Will Blue Dog-GOP Alliance Sabotage Democrats' Plans For Mortgage Write Downs?

More of these will be arriving, courtesy of the GOP & their pet Blue Dogs

The House started voting on the procedural legislation for a bill by Barney Frank and John Conyers, HR 1106, that would allow bankruptcy judges to write down the principal and interest payments on mortgages for primary residences. Two passed-- against 100% Republican opposition and with loads of Blue Dogs crossing the aisle. The second of the two votes was uncomfortably close, 224-198.

All 172 House Republicans, voted against bringing it up. They were joined-- in the two procedural votes-- by a gaggle of mostly reactionary anti-working families Democrats, regular suspects and Chamber of Commerce sellouts like Jason Altmire (PA), John Barrow (Blue Dog-GA), Marion Berry (Blue Dog-AR), Travis Childers (Blue Dog-MS), Joe Donnelly (Blue Dog-IN), Baron Hill (Blue Dog-IN), Mike Ross (AR), Gene Taylor (Blue Dog-MS), Harry Teague (NM), Leonard Boswell (Blue Dog-IA), Bobby Bright (Blue Dog-AL), Ben Chandler (KY), Brad Ellsworth (Blue Dog-IN), Gabby Giffords (Blue Dog-AZ), Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ), Frank Kratovil (Blue Dog-MD), Heath Shuler (Blue Dog-NC), Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT), Walt Minnick (ID), Mike Michaud (Blue Dog-ME), Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN), etc.

With the Blue Dogs yowling and barking and corrupt Democrats like Ellen Tauscher threatening a revolt on behalf of the banksters and Rick Santelli, the leadership decided to postpone voting on the bill until next week. Banksters who lured millions of unsuspecting homebuyers into this untenable loans are up in arms, reminding Blue Dogs and Republicans about the millions of dollars they've poured into their political careers. President Obama is backing the approach but the Blue Dogs and Republicans refuse to go against their campaign contributors, no matter how badly it hurts homeowners and the economy. It will be even tougher in the more corrupt and more conservative Senate when they take it up next week.

The banking industry has lobbied hard against the measure, mounting a successful multimillion-dollar effort last year to kill it.

This year, mortgage industry players who are scrambling to narrow the scope of the measure to reduce its potential cost for banks have won some key concessions. House Democrats agreed to limit the measure to existing loans made before the bill is enacted and to borrowers who can show they tried other ways of modifying their home loans before resorting to bankruptcy, among other changes.

But banks want to go much further, restricting the bill only to subprime or other exotic loans.

There are too many Democrats in Congress who are either frightened, bought off and corrupt or who just plain think like Republicans. I hope these folks are keeping score.