WHICH CONGRESSMEMBERS SUPPORT PREDATORY LENDERS OVER THEIR OWN CONSTITUENTS? NOT MANY... BUT THERE ARE SOME

Brad Miller is one of the more sensible members of Congress I've ever talked with. He's a genuine populist who is in public service to actually help ordinary Americans. There should be more like him. Last year he talked to me about how much he wanted to help the Democrats win a congressional majority so he could accomplish some very specific things. And way on top of that list was mortgage reform. Now who could be against reining in predatory lenders? You know the answer, right? Basically, members of Congress who are bribed by... predatory lenders.

Brad's bill passed last night by an overwhelming and bipartisan vote, 291-127. Not one Democrat dissented and even the most corrupt and reactionary Democrats went along with the legislation. Even 64 Republicans abandoned the Culture of Corruption in the vain hope that voters will forgive them for years and years of selling the government to corporate forces. Most of the Republicans who are most vulnerable electorally are the ones who crossed over and voted with the Democrats today-- rubber stamps like Chris Shays (CT), Bill Young (FL), Robin Hayes (NC), Gary Miller (CA), Phil English (PA), Heather Wilson (NM), David Dreier (CA), Roscoe Bartlett (MD), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), Frank LoBiondo (NJ), Vern Buchanan (FL), Charlie Dent (PA), Sam Graves (MO), Steven LaTourette (OH), Joe Knollenberg (MI). In fact, electoral vulnerability was more a factor in how Republicans voted than ideology. Even as extreme a right-wing loon as Gary Miller, afraid of being turned out by the voters, left Boehner and Bush and Blunt on their own.

Very few Republicans who voted for predatory lenders and against homeowners are seen as likely to be defeated. The exception however include these die hard Culture of Corruption kingpins:
Tom Feeney (FL)
Tom Reynolds (NY)
Michele Bachmann (MN)
Tim Walberg (MI)
Scott Garrett (NJ)
Mean Jean Schmidt (OH)
Randy Kuhl (NY)
Thelma Drake (VA)
Virgil Goode (VA)
Brain Bilbray (CA)
Vito Fossella (NY)
John Doolittle (CA)
Michale McCaul (TX)
Ric Keller (FL)
But the battle is hardly over. Kentucky Obstructionist Mitch McConnell has vowed to kill the bill in the Senate with his usual bag of parliamentary tricks. And if enough fearful Republicans join with the Democrats, Bush has promised the mortgage industry, which has funneled millions of dollars into the Republican Party in the last few years, that he will veto the bill to protect their interests.

The bill would ban lenders from making loans that borrowers can't repay, create a nationwide licensing system for mortgage brokers and make Wall Street banks that package mortgage securities into investments liable for violations of lending laws.

...Proponents of the changes say the current mortgage market tumult could have been averted had stronger federal laws been on the books years ago.

Democrats and consumer advocates say many subprime loans made to people with weak credit were essentially predatory: containing confusing terms, generating high fees for mortgage lenders and forcing low-income borrowers into loans they can't repay.

"The mortgages we're talking about have nothing to do with home ownership," said Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., one of the bill's authors.

Nearly 2.3 million subprime mortgages are projected to reset at higher rates -- and often dramatically higher monthly payments-- through the end of next year. Many fear those loans will result in foreclosures that will drag down property values.

Financial markets around the world have been rocky for much of the year amid worries about the growing scope of losses in investments tied to U.S. home loans. Bear Stearns Cos. and Britain's HSBC Holdings PLC and Barclays Group PLC were the latest major banks to predict losses in the billions.

Watch Keith Ellison (D-MN), one of the sharpest of the freshmen members explain why this bill is meaningful for all homeowners.