edwards is as close to my ideal (Mr. Gore) as I think I'm going to get.

Go John!

[Blackhatjack]

4. Edwards is right on all counts .... so set your watch for the personal attacks on him

[porphyrian]

5. I like most things about him except his stance on gay marriage.

That kind of breaks the deal.

[rndmprsn]

9. i know what you mean on that one...

he struggles with it, at least shows that he thinks about it seriously and is honest about his thoughts on this issues, doesn't make it right i know...

[porphyrian]

10. Either stand up for everyone or sit down, is my position.

I want liberty and justice for all, not just for some. That's what we have now, and it's entirely unacceptable.

[rndmprsn]

11. ok i agree...

but he's still becoming my first choice even slightly flawed.

[zalinda]

17. Okay, time for me to give a little confession

I have a problem with black men. Not in a general way, but I cannot bring myself to have a romantic relationship with one. I know it's wrong, but I can't help it. I may have gotten "those thoughts" when I was growing up. My grandmother's neighborhood was becoming black, and as a child I found myself sweet on a little boy across the street. I was teased endlessly about it, yes he was a little brown boy and it was pointed out to me how stupid(?) I was for liking him. I was tortured for years over this incident.

Now, logically, I can say I don't have a problem with it, but deep inside I do. Btw, both of my son's girlfriends have been biracial, so I didn't pass it on. I understand why John Edwards has a problem with it, just not the incidents that caused it. Was it his church? It is certainly possible. Church has a way of getting inside a person's head and staying there. Was he teased, very probably. He grew up in a working class neighborhood, and may have been too pretty and well-mannered for the bullies. Who knows why, but we do know that he is aware of the problem and is trying to find a way through it.

If this is the only problematic issue with him, then count yourself lucky. I have issues with just about every candidate for some reason or another, but he has come closest so far to my ideal.

zalinda

[Beaverhausen]

12. His stance is the same as every other Dem candidate save for Kuchinich

[porphyrian]

14. That's why my vote is Kucinich's to lose.

The others can kiss my ass.

[rndmprsn]

15. good for you...

that you have that much passion, i guess i am not a single issue voter this time around, but to each his own you know.

[porphyrian]

16. I'm just tired of voting for the person I hate the least.

I want to vote FOR someone, and so far, I've been disappointed.

[rndmprsn]

20. i can def relate to that one...

[JANdad]

21. I'll bet they are all waiting outside your

front door to kiss your single-issue voter, sactimonious ass....aren't they?

[porphyrian]

25. Who shat in your Wheaties, bub?

I'd tell you to fuck yourself, but your opinion doesn't mean that much to me.

[JANdad]

26. Ummm...you did, thanks for raising the discourse...

"I'd tell you to fuck yourself, but your opinion doesn't mean that much to me." lol....you Cheney'd me...lol


That is my point exactly...I'm sure that HRC, JE and BO would say the same to you if you were to tell them "they can kiss my ass"

[porphyrian]

27. Again, you seem to be suffering from the impression that I care what you think.

I don't. Do you have anything of value to offer but ridicule for my opinion, or are you intentionally wasting my time?

[madrchsod]

19. my grandfather gave speeches in the 20`s railing against

the "robber baron`s"..someone on his staff did their home work because the populist movement was really big in the 20`s and early 30`s in many parts of iowa.there are a lot of people who`s parents or grandparents supported the movement...

my mom was born about 30 miles from Pocahontas. i still have relation that moved there in the late 1800`s. knowing those folks out there i`d say edwards does appeal to them over obama or clinton. course there is`t a lot of people out there in western iowa...

[rndmprsn]

23. i've always thought that the dems have a playbook to win elections....

it's called the new deal play book....a proud populists route to electoral victory

[Gold Metal Flake]

24. Edwards should give this speech...

http://www.authentichistory.com/1930s/history/19360627_FDR_2nd_Acceptance_Speech_At_DNC.html

[jsamuel]

28. great stuff, thanks

[Triana]

30. YES!!! That's exactly what I call them and it's exactly what they are!

EVERY DAY I hear something else John Edwards says that impresses me. He speaks for me!

[frazzled]

31. Did he attack himself?

Just askin, what with the $16 million he had invested in his hedge fund that was foreclosing on Katrina victims. But y'all go on wallowing in your adoration. Sorry for the intervention.