Will Bad Mortgages Hurt the GOP?

[RamboLiberal]

Tim Walberg was one of the rare Republican success stories in 2006. After defeating Joe Schwarz, the moderate GOP incumbent congressman in his rural southwestern Michigan district, he went on to narrowly beat Democrat Sharon Renier with just 50% of the vote. Walberg, a fiscal conservative, ran on a platform of limited government, tax cuts and strong support of the war in Iraq.

Last Thursday, to the delight of Democrats, Walberg lived up to his conservative ideals — voting against a bill in the House that tightens restrictions against predatory lending. The measure, which garnered the support of 64 Republicans in passing 291-127, would force lenders to apply for licenses and require them to verify the ability of borrowers to repay loans. "I think the market always works when we let it," Walberg told TIME just before voting against the measure. "We want to make sure that we have opportunities for consumers to have safe and opportune mortgages. This bill, I think, goes away from that, puts heavy regulation in place, discourages lending practices for just very few people who've had that problem."

As the subprime mortgage crisis has worsened and Democrats have moved to pass legislation to the address the problem, they are accusing their GOP counterparts of doing too little to prevent the predicament. The issue could become a potent campaign issue in '08, as the Democrats have targeted several vulnerable GOP members, including Walberg, who voted against last week's bill.

The Republicans "were asleep at the wheel while this problem was heading straight at us," said Congressman Chris Van Hollen, head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which works to elect Democratic candidates. "This is affecting people across the country in Michigan, in Florida, in Ohio — all important swing states. This will be part of the debate about the economy overall. And people who ignore it, do so at their own peril."

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1685301,00.html

[napi21]

1. If they aren't they sure should be! It's a prime example of a totally

unregulated "free market" at work! I'm a capitalist too, but totally unregulated capitalism is a disaster for everyone except the few wealthy and ruthless!

[ihavenobias]

2. How Conservatives Will Respond

It's easy, you always blame the people involved. In this case they would say "it's their fault for borrowing money they can't pay back".

Another example would be Katrina, i.e. "it's their fault for not evacuating".

The list goes on and on. In their minds, there is no need for corporate/government responsibility because it all goes back to *personal* responsibility.

Should there be personal responsibility, generally speaking? Of course! Who would argue otherwise? But to simply leave it at that is ridiculous.