Y'all may recall the dust-up over the IndyMac failure, when the OTS laid the blame at Chuck Schumer's feet for writing a letter warning that, without intervention, IndyMac would...well....fail.

Well, now it seems fifty-one former employees of the failed bank want California Attorney General Jerry Brown to officially investigate whether or not Schumer was to blame. Well, fifty-one former employees and a PR firm with some very particular ties, that is:


*More below the fold and cross-posted, as always, at The Thorn Papers. Y'all come by now.

We had a great diary earlier by Odinseye2k calledGA-Sen: It Looks Like Martin Is It!

Well he is it and Chuck Schumer just added Georgia to list of races we can win.

Schumer made this statement

"Georgians chose an impressive candidate today who has the experience and vision to change the direction of our nation. As a public servant under both a Democratic and a Republican Governor, Jim has a proven record of working across party lines, and he will be an effective and independent voice for Georgia families. This is a winnable race," Schumer's statement said.

On or about June 26th 2008 Senator Schumer wrote a letter questioning the viability of Indy Mac Bank. This was before any signicant deposit runs had occured.
During the days following Schumer's letter over $1 billion in deposits were withdrawn. Simple cause and effect without a doubt.
This is probably the most costly statement by any one Senator in the history of the United States.

What could be the cause of the latest banking crisis?  

Irresponsible lending? Nope.  

Lack of regulation?  Nope.  

Inflation?  Nada.  

Chuck Schumer? Bingo!

That's right, Senator Charles Schumer has single-handedly destroyed IndyMac and thrown the housing market into depression.  So says the right.

I found the news about IndyMac intriguing this morning.  Mortgage lender IndyMac of Pasadena, California has been diving down the path of illiquid insolvency since this time last year (here's a chart I posted elsewhere showing the skid as a reflection of stock price). The gradual failure prompted a letter from a Senator (Schumer, NY) a few weeks ago, which precipitated a run on this bank. The bank was seized by FDIC regulators yesterday subsequent to the run. This is the second largest bank failure in history.

John Reich, director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, a chronic Republican community banker who spent twelve years working for Republican Senator Connie Mack's staff, and appointed by President Bush in 2005, blames Schumer for the run on the bank. But looking at the institution's stock price over the past year, one readily sees that investors have known the place was cascading towards Armageddon for the past year.  In fact, it was Reich (BTW, it's pronounced "rich," and isn't that rich?) himself who...

Or so says John Reich of the OTC. You see, everything was just hunky dory with IndyMac Bank. Never mind its shutting down mortgage operations, never mind the faulty business decisions (or bets, as they're known in the original Latin) or that it slashed its workforce by half, etc. Nope. Everything was fine and dandy you see, until  mean old Chuck Schumer wrote a letter:

*Cross-posted, as always, at The Thorn Papers. Y'all come by now.*

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

You know, I'm tired.  I'm tired of liberals acting like conservatives. Now, as I flipped through the liberal handbook I can't find anywhere where supporting spying on Americans is a liberal ideal.  So, can somebody explain to me, why this new FISA legislation is good for us, liberals, or good for the country.  There is so much about its domestic spying program that we know nothing about.

If this is a trend, I like it:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced this evening that he will vote against the compromise FISA legislation and work with likeminded colleagues to strip immunity for telecom firms from that bill.

It is a position that puts the Democratic Senate leader at odds with his own party's presumptive presidential nominee, Barack Obama, who also has pledged to fight for the removal of immunity but will vote yes on the final package.

HuffPo: Compromise, At Odds With Obama

More, after the fold.

The debate over FISA shows that we, as Democrats, need to be realistic. But we also need to make sure that leaders of our party remain true to the core values of the Democratic Party. With that in mind, I am going to talk about health care--the reason why I am a Democrat--and how realistic reform can be achieved.

I had the misfortune to read the recent editorial of Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), who also happens to be my senator, in the Wall Street Journal.

The piece, "Russia Can Be Part of the Answer on Iran," has already been criticized, including in a response by Garry Kasparov. In general, it looks at carrots that can be used to elicit the desired responses from Iran vis-a-vis their nuclear program.

What I have found most frustrating is that Schumer actually undermines policies set in place by Democrats and therefore raises questions about the foreign policy credentials of Democrats in his piece. I am not an expert in arms proliferation, but I do reside in Estonia, part of the "new Europe" and so Schumer's offer of taking the deployment of anti-missile systems in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania off the table to appease, yes, appease Russian interests in eastern Europe strikes me as particularly odious.

Last night I attended the annual dinner of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, a local club where my wife is a club officer. I want to share with you a highlight of that evening. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer spoke to us and his speech was excellent and covered several points that we all should pay attention to. Those points are: Democrats remain stymied by Republican thug tactics; Democrats should not fear John McCain and the Republicans because they are going down this year big time; the reason why the Republicans are collapsing is that we are witnessing a "tectonic shift" in American politics; Democrats had better follow through after November, fulfilling the expectations of that tectonic shift or we will lose again in future years. Details below.

Here's a national AP story out this morning on the Oregon Senate race:

As head of the deep-pocketed Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, New York Sen. Charles Schumer hand-picked his party's nominee to take on Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, the last Republican standing on the West Coast.

But voters may have another idea.

Days before votes are counted in the Oregon primary, Schumer's choice — Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley — is in a tight battle with Portland lawyer and activist Steve Novick. Polls show the race is too close to call.

{more}

Jim Neal is the progressive candidate in North Carolina's Primary this Tuesday May 6.  He is up against Kay Hagan, a conservative Dem who was apparently nudged by the DSCC to run soon after Jim affirmed in a press interview that he was openly gay.  I first learned about Neal through the netroots and through an article on 365gay.com about his candidacy his candidacy.  After hearing about the campaign, I decided to take a look at the candidates' sites themselves.  Even a quick glance reveals tremendous differences.  Jim is a true progressive on everything from healthcare to gay rights to the Iraq War.  He is also taking a great step forward for all gay Americans by having the courage to be himself and run for office.  We must band together and do what we can to get Jim elected!  Please visit his site, donate, spread the word, and read below the fold for more.

With the Obama Veepstakes poll now concluded and Gov. Bill Richardson as your chosen running mate (which was covered by the Santa Fe Reporter) it's time to take this a step further:

Who would you like to see in an Obama cabinet?

Yesterday, Joe Biden won the Sec. of State poll (results below the fold). Today you can vote on the next Secretary of the Treasury:

It appears that over the weekend, on Wolf Blitzer's show Chuckie said that Hillary will win Puerto Rico, and the 63 delegates will be all hers.

"Winner take all", Chuck says.

It's been debunked extensively, but Wolf, [or Vulf the former U-Boat commander that he is, if you listen to Mike Malloy's radio show ;p], seems to not quite be able to distinguish reality from fantasy.

Wolfie lets Chuckie's little twist and shout go unchallenged.

[And so, what else is nu?]

Here's the debunk

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/...

Join the book club for David Sirota's upcoming book, The Uprising, due out on 5/27.

In a stunning - if predictable - story, the Hill Newspaper reports that congressional Democrats are now saying that they will effectively thwart any effort to create a national health care program. Here is the key excerpt:

"Congressional Democrats are backing away from healthcare reform promises made by their two presidential candidates, saying that even if their party controls the White House and Congress, sweeping change will be difficult...Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), a member of Senate Democratic leadership and a key Hillary Clinton ally who also sits on the Finance Committee, said he is 'not sure we have the big plan on healthcare.'...'Healthcare I feel strongly about, but I am not sure that we're ready for a major national healthcare plan,' Schumer said...Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), a Clinton supporter who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, said "the money is not necessarily there right now" to enact the plans."

There's a lot to unpack here.

Greg Fischer is the real deal.

As the only progressive candidate in Kentucky's Democratic Senate primary, Greg Fischer has demonstrated time and again why he is the real Democrat who can take the fight to Mitch McConnell this November.