Let’s get this guy in SuperCongress stat:
While U.S. Rep. Tom Graves was calling for fiscal responsibility in Washington his attorney was arguing in a lawsuit that a North Georgia bank is at fault for issuing Graves a $2.2 million loan the bank knew he could not repay.
Graves was fighting a lawsuit along with business partner Chip Rogers, the state Senate majority leader. The two Republicans, through a limited-liability company, used the loan to purchase and renovate a Calhoun motel that quickly went under.
The bank sued, alleging the two defaulted on the loan. The politicians filed counterclaims against the bank, accusing it of improperly declaring the loan in default after reneging on a promise to refinance it at more favorable terms. Both parties dismissed their claims Wednesday, a day before they were scheduled to attend a hearing on the case in Calhoun. Graves said through a spokesman that the case has been “fully resolved in an equitable and fair manner.” An attorney for the bank declined to comment.
This is the well known Burkean small-government principle of “It’s your fault- you knew I couldn’t pay you back!”
(Via the Benenator 2000)
cathyx
Well, this guy’s on it.
http://firedoglake.com/
boss bitch
So no one’s going to post about Pelosi’s picks for the super committee?
Rick Massimo
I’m thinking it’s about time in the life of this talking point for a conservative pundit to say “Hey, when did we ever actually SAY we’re the party of personal responsibility, huh? HUH?” Followed by three weeks of screaming about how fascist liberals make up stuff about conservatives.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
so… we’ve got this guy, the dead beat dad (that’s also not his fault) and the get-the-government-out-of-health-care-where’s-my-government-fucking-health-care guy. Heckuva job, Tea Baggers! and the voters who voted for them.
sb
A bank vs. a Republican. Who do you cheer for in this fight?
Zifnab
I’m sure Rep. Graves will be happy to help the North Georgia bank recoup its loses by foreclosing on a bunch of hapless little people.
Carl Nyberg
It seems like this could be blazing a trail for legalizing bribery.
Politician A takes loan from Bank B.
Politician A fails to pay Bank B in accordance with terms of the loan.
Loan is renegotiated (terms secret) and Politician A is now richer and Bank B has a politician who owes a favor.
aimai
Isn’t it technically “You screwed up, you trusted [me].”
aimai
The Snarxist Formerly Known as Kryptik
But don’t forget that where the subprime crisis was concerned, it was all because of those shifty minorities who got loans too big for their britches, and dirty libs who put guns to loaners’ heads to force them to extend risky loans out to shifty minorities.
I wonder which side of that idea this guy was…though I have a pretty damn good guess.
dmsilev
@sb:
Injuries?
jheartney
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOXtWxhlsUg
Robin
I literally just spent two days working in Calhoun GA. Someone should dig. Bit deeper to determine where the 2.2M went. I guarantee it didn’t go into the refurbishment they are claiming. That area is mostly rural with a dying industrial base of carpet manufacturers and textiles.
Admiral_Komack
Hey now!
It’s Obama’s fault!
‘Cause he’s angry…and black…and a man.
RGuy
So then he admits the 2008 financial collapse was caused by the banks!
David in NY
@Robin: Seemed like a lot for a failing motel …
Erin
Let’s revisit Lawrence O’Donnell’s hilariously EPPPPICCC rant against “deadbeat dad Joe Walsh”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLVjWkOfrsQ
if you haven’t seen it, you should. (8 min). Truly epic.
From now on no one should call this tea party rep anything but “Rep. Deadbeat Dad Joe Walsh”
Jenny
Don’t they realize Banks are people?
Poopyman
@sb:
Injuries.
ETA: I see dmsilev beat me to it.
Ash Can
So, according to the linked article, the bank that supplied the original loan failed, and the guy Graves and his partner turned the property over to is an ex-con. Yep — squeaky clean, this guy…
Judas Escargot
Isn’t this basically what the Teeps were saying to the rest of the world just a couple weeks ago?
PeakVT
@Carl Nyberg: I don’t think that kind of activity is something new, actually. And loan forgiveness is counted as income in many cases, IIRC, so it’s hard to hide.
frapalinger
I love how the champions of the free-market actually suck at business and finance. These clowns will get re-elected though, don’t worry. The republicans are all about sola fide, actions mean nothing to them.
hueyplong
I hope someone, sometime, is tempted to violate the almost certainly included confidentiality clause in that agreement.
Maybe the GOP congressman will piss off a staffer by trying to do the nasty with him/her and that person will become “disgruntled,” “not yet paid off,” and chatty.
JPL
@Ash Can: this is the first comment on the ajc blog
scav
See! Still more proof they’re just ordinary men of the the people. Who among us hasn’t defaulted on a 2.2 million dollar loan? ! (after stiffing the wife for child-care, et cetera,et cetera, et cetera.)
JohnR
SOP for the GOP. Just another isolated incident. Let’s move forward without looking back and playing the blame game and find the next “sex, drugs and rock-and-roll, liberal hippies being bad” story.
Napoleon
@JPL</a
Settling tells you nothing. The settlement could have been the bank cuts $2000 off of what he owes then if he dismisses and he accepts it because he has loser of a case.
Nylund
@aimai:
Doesn’t that pretty much describe Donald Trump’s entire career? Getting people to loan him big sums of money that he never pays back? Only in Donald’s case, when they try to sue him, he counter-sues claiming that their lawsuit is a libelous attack on his reputation.
Cap'n Phealy
It’s the Eric “Otter” Stratton defense: “You fucked up! You trusted us!”
Emma
@dmsilev: All right, you owe me a new rib — ’cause I just busted one laughing.
Villago Delenda Est
This shit never ends.
Every one of these maggots is an outright criminal, whose behavior is blessed by the Mammon worshipping masses.
Martin
I blame the Community Reinvestment Act.
rikyrah
say it with me ladies and gentlemen….
G-R-I-F-T-E-R-S
and, need I ask what would have happened if this were, oh, say,
Barbara Lee
Jim Clyburn
Raul Grivala
who had gotten a 2.2 million dollar loan that they knew they couldn’t repay?
yeah……
uh huh
I’ve been Black in America longer than 3 days…so, I KNOW what would be happening.
Citizen_X
I see Congressman Deadbeat, Joe Walsh, has been mentioned here. Seems the head of the Deadbeat Dad Caucus is chiding Obama for having the audacity (heh heh) to claim that the Tea Partiers somehow caused the credit downgrade by playing Russian Roolette with our, um, credit. “It’s pathetic,” says Deadbeat Dad of Obama, “I’ve never known a president who refuses to accept responsibility for anything.”
Did I mention that he’s a deadbeat dad?
Omnes Omnibus
@rikyrah:
I have never been Black in America (or anywhere else), and I know what would be happening.
scav
GSD I’m slow. I finally clued in on the idea of Mammonary glands and the political feeding thereupon. Between that and the Mammary gland action, I think we’ve summed up their day’s activities.
Midnight Marauder
@sb:
The Mayans.
cleek
@Citizen_X:
and, guess what: you still don’t.
jl
I have neither the time right now, nor the inclination to subject myself to the idiot box, and click off the radio news as soon as I get my traffic and weather, in an effort to spare the old blood vessels in my head, but below is a depressing report on media coverage of the financial markets from Brad DeLong.
On other hand, I did notice interviews with Krugman, Stiglitz, and Darrell Duffie (wonky academic financial engineering prof who want much stricter financial regulation) on SF Bay news radio KCBS over last two days. Which is a good sign, at least locally people are hearing some reliable info.
August 11, 2011
Interpreting the Aftermath of the S&P Ratings Downgrade: Commute/Time Thoughts
Brad DeLong
” But, above all, note that the one story not consistent with the data is the one you see on the teevee: “investors panic because of US government debt”. That story would see falling stocks, a sharply falling currency, and falling bond prices. ”
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2011/08/dragon-dictate-20110811-interpreting-the-aftermath-of-the-sp-ratings-downgrade-the-week-following-the-sp-ratings.html
Xecky Gilchrist
This reminds me a bit of British Petroleum’s dodge about how the regulators were to blame for the big spill last year because they accepted BP’s bribes.
Bulworth
Burkean bells.
Steeplejack
@cathyx:
From that guy’s FDL piece:
Yeah, he’s parsing “strongly approve” vs. “approve.”
That’s FDL in a nutshell. If life gives you lemonade, make bitter lemons out of it.
ETA: Night shift checking in. Yet another day shift. I got a nosebleed earlier because I couldn’t stand the prolonged exposure to sunlight. How do you Eloi do it? Signed, Morlock.
Ian
@sb:
Root for the trial lawyers
Bulworth
@Rick Massimo: Sounds about right.
jl
Speaking of Darrell Duffie, I think his recent book on big bank regulation is very good.
How Big Banks Fail and What to Do about It by Darrell Duffie
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/How-Big-Banks-Fail-and-What-to-Do-about-It/Darrell-Duffie/e/9780691148854?itm=3&USRI=darrell%2Bduffie
The book is thin, written in plain English, and dry dry dry as the dust of the Atacama, and gets deep into the weeds of the mechanics of big bank failures and best approach to regulate them.
Some may think Duffie still relies too much on fancy financial and econ theory to do the work of regulation, but still he wants more regulation, and whatever you think about his proposals, the book is informative.
chopper
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
ultimately it all comes back to their founder, the still-worshipped ayn rand, the objectivist who claimed social security. it’s turtles all the way down, i’m afraid.
jl
@43 pick around for the bitter lemon seeds and chew on them until you gag, more like it.
Southern Beale
Gosh I’m SO GLAD the media is liberal! In particular, CNN! Which just posted THIS crap on its website:
“Why Rick Perry Is Headed To The White House”
God I love that liberal media!
Citizen_X
@cleek: What, you’ve never heard of President George W. Bush?
Fucker couldn’t even take responsibility for the Mission Accomplished banner. They blamed it on the sailors!
Omnes Omnibus
@jl: Will this be on the exam?
jl
@51 Yes. Closed book, no notes, in class, no make ups. Be there for be square.
Look, the book is QUITE thin, and written in plain English, gets into the institutional and the financial engineering weeds. Kind of thing I would, well, in fact, I did, um, take on vacation awhile ago.
I do and do and do for you damn kids, and what do I get?
Ash Can
@JPL: I wonder if Graves et al. were getting treats from the bank that ended up taking over the one that tanked.
jeffreyw
Thread needs moar puppies
Omnes Omnibus
@jl:
The Buzzcocks.
Villago Delenda Est
@Citizen_X:
I know. That caused my blood to boil.
The deserting coward malassministration did NOTHING that could be photographed without controlling every aspect of what was being photographed.
And they blamed the banner on the sailors.
Bush and his minions are honorless curs who should die, alone, in a dank cells, with rats gnawing on their bones.
Captain Goto
OT: This was apparently published three days ago…why didn’t John tell us????
MikeJ
@jeffreyw:
I just happened to be listening to Let’s Active when you said that.
Davis X. Machina
@boss bitch: Pelosi sold us out. I’m not sure exactly why, but I know she sold us out.
Roger Moore
@Zifnab:
FTFY.
Cat Lady
Republicanism really is a mental disorder. It should be in the DSM. Everyone who is still a Republican should really just be locked up as a crazy person, and short of that, should only be pointed to and laughed at. The disconnect between their actions and reality, their words and the meaning of the words, and their current actions and their prior actions is clinical, and frankly, it’s getting a little scary. How do these people manage to put on their shoes – their whole world must just consist of hate, fast food and Velcro.
Lurking Canadian
@5: You root for the asteroid, obviously.
metricpenny
@rikyrah:
::Chuckles:: Why 3 days, as opposed to 1 day or 2 days or 3 hours?
Kyle
It’s the Flounder From Animal House defense —
“You fucked up! You trusted us.”
The disconnect between their actions and reality, their words and the meaning of the words, and their current actions and their prior actions is clinical
And their sociopathic lack of self-awareness, shame or embarrassment at their hypocrisy.
Uncle Clarence Thomas
.
.
What’s all this I hear about a Stupid Committee in Congress? Like that’s something unusual? Goddammit, we want change!
.
.
Jebediah
@jeffreyw:
Wotta cutie!
gocart mozart
“Face it Flounder, you fucked up! You trusted us.”
gocart mozart
@Kyle:
I commented before reading Kyle’s comment, I swear.
gocart mozart
I for one welcome our future chimpanzee overlords.
Bokonon
Says the tea party Congressman, “Hey, there ought to be REGULATIONS preventing banks from doing irresponsible stuff like that loan!”
“Oh … wait. BACK UP! NOOOO! No regulations!”
“The banks should be able to make loans like that AND SUFFER ONLY MORAL CONSEQUENCES! From GOD!”
dollared
He absolutely should sue the bank. The bank killed his corporation. That’s murder.
And there were aggravating circumstances in this murder. No money went into his pants pockets first.
A Mom Anon
@JPL: The AJC comments section and their idiotic “Vent” is a freaking cesspool. Yuck. I quit reading the comments to anything there ages ago,it pisses me off too much. As for these two ass berets,am I a terrible person for wishing an Acme brand anvil would fall from the sky directly over their heads?
TenguPhule
The Weapons Dealer selling to both of them.
Catpause
Add to the mix that “somebody” got 2.2M for a clapped-out piece of hospitality property. This smells like a classic Chinese three-way bribe.
Robin
It has to be a scam.
dollared
@Catpause: It could have been a more common form of politician bribery: there was supposed to be a well-connected buyer after they did the remodel. Quick flip, dontcha know.
But then the bottom fell out in 2008 and guess who was holding the hot potato when the music stopped….
patrick II
@Southern Beale:
Did you actually read the article, or just the headline? Not quite as snarky as Cole can be, but still the author of “Bush’s Brain” was not writing a hagiography for Perry but a eulogy for a rational country.
cinesimon
What’s the likelihood this guy was bailed out(the bank paid back the loan) by a rich GOP benefactor, so as not to show the world just what the Tea party and GOP actually stand for…
Certainly, as soon as reporters began to sniff the story out, the case was dropped and the issue resolved.
Not a coincidence methinks.
Here’s hoping it gets investigated.
SiubhanDuinne
@boss bitch:
I know I’m many hours late to the party, but I really haven’t seen much discussion about the Dem picks for Super! Committee!
Ignoring absolutely everything except demographics, I can’t help noticing the McConnell picked three white men. Boehner picked three white men. Reid picked a white woman and two white men. Pelosi picked a white man, a black man, and a Hispanic man.
All of the Rs are white men. Half of the Ds are something other than white men. I don’t want this to sound like the setup to a bad joke, but I think that’s important.
SiubhanDuinne
@patrick II:
The problem is that it’s that headline (the bumper sticker message, if you will) that sticks in people’s memories. Indeed, for some, it’s the only part of the article they read, let alone retain. (I’m not saying this is what Southern Beale did, I’m saying that networks and newspapers and websites often convey their political bent through headlines when the actual articles may actually be fair ‘n’ balanced. Or, well, as close to f’n’b as possible.)