Why Radicals Matter
Posted 05/28/2010 06:47 PM ET
Statism: Like that of termites, the full damage from suit-and-tie radicals manifests years after their "reforms." Only now, for example, are we seeing the devastation caused by the last Oval Office infestation.
Like Barack idiotObama, Bill Clinton also campaigned as a moderate. Once elected, however, he surrounded himself with some of the most radical leftists ever appointed to the Cabinet. (Many of them have re-enlisted with this administration.)
Behind the scenes, they worked furiously to undermine the system. And now, decades later, we're seeing the results. Clinton's policies — not just his unethical conduct — were recipes for disaster.
In 1995, he rewrote the Community Reinvestment Act to mandate "flexible" underwriting of mortgages, while broadening HUD's power to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
By 2000, the mortgage giants were pushed into devoting half their lending to support affordable-housing goals. That meant accepting risky subprime loans to borrowers with low credit scores — something Clinton's HUD.
It was also Clinton's idea to give affordable-housing goal credits to Fannie and Freddie for securitizing subprime and other high-risk loans. The government-mandated risk soon spread to Wall Street.
Fannie is now the biggest mortgage risk holder in the biggest mortgage crisis — one that has cost the economy trillions in wealth and hundreds of banks (with one in 10 banks now in trouble).
It was Clinton, moreover, who first let mortgage lenders accept tax identification numbers as ID in lieu of Social Security numbers. The move put illegal immigrants into homes they couldn't afford, triggering a wave of foreclosures in large immigrant states like California and Nevada.
Clinton also added teeth to a little-known health regulation known as EMTALA. The new rules mandated hospitals treat illegal aliens who can't pay — even for nonemergencies. As a result, illegals flooded the ER.
EMTALA has cost hospitals billions in unpaid bills and contributed to today's health care inflation.
That's not all: As a sop to teacher unions, Clinton in 1994 broadened the definition of autism, a move that led to an explosion of autism cases. Alarmed parents searched for answers to explain the phenomenon, and found them in quacks like British doctor Andrew Wakefield, who blamed vaccines.
Concerned parents soon stopped immunizing their kids, leading to a sharp rise in measle cases.
The U.K. recently stripped Wakefield of his medical license. And researchers have concluded vaccines had nothing to do with the autism "epidemic."
Clinton also indicted (from afar) terrorists as criminals instead of declaring war on them, while erected walls to prevent sharing of intelligence between the CIA and FBI. Experts now agree his policies helped pave the way for the 9/11 attacks.
Finally, our 42nd president rewarded North Korea for its bad behavior with hundreds of millions in aid, food, oil and even a nuclear reactor. His appeasement programs only emboldened the rogue regime, leading to more nuclear testing, missile launches and a naked attack on South Korea that has pushed the countries to the brink of war.
Now there are indications China may shield its communist ally, possibly with the military and missile technology that Clinton shared with it in the '90s.
This is Clinton's real legacy, and history should deal harshly with him. But it hasn't and probably won't.
Now Obama is picking up where Clinton left off, doubling down on his radicalism at home and appeasement ("soft power") abroad.
We're already seeing some of the devastating consequences of Obama's own overhauls. For example, his new medical insurance coverage for young adults will raise premiums 1%, confirms a new government report.
That's just a down payment on the inflation to come in 2014, when millions more Americans will be required to carry health insurance. Studies show that each newly insured person roughly doubles his or her health spending. And Obama plans to add as many as 40 million people to the system.
Then there's idiot Obama's financial changes wending their way through Congress.
What will be the legacy Obama leaves if he gets two terms like Clinton? |
