So, let us review the bidding on the AIG bonus scandal, and who’s being blamed for it.
The Senate, in the person of Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), is blaming the executive branch, pretty explicitly.
The House, in the person of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), is likewise blaming the executive branch - but she’s also blaming the Senate.
The White House doesn’t want to blame anybody… but AIG is like a suicide bomber (H/T Hot Air), and a “senior government official” is just plain “outraged” at that awful Congress for passing this. But Obama’s not about pointing fingers about how it could be the Republican’s fault - which is good, because as Ace points out our only contribution to this mess was Senator Olympia Snowe’s (R-ME) language in the debt bill that would have prevented these bonuses in the first place (that was before Dodd/Geithner/The White House/The Easter Bunny took them out, of course). Nope. It’s all Obama’s responsibility - but not his fault!
Conclusions? Only one. If you’re a staffer or employee under any of these people, for the love of God: don’t count on any of them to save you if there’s a scandal and you’d make a convenient scapegoat. These aren’t the idyllic days of the Bush administration, when the default assumption was that loyalty is supposed to go both ways: you’re in a Democratic administration now, and that means that you are in the state of nature
So get everything in writing, and Trust. No. One.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to Moe Lane.
What I find most troubling...
scottbomb Thursday, March 19th at 1:14PM EDT (link)…is the push to tax these individual employees at NINETY PERCENT, all for the political gain of the Democrats. They’re playing off the ignorance of the population that’s “outraged” by these bonuses. Of course, if it weren’t for an ignorant population, the Democrats wouldn’t be in power.
How is this even constitutional? Do we even HAVE a Constitution anymore? Will AIG fight this in court? Doubtful. How about the employees?
This is all absolutely absurd.
http://www.HowObamaGotElected.com
“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of ‘liberalism’, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.” - Norman Thomas, U.S. Socialist Party presidential candidate 1940, 1944 and 1948
All thats needed is one brave soul
djemi Thursday, March 19th at 1:26PM EDT (link)Might be hard to find, given the lap dog attenion of the MSM I wouldn’t want to be that brave soul.
“If I can’t shoot rabbits,then I can’t shoot fascist”
“With age, comes Wisdom, but only if you are paying Attention, son” my ‘Old Man’
RS Help files (h/t JLenardDetroit) Grassroots in Michigan
Moes Strategy
I could care less about AIG's bonuses.
TNJim Thursday, March 19th at 11:28PM EDT (link)All this phony outrage from people like Barney Frank and others in Congress and the MSM is what rubs me raw. I’ll say this: I’d rather see AIG employees get this money than some porkulus provision like pig odor research on field mice or especially ACORN. If Congress is really so concerned about tax payers getting ripped off why didn’t they strip things like that out of the last 2 spending bills? Oh yeah, nobody read them, my bad. This 90% tax is gonna come around to affect everyone that gets a bonus whether they took bailout money or not I fear. The company I work for (an auto parts supplier) suspended our bonuses. It’s probably just as well. I sure don’t want the government to get it.
“No. You can’t” -Moe Lane
Agreed; just think of it as bonus derangement syndrome
jonreagan Friday, March 20th at 1:46AM EDT (link)Democrats have always believed that there is a huge amount of “success envy” out there among average people, towards those who earn large salaries and/or have wealth. As an example, they couldn’t understand it when their “bombshell” about the McCains owning several houses fell flat last Summer. Like you, I’ve got a life, and couldn’t care less about bonuses at AIG, Goldman Sachs, or anywhere else, for that matter.
While I think bonuses should ideally be awarded for outstanding performances, I also realize that on Wall Street and elsewhere, the system can be abused. At that point it should become a matter for the free market and boards of directors to discipline. And usually, the bad actors are punished; just ask Stan O’Neal, Chuck Prince, and Dick Fuld. The competent guys like Jamie Dimon and John Mack are the ones left standing. Unfortunately, imbeciles like Barney Frank, Elijah Cummings, and Brad Sherman will never grasp these concepts.
It's a Bill of Attainder
GT350 Thursday, March 19th at 1:24PM EDT (link)I really don’t like these bonuses. Retention payments are common and necessary in bankrupt or failing companies. But these bonuses were unseemly and excessive. It’s hard to argue otherwise.
But I’m also very leery of Congress legislating punitive measures. This is unconstitutional, and preservation of the constitution is worth more than a measly $165mil (after tax $85mil) on a handful of individuals.
The Constitution of the United States, Article I, Section 9, paragraph 3 provides that: “No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law will be passed.”
“Bills of attainder, ex post facto laws, and laws impairing the obligations of contracts, are contrary to the first principles of the social compact, and to every principle of sound legislation. … The sober people of America .. have seen with regret and indignation that sudden changes and legislative interferences, in cases affecting personal rights, become jobs in the hands of enterprising and influential speculators, and snares to the more-industrious and less-informed part of the community.” James Madison, Federalist Number 44, 1788.
Indeed it is...
UpLateAgain Thursday, March 19th at 3:21PM EDT (link)And that’s what makes it all the more dubious to me. Maybe I’m just paranoid, but it would not at all surprise me to see the Democrats allow something like this to happen primarily for the purpose of rushing legislation through on the back of the public outrage that sets a legal precedent allowing ex-post-facto legislation under certain circumstances…. because that’s a power the Democrats would DEARLY love to have.
They are looking at setting up a Democratic thousand-year Reich, and I don’t think they are majorly concerned with that Constitution thingy if it gets in the way.
You never never never actually need a gun, until you need a gun, and then nothing else will do.
Imagine this president and this congress
AKSteveB Friday, March 20th at 1:06AM EDT (link)when the oil companies were making “obscene profits.” I assume cooler heads will prevail before this legislation gets serious but if not, this one MUST be challenged all the way to the SC. Understand, that this would allow government to intervene far beyond the Euro light-Socialists.
Hell is other people - Sartre
Hey, AKSteveB, go light Rep. Young up
Achance Friday, March 20th at 2:31AM EDT (link)over voting yea on the damned stupid HR 1386 90% tax. I did and in no uncertain words. Haven’t heard back yet.
In Vino Veritas
will do
AKSteveB Friday, March 20th at 1:06PM EDT (link)I’m gonna be at the Lincoln Dinner tonight, I’ll be curious what people think.
Hell is other people - Sartre
Good, thanks!
Achance Friday, March 20th at 1:09PM EDT (link)Let us know how much love there is in the room! I still haven’t heard back from Young’s office.
In Vino Veritas
It was fun but strange.
AKSteveB Saturday, March 21st at 3:16AM EDT (link)Big crowd. The introductions were done by alternating Lt. Governors, Lehman, and Parnell. Lehman wore the Lincoln Hat and gave the “Gettysburg Address intro” of Gov. He shouldn’t give up his day job. Both Don Young’s and Lisa Murkowski’s speeches were pre recorded, I thought both were quite good, Rep. Young was especially sharp. The old guy ain’t dead yet. Ralph Seekins did the auction stuff. As I’m sure you know, it is what he was born to do.
Gov. Palin’s keynote was …all over the place. It went way too long, I’m guessing close to an hour. For the first 30 minutes or so, I thought she hit a home run. She hit the Dems hard, had great timing, looked like she was enjoying herself. She hit a lot of good themes both local and national. If she stopped then she would have had an almost perfect “HELLO 2010″ launch. Then it got weird. She started on a riff about needing party unity, about needing to heal from some of the stuff that went on, then went on what had to be a 15 minute tirade about “Tasergate”, having to pay hundreds of thousand of dollars of her own money fighting off frivolous ethics complaints many of which she said quite directly “were probably filed by people in this room”, the treatment her family was getting etc. It was strange since during that earlier 30 minutes, one of the things she pounded on is that we have to be optimistic, not whine. The folks at my table were just looking at each other, unsure what to think. I’m just wondering if this was scripted, or if she lost it when she saw someone in the crowd. She then went to a pretty standard boilerplate closing, which she struggled to get through. I’ll be curious how it gets played by the Media tomorrow. I’m not quite sure what I’d write myself, if I were in their shoes.
One thing I do have to say is Gov. Palin probably did the best Reaganesque defense I’ve ever seen; of how you grow the party, not by moderating, but by welcoming independents and even Dems who don’t have a home anymore in such a Leftist party. If anyone videoed tonight, they need to send out to the State Party Chairs and make them memorize it.
My other impressions were
- it was an older crowd. Other than the College Repub crowd, I was on the youngish side.
-A lot of the folks were real friendly and talkative to this unknown newbie.
-I think it sucks that Ted Stevens wasn’t there at least by video if not in person. They had better getter over that distancing act soon. There are still a lot of people who will be a lot more inclined to open their checkbooks, if they think that is what Uncle Ted wants.
-It was another reminder that Alaska continues to be proud of its tradition of bringing in mail order and imported brides
-I’d really be happy with Sean Parnell as Governor
Hell is other people - Sartre
ok I give up, I'll use Firefox at the office
AKSteveB Friday, March 20th at 1:10PM EDT (link)for Redstate. I already do at home!
Hell is other people - Sartre
will do
AKSteveB Friday, March 20th at 1:06PM EDT (link)I’m gonna be at the Lincoln Dinner tonight, I’ll be curious what people think.
Hell is other people - Sartre
Conservatives and Republicans need to hammer
RJD Thursday, March 19th at 1:48PM EDT (link)at this story and it’s spin-offs for the next 2 years, non-stop. This is how government corrupts. This is why government should not dictate to business or invest in the free market.
Question is, can Republicans do this without hitting their own thumbs?
"So get everything in writing"
ATLconservative Thursday, March 19th at 2:11PM EDT (link)As if that means anything anymore…
5 -nt
Alberta Thursday, March 19th at 4:10PM EDT (link)Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.
Abraham Lincoln
Why bother to get anything in writing?
JustLeaveMeAlone Thursday, March 19th at 6:21PM EDT (link)Congress doesn’t read bills before voting on them.
The American people don’t read them either.
The President doesn’t read them before he signs them.
And apparently the Constitution is something no one in DC has ever heard of.
“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” Thomas Jefferson
The twisties and spins aren't done yet.
UpLateAgain Thursday, March 19th at 3:15PM EDT (link)By the time they are, this will all comfortably be George Bush’s fault.
I just haven’t quite figured out how yet.
You never never never actually need a gun, until you need a gun, and then nothing else will do.
They are eating their own
franklinslocke Thursday, March 19th at 3:19PM EDT (link)This is pathetic. They look horrible, and they are embarrassing the U.S. Our enemies have to be looking at us and laughing while our allies are shaking their heads in shame.
http://franklinslocke.blogspot.com/
I blame Eliott Spitzer
itrytobenice Thursday, March 19th at 4:05PM EDT (link)If he hadn’t used his power as NY Attorney General to bust the chops of Hank Greenburg so he could run for Gov, this would have never happened. The destruction of AIG, and all the money that it has sucked down the rat hole, can be laid directly at his
feetbelly. (Snakes don’t have feet.)He didn’t have a case against Greenburg. He abused his power. He is a bad man. And the nation is paying because the voters of NY are stupid enough to fall for that kind of stupid crap.
The problem with America is stupidity. I’m not saying there should be capital punishment for stupidity, but why don’t we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?
A clearly apt understandfing of the situation.
UpLateAgain Thursday, March 19th at 11:38PM EDT (link)Well stated!
You never never never actually need a gun, until you need a gun, and then nothing else will do.
A contract is a contract
nomosteele Saturday, March 21st at 4:15AM EDT (link)Let them keep the money. If we start taking money from those that earned it, where does it stop?
Not so easily fooled...
Ron Robinson Saturday, March 21st at 4:34AM EDT (link)…I vote to blame the folks who voted for the bill without reading it.
And I resent their posturing as if it were someone else’s fault.
________________________________________
Ron Robinson
e-Commerce Exec at 800Cart.com eCommerce who blogs at watchcenter.blogspot.com For over 15 years, his firm has assisted over 10,000 small merchants to quickly and easily ’self serve’ their businesses to e-commerce prosperity.