Flashback: Dem Leaders Scuttled Proposal to Rescind Big Exec Bonuses
Elana Schor reminds us of a rather pertinent detail involving this AIG mess: Last month, Democratic Congressional leaders stripped from the stim bill a stringent proposal to force bailed-out companies to rescind bonuses to executives.
That proposal, by GOP Senator Olympia Snowe and Dem Senator Ron Wyden, would have retroactively recovered “all cash bonuses to bailout recipients that exceeded $25,000,” Schor reminds us, and “could have prevented much of the current AIG flap.”
In the wake of the current AIG mess, Snowe and Wyden are pushing to reintroduce their legislation, and many others from both parties are jockeying for political advantage.
One point about this: It’s really striking how incredibly volatile the politics of this are right now. Polls show broad support for Obama and his agenda, obviously. And as Eric Kleefeld notes, a new poll from NPR shows broad support for Dems on the issues, and favors Obama’s ideas on the budget over those of the GOP, 50%-41%.
But Obama has slipped in some polls. The NPR poll also finds that he’s slipped under 50% among Independents and finds a tie in a generic Congressional matchup between both parties. Public perceptions can abruptly shift amid crises like these, particularly when all-consuming stories like the AIG mess are buffeting the electorate from all sides.
The AIG story has the Obama administration on the defensive, and Republicans are moving rapidly to capitalize on it. The bottom line is we don’t have any clue how this is going to shake out.
Update: Think Progress points out another, similar wrinkle: GOP leaders opposed Wall Street salary caps last month.
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It’s a self-fulfilling situation when the MSM – and I mean the WaPo bigtime, here, are pushing the idea that this AIG mess damages Obama’s “political capital.”
They hammer that home enough and gee, the polls reflect it. What a surprise.
Someone explain to me how this is Obama’s fault.
//Someone explain to me how this is Obama’s fault.//
Gee, it’s not like he’s been in any position of power for the past four years…
“It’s a self-fulfilling situation when the MSM – and I mean the WaPo bigtime, here, are pushing the idea that this AIG mess damages Obama’s “political capital.””
It’s only a problem when it happens to your guy.
See this is how it works, build him up, build him up, build him up… NOW – watch him fall, fall, fall. It’s good for business. I mean – it sells papers.
Happened to Carter, Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton, Bush 2 & now it’s Obama’s turn.
“It’s a self-fulfilling situation when the MSM – and I mean the WaPo bigtime, here, are pushing the idea that this AIG mess damages Obama’s “political capital.”
…
Indeed. In fact, this narrative is being pushed by drudge. Below is the headline from all day.
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BONUS MESS: ANGER DEPLETES OBAMA CAPITAL
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I notice how nobody is talking about the stock market anymore. I mean, with Obama being such a socialist borderline Marxist, the Dow should be going down down down right? I thought everyone was going Galt.
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The shame in all this AIG garbage and the rest of these financial firms is they’ve all made out like bandits along with all the sub prime lenders saturating the markets with dodgy loans and all the while the press and the rest of us are playing catch-up while they are cashing out and moving onto their next big score. This is what happens when the American dream turns into a cash cow.
Why no mention at The Plum Line yet of Chris Dodd’s amendment to the stimulus bill? The one that “provides an exception for contractually obligated bonuses agreed on before Feb. 11, 2009, which exempts the very AIG bonuses Obama is condemning every single chance he gets. The amendment is in the final version and is law.”
http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/
I have a question I’m wondering about. Is it any kind of issue when our favorite blogs go just as hard at the Obama administration while it tries to get its sea legs as the MSM does? Or is that the best way of holding them to the mantra of change?
ABC — seems to me that blogs need to call it as they see it on the issues and not pull their punches…why shouldn’t they?
AIG is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Everyone has been upset since the inception of the bailout began. The outrage is not directed at President Obama but to his messengers (could they be any less personnable) and the state of the country. But make not mistake no matter who delivers the message the man in control will be blamed for the actions of everyone under him. Allow me to drift for a minute: Has anyone seen any 2 people (Geithner and Summers) who seem less capable than them. It may not be true that they are incapable, unfeeling, less interested, less positive but all we have to go on are sound bites. So let’s kill the messengers. It will make us feel better and someone in the Administration is going to have to pay for this screwup.
Enough with this crass stupidity over bonuses continuously being given out to those shysters who has contribute to this incredible mess that we are currently being faced with. It has become obvious that they don’t give a damn about what you think or feel, because it has and will always be business as usual, until they believe that a jail cell is just around the corner. Anyone that has ever been in the financial world knows that, most bonuses are link to how much they can screw the client. I have been pissed off about this type of mind set for about 25 to 30 yrs. I am glad to see that everyone else has finally caught up with the times. This is a direct indictment on how greedy this Country has become, and also shows how they don’t give a damn about what happens to this Country. It’s that simple! Finally, Jack Cafferty and others in the media need to stop with their daily scare tactic about the economy and the President. Because if they really cared, we would have seen them reporting on this type of mess years ago. PLEASE STOP!
Greg, like I said, it’s a question. Obviously reporters need to report as accurately as they can (one news source like Fox is enough). Still, is it an issue when the MSM reports so heavily on one part of a story (in this case, the AIG bonuses) and pays much less attention to the bigger story (as Aravosis says, the identity of the AIG counter-parties who’ve gotten vastly more money) and liberal blogs do much the same thing? Does it distort the big picture in a way that makes it harder for us to get out of this crisis?
Karla–You make an interesting point, that we have to get angry with somebody. And Summers and Geithner look and sound like the sorts of guys who might have walked off with those bonuses themselves. I don’t doubt their economic knowledge, but they’re clearly short on political style and acumen. Maybe we’d be reading different sorts of stories if they were like Barney Frank.