ABC's Marcus Baram is reporting that Democratic Senators Chris Dodd (Conn.) and Kent Conrad (N.D.) "had their home loans handled by [Countrywide Financial's] VIP desk, where a team of loan officers would work out favorable terms in conjunction with [CEO Angelo] Mozilo, according to two former Countrywide executives."
Only their party affiliations are nowhere to be found in the ABCNews.com story.
Conrad is Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and chairs a subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee, according to his official Web page. Dodd serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. These committee chair assignments were also missing from Baram's story.
Pictured above at right: screencap of photo illustration accompanying Baram's June 13 story. The caption reads: "Senators Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad, among other high-profile individuals, received favorable rates on their home loans as friends of Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Mozilo, reports Conde Nast Portfolio."
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Conflict of what?
June 13, 2008 - 17:24 ET by SickofLibsI guess (D) is the new scarlet letter.
I once dealt with Countrywide's VIP Desk -but I was led to believe it meant Verifiably Illegal Payola.
Maybe the "D" key has been
June 13, 2008 - 17:26 ET by Chris NormanMaybe the "D" key has been removed from their keyboards to prevent this from happening. Did the report read "Chris _o _ _ and Kent Conra_"?
We are supposed to believe....
June 13, 2008 - 18:04 ET by Prester John....that a senator with years and years of experience on the banking and finance committees didn't notice that he wasn't paying points or getting a break on the interest rate.
They think we're stupid, people, they think they're better than we are, they think they're royalty.
No Shocker Here
June 13, 2008 - 18:54 ET by allamericangirlRemember when all we heard for days on end from the major media outlets was
CULTURE OF CORRUPTION
Over and over they repeated it like a chant.
The difference was it was about republicans.
Hey!
June 13, 2008 - 19:08 ET by jaywlAt least they didn't identify them as Republicans. You know, slip a little "R" after the names. If caught (most likely), they could blame some go-fer and put a correction just after the least interesting story of the night.
"Favorable"
June 13, 2008 - 19:56 ET by iveseenitall"Favorable" treatment is what the Dems are all about. That's why they see nothing wrong with Affirmative Action. Favorable Affirmative Action--- the kind that got Michelle into the Ivy League, or maybe the kind that Tony Rezko gave the Obamas in that land deal.
Who is Barry Sotero?
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
Witchcraft
June 13, 2008 - 19:52 ET by ScrapironThe 'D' wards off news reporters (sic) or maybe like the smallpox shot I got as a kid, the 'D' provided lifelong protection. All you need do is something stupid daily to provide a little booster shot. I've always thought Dodd was the most phony and stupid of the 'Kennedy' imitators in congress. Stupid imitating stupid, works for me.
Old, Retired and glad of it.
Just be glad they are
June 13, 2008 - 19:53 ET by motherbeltJust be glad they are Senators.
If they were House members, they would probably use the Rep. abbreviation for Representative, hoping people would think it stood for "Republican."
Excellent point, motherbelt.
June 13, 2008 - 23:58 ET by Scout FinchExcellent point, motherbelt.
If (R) Senators..
June 13, 2008 - 20:30 ET by kelleybIf republican Senators had accepted the "special" rates, the (D)'s and their media hounds would be baying for them to resign. I think the Dodd and Conrad should resign from the Senate immediately. They took advantage of their positions to benefit themselves. They received 'sweetheart' deals that you or I could not. It is encumbant on them to make sure that they do not profit from their position or from their friendships.
kelleyb
yes
June 13, 2008 - 21:23 ET by jaywlhere, here!
If you look at Dodd's list
June 13, 2008 - 22:17 ET by celatorIf you look at Dodd's list of campaign contributions, you'll see that the bankers/mortgage companies own him lock, stock and barrel.
It doesn't stick with Democrats
June 14, 2008 - 07:43 ET by ChiefE9Cold Cash Jefferson for example.
The MSM will ignore their scandals or downplay them.
You wonder at times how a Republican gets elected to a high office like Congress and the White House with all the MSM bias.
We all know.
June 14, 2008 - 10:43 ET by pbthinkerIs there any doubt a Republican Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, etc. wouldn't have been excoriated in the media for this? This isn't some lowly junior Senator that just fell off the turnip truck, this is the Chairman or Senior Minority Member. We're talking about committees that regulate the mortgage industry and the press says nothing!
Most of us followed the media, just before the 2006 elections, when the Democrats were saying, on a daily basis, the "Culture of Corruption" and the press was printing it. We know what happened there, why is there the silence of the lambs on this deal?
Democrats: Stuck on Stupid since 2000.
I agree wholeheartedly,
June 14, 2008 - 10:49 ET by motherbeltI agree wholeheartedly, pb....this is just outrageous!
We are talking about these guys getting "sweetheart deals" from businesses that they regulate!!
Can anyone doubt that were they Republicans, we would have Her Speakerness front and center railing about the continuing "culture of corruption, calling for investigations and hearings?
And don't you imagine the MSM would be raking John McCain over the coals about all this???
Has anyone asked Sen. Obama how this fits in with his "new kind of politics" and what he intends to do about it as the new "leader of the Democrat party"?
Yeah, right.
MSM Suppresses Dem Affiliations
June 17, 2008 - 13:51 ET by chazskiI don't believe ABC "ignored" the Dem party affiliation of these crooks. I believe ABC suppressed their Dem party affiliations.