gogounited
HATERATOR
Controversial Former CEO Carly Fiorina to Head RNC Victory Fund, Advise McCain
Fiorina the Public “Face” of the McCain Economic Team. According to the Washington Post, “[Carly] Fiorina may soon be more closely identified with him. Since McCain installed her last month at the Republican National Committee, the once-high-flying chief executive has held conference calls, made near-daily television appearances and become the face of McCain’s economic team.” [Washington Post, 1/2/08]
Fiorina Was Fired As CEO Of Hewlett Packard After “Rocky” Tenure Marked by Scandal. “But until recently, Fiorina’s claim to fame was 5 1/2 rocky years at Hewlett-Packard, where she battled the company’s founding families to push forward with a $19 billion purchase of Compaq Computer in 2002, then failed to create the profitable computer giant she had promised. In February 2005, she was publicly ousted by HP’s board, but not before she ordered the first of a series of leak investigations that would spin into a highly publicized scandal.” [Washington Post, 4/2/08]
Fiorina Said Iraq War Had Nothing To Do With Current Economic Crisis. During an Appearance on the Joe Scarborough Show, Fiorina suggest the war in Iraq had nothing to do with our current economic crisis. “There’s no question that the Iraq War is costing us a lot of money,” Fiorina replied. “But it’s also the case that the housing crisis has nothing to do with the Iraq War. High fuel prices have nothing to do with the Iraq War, per se. And high food prices, in particular, have nothing to do with the Iraq War. ... It’s not fair ... to try and make the Iraq War the cause of our current economic difficulties.” [MSNBC, Morning Joe, 4/7/08]
Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has blamed the Iraq war for sending the United States into a recession. “On Wednesday, he told a London think tank that the war caused the credit crunch and the housing crisis that are propelling the current economic downturn. Testifying before the Senate’s Joint Economic Committee the following day, he said our involvement in Iraq has long been “weakening the American economy” and “a day of reckoning” has finally arrived.” [Mother Jones, 2/29/08]
9 in 10 Americans Believe the Iraq War Has Contributed to U.S. Economic Problems. In a New York Times/CBS poll released today, 89 percent of those surveyed believe the cost of the war has contributed “a lot” or “some” to U.S. economic problems. [New York Times, 4/4/08]
March 2008: Fiorina Defended McCain’s Lack of Response To Housing Crisis, Warned Against “Overreact[ing].” Fiorina: “However, I do also think that John McCain, by virtue, frankly, of his experience with the economy, understands that sometimes in a period of crisis we can overreact, we can do too much. And when too much is done, we create the next generation of problems for the next generation of taxpayers to have to deal with. And so, I think he’s wanted to be judicious in his response. I think he’s wanted to see what the effect of the vast array of stimulus measures that have already been taken -- what the effect of those are before we continue to throw stuff out into the marketplace.” [McCain Campaign Teleconference 3/27/08]
Fiorina Said McCain Supported ‘Private Accounts for Reforming Social Security. During an appearance on the Bill Bennet Show, Fiorina said McCain was supportive of Social Security privatization. “Well, I know that he has been very favorably inclined to the report that came out a little bit ago, the Republican party made a number of suggestions which he embraced. He has on other occasions said that he supports private accounts as one of the ways to reform the system. But I think he, and I think he will continue to be supportive of those.” [Think Progress, Accessed 4/22/08, emphasis added]
McCain's Chief Economic Advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin
Holtz-Eakin Admitted Bush Tax Cuts Are “Easily Two to Three Times” The Cost of War. When asked by NPR host how to characterize the costs of the war and the size of the tax cut, Mr Eakin elaborated: “From a narrow budget perspective, the war adds, say, on the order of a hundred billion dollars to the federal budget, probably a little bit less. The tax cuts, they’re easily twice, maybe three times that, depending on the year in which take place. So it’s real clear that the tax cuts are bigger than the war costs, from a straight budget perspective.”[NPR, Fresh Air 1/26/06]
Yet McCain Said He Would Not Let Democrats Roll Back Bush Tax Cuts. According to the Phoenix Business Journal, at an Americans for Prosperity Summit in Michigan, McCain said he would not “…let the Democrats roll back the Bush tax cuts.” He added, “I believe we should protect the American family against tax increases by requiring a three-fifths majority in Congress to raise taxes…But I will cut middle class taxes and keep them low the right way – by also cutting spending so we don’t add to the debt we leave to our children.” [Phoenix Business Journal, 1/14/08]
McCain Said Nation Could Afford Tax Cuts and Spending on the War. According to the Miami Herald, “…the so-called ‘Bush tax cuts.’ McCain voted against them in 2003, noting that cutting so many taxes in a time of war and increased spending would widen the budget deficit and hurt the economy. The deficit widened. The economy is getting worse. But McCain now says the tax cuts should stay. The reason: Eliminating a tax cut is a tax increase, he says. Asked about his former logic -- whether the nation could afford tax cuts and spending on the war -- McCain said: ‘Sure, with a healthy economy, absolutely.’” [Miami Herald, 1/24/08]
Phil Gramm
Gramm Involved in the Current Housing Scandal:
Gramm Helped Deregulate the Financial Services Industry in the 1990’s and Now Sits In the Corporate Suites of Swiss Banking Giant UBS. “The spiraling crisis in the credit and housing markets has kept Gramm in focus, fairly or not. His employer, UBS, revealed yesterday that investment losses tied to the U.S. housing market reached $37 billion over the last six months. For the last three months, UBS posted a $12 billion loss.” [Washington Post, 4/2/08]
Gramm ‘Totally Unaware’ of Bank’s Subprime Holdings. Gramm, UBS’s vice chairman, said yesterday he was “totally unaware” of his bank’s massive holdings of securities tied to subprime mortgages, but, he added, “I’m confident we’ll recover.” [Washington Post, 4/2/08]
Gramm Led the Charge to Deregulate Banking and Financial Services Industries, Many Economists Believe This Set the Stage for the Current Crisis. More to the point may be Gramm’s aggressive efforts when he was chairman of the Senate Banking Committee to deregulate the banking and financial services industry. That culminated in passage in 1999 of a sweeping financial services law that tore down the Depression-era Glass-Steagall wall separating regulated commercial banks from largely unregulated investment banks. And little regulation was put in to replace it. [Washington Post, 4/2/08]
Fiorina the Public “Face” of the McCain Economic Team. According to the Washington Post, “[Carly] Fiorina may soon be more closely identified with him. Since McCain installed her last month at the Republican National Committee, the once-high-flying chief executive has held conference calls, made near-daily television appearances and become the face of McCain’s economic team.” [Washington Post, 1/2/08]
Fiorina Was Fired As CEO Of Hewlett Packard After “Rocky” Tenure Marked by Scandal. “But until recently, Fiorina’s claim to fame was 5 1/2 rocky years at Hewlett-Packard, where she battled the company’s founding families to push forward with a $19 billion purchase of Compaq Computer in 2002, then failed to create the profitable computer giant she had promised. In February 2005, she was publicly ousted by HP’s board, but not before she ordered the first of a series of leak investigations that would spin into a highly publicized scandal.” [Washington Post, 4/2/08]
Fiorina Said Iraq War Had Nothing To Do With Current Economic Crisis. During an Appearance on the Joe Scarborough Show, Fiorina suggest the war in Iraq had nothing to do with our current economic crisis. “There’s no question that the Iraq War is costing us a lot of money,” Fiorina replied. “But it’s also the case that the housing crisis has nothing to do with the Iraq War. High fuel prices have nothing to do with the Iraq War, per se. And high food prices, in particular, have nothing to do with the Iraq War. ... It’s not fair ... to try and make the Iraq War the cause of our current economic difficulties.” [MSNBC, Morning Joe, 4/7/08]
Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has blamed the Iraq war for sending the United States into a recession. “On Wednesday, he told a London think tank that the war caused the credit crunch and the housing crisis that are propelling the current economic downturn. Testifying before the Senate’s Joint Economic Committee the following day, he said our involvement in Iraq has long been “weakening the American economy” and “a day of reckoning” has finally arrived.” [Mother Jones, 2/29/08]
9 in 10 Americans Believe the Iraq War Has Contributed to U.S. Economic Problems. In a New York Times/CBS poll released today, 89 percent of those surveyed believe the cost of the war has contributed “a lot” or “some” to U.S. economic problems. [New York Times, 4/4/08]
March 2008: Fiorina Defended McCain’s Lack of Response To Housing Crisis, Warned Against “Overreact[ing].” Fiorina: “However, I do also think that John McCain, by virtue, frankly, of his experience with the economy, understands that sometimes in a period of crisis we can overreact, we can do too much. And when too much is done, we create the next generation of problems for the next generation of taxpayers to have to deal with. And so, I think he’s wanted to be judicious in his response. I think he’s wanted to see what the effect of the vast array of stimulus measures that have already been taken -- what the effect of those are before we continue to throw stuff out into the marketplace.” [McCain Campaign Teleconference 3/27/08]
Fiorina Said McCain Supported ‘Private Accounts for Reforming Social Security. During an appearance on the Bill Bennet Show, Fiorina said McCain was supportive of Social Security privatization. “Well, I know that he has been very favorably inclined to the report that came out a little bit ago, the Republican party made a number of suggestions which he embraced. He has on other occasions said that he supports private accounts as one of the ways to reform the system. But I think he, and I think he will continue to be supportive of those.” [Think Progress, Accessed 4/22/08, emphasis added]
McCain's Chief Economic Advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin
Holtz-Eakin Admitted Bush Tax Cuts Are “Easily Two to Three Times” The Cost of War. When asked by NPR host how to characterize the costs of the war and the size of the tax cut, Mr Eakin elaborated: “From a narrow budget perspective, the war adds, say, on the order of a hundred billion dollars to the federal budget, probably a little bit less. The tax cuts, they’re easily twice, maybe three times that, depending on the year in which take place. So it’s real clear that the tax cuts are bigger than the war costs, from a straight budget perspective.”[NPR, Fresh Air 1/26/06]
Yet McCain Said He Would Not Let Democrats Roll Back Bush Tax Cuts. According to the Phoenix Business Journal, at an Americans for Prosperity Summit in Michigan, McCain said he would not “…let the Democrats roll back the Bush tax cuts.” He added, “I believe we should protect the American family against tax increases by requiring a three-fifths majority in Congress to raise taxes…But I will cut middle class taxes and keep them low the right way – by also cutting spending so we don’t add to the debt we leave to our children.” [Phoenix Business Journal, 1/14/08]
McCain Said Nation Could Afford Tax Cuts and Spending on the War. According to the Miami Herald, “…the so-called ‘Bush tax cuts.’ McCain voted against them in 2003, noting that cutting so many taxes in a time of war and increased spending would widen the budget deficit and hurt the economy. The deficit widened. The economy is getting worse. But McCain now says the tax cuts should stay. The reason: Eliminating a tax cut is a tax increase, he says. Asked about his former logic -- whether the nation could afford tax cuts and spending on the war -- McCain said: ‘Sure, with a healthy economy, absolutely.’” [Miami Herald, 1/24/08]
Phil Gramm
Gramm Involved in the Current Housing Scandal:
Gramm Helped Deregulate the Financial Services Industry in the 1990’s and Now Sits In the Corporate Suites of Swiss Banking Giant UBS. “The spiraling crisis in the credit and housing markets has kept Gramm in focus, fairly or not. His employer, UBS, revealed yesterday that investment losses tied to the U.S. housing market reached $37 billion over the last six months. For the last three months, UBS posted a $12 billion loss.” [Washington Post, 4/2/08]
Gramm ‘Totally Unaware’ of Bank’s Subprime Holdings. Gramm, UBS’s vice chairman, said yesterday he was “totally unaware” of his bank’s massive holdings of securities tied to subprime mortgages, but, he added, “I’m confident we’ll recover.” [Washington Post, 4/2/08]
Gramm Led the Charge to Deregulate Banking and Financial Services Industries, Many Economists Believe This Set the Stage for the Current Crisis. More to the point may be Gramm’s aggressive efforts when he was chairman of the Senate Banking Committee to deregulate the banking and financial services industry. That culminated in passage in 1999 of a sweeping financial services law that tore down the Depression-era Glass-Steagall wall separating regulated commercial banks from largely unregulated investment banks. And little regulation was put in to replace it. [Washington Post, 4/2/08]
Of course it is!
