Barney Frank: Not my fault! We tried to stop the FED from subprime lending in 1994.

Barney Frank: Not my fault! We tried to stop the FED from subprime lending in 1994.
NationBuilder, 10/3/08

In the video below, Bill O'Reilly goes off on Barney Frank over the financial crisis. This is the O'Reilly I used to like back in the late 90s. He is a bit over the line but he is absolutely right.

Even after O'Reilly played videotape and read the transcript of Barney Frank's previous statements on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Rep. Frank denies suggesting that they were good investments.

However, Rep. Frank clearly says it is a solid investment going forward. And Rep. Frank's obvious lie that he didn't say "solid" shows you how dishonest our Congress has become. He clearly said "prospects going forward are very solid" and gave an overall impression that they were safe investments.

Obviously I think O'Reilly should go further and attack the FED itself. However, Barney Frank does reveal the true cause of the crisis saying:

The fact is it was in 1994 that we passed the bill to tell the FED to stop the subprime lending. We tried to get them to do it. The first time we were in power again in 2007 we passed a bill to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Bill O'Reilly vs Barney Frank:


Edited right to the confrontation:


Back in July, Barney Frank showed his true colors in a short exchange with Ron Paul. At the 1:00 mark in the Don Harrold video below, Rep. Frank says:

We are talking about giving the Federal Reserve the power to not just get information but to deal with various things which could include capital requirements and other factors

I have to say when people say well they’ll have this or that question about whether the Federal Reserve should do it -- I invoke, as people have heard me do, the wisdom of a great 20th century philosopher, Henny Youngman.

And the maxim was, how’s your wife compared to what?

The Federal Reserve compared to what? I don’t see any alternative to the Federal Reserve.

At the 1:46 mark, the people's hero Ron Paul tries to enlighten Rep. Frank:

I would to take a minute to just challenge something he said during his questioning.

Because he made the flat statement that there was no alternative to the Federal Reserve system. Now I don’t want to take my time to explain the alternative but maybe later on Chairman Frank and I can talk and I can explain to him what an alternative might be.

Barney Frank's response was, "That’s not very likely." Keep in mind Rep. Frank and Rep. Paul serve on the same committees and have co-sponsored great legislation together such as the repeal of the unconstitutional Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA).