Media bias and the 'subprime six'

The editorial page at Investor's Business Daily today joins with the Wall Street Journal in asking for a full investigation of the "sub-prime six" -- the six named movers and shakers, among them two Senate Democrats, who received special attention from Countrywide Financial because of their VIP status.

For the record, those named in media reports as "Friends of Angelo" -- Countrywide Chairman Angelo Mozilo -- are Democratic insider James Johnson, formerly an advisor to the Obama campaign; Democratic Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Kent Conrad of North Dakota (pictured); former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala;  former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke; and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson. If you are keeping track, five of the six are Democrats.

IBD: "The Democrats' initial response has been to stall. They hope the problem will disappear until after the election. Given the media's lack of curiosity so far — a small handful of news organizations, including our competitor, the Wall Street Journal, have pushed this story ahead — it looks like the Democrats might get their wish.... These revelations suggest that, at the very least, the Democratic Party is afflicted with a kind of corruption that taints all recent decisions on the sub-prime crisis. They need to investigate it fully, immediately and without prejudice — or risk having it blow up in their faces."

Bloviation: Why the lack of media curiosity? My gut tells me the mainstream news media would have much more enthusiasm for the story if it had been broken by The New York Times and had begun with a sweetheart deal for a top campaign advisor to John McCain and had then spread to two Republican U.S. senators. That's just my two cents.

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Photo Credit: Associated Press
Hat tip: Pseudo 100, via e-mail

Comments

[I live in LA, too]

Michael Jones:

"The worst corruption this country has ever seen" by a president is attributed to Ulysses S. Grant:

From http://www.course-notes.org/biographies/
ulyssessimpsongrant.htm:

Ulysses S. Grant's two-term presidency is considered the most corrupt in US history. Many consider him the first Gilded Age President.

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

To me, it's obvious both the Republicans and the Democrats have failed.

What is not talked about is the blatant violation of the doctrine of the Separation of Church and State, upheld on numerous occasions by the Supreme Court (no, for you anarchists out there, it's not the Subprime Court). Yes, church as in God, gods or goddesses. And I don't mean Christian fundamentalists. I mean Hollywood.

Yes, Hollywood with its sex gods and sex goddesses. I think if you are a sex godess, you are not allowed under the US Constitution to meddle in state affairs.

[Peter I]

Peter, I must also express disappointment with your incessant attacks on liberals and democrats. They are beneath you and the sober tone that is more common in your posts.

Please desist from the "just my own two cents" false modesty as well. It is irksome. It's an inapt metaphor and you know it.

[TakeFive]

The tide may be turning; the NY Times has picked up the scent. From today's paper (online version):

“Somebody told you you were in a V.I.P. program,” a reporter said, “And you didn’t think you were getting ... ”

Mr. Dodd cut off the reporter and finished the question himself. “A special deal on a loan?” the senator asked. “No.”

"...he and his wife “assumed” that “it was more of a courtesy thing.” "

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/
washington/18dodd.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

He might temporarily step aside from some commission or panel or some such, but that will be about it.

[TrojanDLA]

You all know that there really is very little difference between the Democratic and Republican Parties right? Other than supposed differences in ideology, the two parties act identically.

There are just as many corrupt Democratic Congressman as there are Republicans. There are just as many incompetents on both sides of the aisle. Every single one of them cater to big business, whether it's Angelo Mozillo or Enron, for every Republican friendly company there's a corporate equal among the democrats.

True independents are the likes of Ralph Nader, Ross Perot, Socialists, Religious Fundamentalists, Libertarians, etc. They are the true believers.

But Democrat vs. Republican? What a joke. People honestly thought Bill Clinton was a huge upgrade in policy and integrity? Please. Bush Jr. is just a less intelligent version of every politico out there. Do people even realize that JFK's policies in the 60's would be more akin to the Republican policies of today? Today's Democrats have nothing in common with the Democrats of 1962.

Back to the article at hand: people should stop feeling that this is some sort of personal attack on them, and look at the article for what it is - some politicians took advantage of "favors" while they were in office. Investigate it, take your lumps.

[Rodney Lamprey, jr.]

To the contrary, it seems like the media is biased against the Democrats. The monetary amount of waived loan fees that have been reported to have been given to senator Dodd are miniscule to the amount of money that Republican Senator Ted Stevens or Rep. Lisa Murkowski, for examples have received through corrupt land deals, and yet there seems to be much more attention on the Democrats. Dodd is accused of getting maybe $2000 break in his morgtgage points, which seems in line with other mortgage deals at that time. Stevens and Murkowski recieved multi-hundred thousand dollar windfalls from undervalued property sales or home improvements, that have been largely ignored by the media. Which would you expect to buy more influence, $2,000 or $150,000? Some of the interest can be explained because it is Countrywide that is involved, but it seems more like media bias.

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

TakeFive, the reporter needs to check the source again.

I believe he said, 'It was more of a curtsy thing...from one of the greedy supplicants.'

Curtsy, not courtesy. Sheesh, they don't make journalists like they used to.

[Bill Foote]

Sheesh. An allegation that a few points might have been shaved off loans is a pretty technical story, with fairly narrow interest, and you're surprised it's received little coverage? Claiming this as "media bias against conservatives" is more than a little loopy.

We're talking about the same MSM that, by and large, completely missed the "you'd have to be on drugs to believe Colin Powell's fairy tale about mobile weapons labs," while Judith Miller served a megaphone and stenographer for Rumsfeld. *That's* what I call a big story. A bit of a sweetheart deal on loan terms, coupled to a feeble guilt-by-association attack on Obama? Yawn.

[ProVet]

since you seem to be the real estate guru down in LA, you ought to know that waiving fees or giving a point away is standard fare for brokers who want the deal. waiving a point simply allows the rate to lower by lowering the commission, ie point. All Angelo did was waive the commission and some processing fees that do not amount to the attention being called for it. Brokers do this all the time for friends and family.

As for the rates, there is NO such thing as below market rates when it comes to mortgage lending because the market runs along a broad band of rate options as they correspond to costs and commissions. the lower the rate the lower the commission. by waiving the commission, angelo was able to lower the rate. BIG DEAL.

Meanwhile we are in a middle of a war where soldiers who have sworn their lives to protect our country for good cause are dying for what turns out to be no cause at all. And who is gaining? Why the contractors who are in the pockets of the white house leadership. they are gaining billions of dollars of tax payer money and lives are being lost because of a no cause war.

WRITE ABOUT THAT AND WHILE YOU ARE AT IT, WRITE ABOUT THE HOMELESSNESS OF OUR LATEST VETS.

[E]

See what you've gone and done now Pete?

You've got people complaining on your blog.

They sure seem to be gluttons for punishment however as they keep coming back!

[LA-renter]

Former smokers are typically the most strident cigarette abolitionists...I suspect most pitch-forkers here are recent bubble-seeing converts... Remember a few months ago when you would've screamed for term limits if a politician talked about suppressing your God-given right to house appreciation?

No politician needed to be bribed into being bubble friendly. Any politician who was bubble unfriendly would've been a former politician.

As for the WSJ revelations... smoke and mirrors... smoke and mirrors. Just look at the smoke and mirrors.

[wobbly]

Pro Vet:

A man with a voice, a brain, a conscience. Huzzah!

[Uncle Billy Wobbles On The Summit of Mt. Pelerin]

Hmmm... come to think of it, the gain for the senators was probably at the expense of the young originator at CW, not CW itself. Or maybe they just had a person there on salary handling the FoA loans.

Bottom line: Even Plato can't help us with this one. Gotta think of a new solution for ourselves.

Conrad is even more meticulously coiffed than Dodd, but neither of these come close to the hirsute splendors of Edward's famous $400 haircuts, or Kerry's legendary $15,000 "Gulfstream Cut":

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1125528/posts

Anyone see Laura Richardson lately? Is she locked up tight in her bunker or is she participating in daily house life -- voting on what to do with our billions and stuff like that? Some reporters at thehill.com have suggested that Nancy Pelosi communicated with her in subtext at her last weekly press conference, suggesting she "get her affairs in order." Wonder if that's a diplomatic (double folded) way of saying "time to resign"?

[Anon8]

Rodney "media bias" Lamprey, Jr. - care to produce any evidence to back up your claims regarding the Alaska Senators (Lisa Murkowski is a Senator, not a "rep.")???

[problemwithcaringisslowingkillingme]

As for the rates, there is NO such thing as below market rates when it comes to mortgage lending because the market runs along a broad band of rate options as they correspond to costs and commissions. the lower the rate the lower the commission. by waiving the commission, angelo was able to lower the rate. BIG DEAL.

Posted by: ProVet |

Sadly, others have tried to explain this, but all we keep getting are these Drudge-y, "MSM is biased", aww shucks my two cents posts, that are frankly insulting to the intelligence of the folks who read the blog. There is one reason reporters - including the LA Times - aren't reporting on the Congressional members complicated processes of obtaining a low-rate, low-risk mortgages -- it is because they NEVER report on the complicated processes of obtaining low-rate, low-risk mortgages.

Now is the perfect time to shine a light on exactly how the mortgage industry really works, why the American public should be concerned about the type of loans received by members of Congress and most importantly, why the American public should be concerned about the type of loans received by their neighbors...I mean, or get off the pot...