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Right Wing Radio: Not a Good Source of Information

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It might come as a shock, but comedian Rush Limbaugh and his imitators are not Very Good Sources of Information. McClatchy newspapers (for whom I’ve had a lot of respect since, in its previous incarnation as Knight-Ridder was one of the few news outlets to accurately report on the run up to the Iraq War) debunks another cherished right wing talking point.

Remember how shiftless poor people forced banks to lend them money for houses? Turns out, not so much.

As the economy worsens and Election Day approaches, a conservative campaign that blames the global financial crisis on a government push to make housing more affordable to lower-class Americans has taken off on talk radio and e-mail.

Commentators say that’s what triggered the stock market meltdown and the freeze on credit. They’ve specifically targeted the mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which the federal government seized on Sept. 6, contending that lending to poor and minority Americans caused Fannie’s and Freddie’s financial problems.

Federal housing data reveal that the charges aren’t true, and that the private sector, not the government or government-backed companies, was behind the soaring subprime lending at the core of the crisis.

Only one of the top twenty-five subprime lenders in 2006 was directly subject to the housing law that’s being lambasted by conservative critics.

Between 2004 and 2006, when subprime lending was exploding, Fannie and Freddie went from holding a high of 48 percent of the subprime loans that were sold into the secondary market to holding about 24 percent, according to data from Inside Mortgage Finance, a specialty publication. One reason is that Fannie and Freddie were subject to tougher standards than many of the unregulated players in the private sector who weakened lending standards, most of whom have gone bankrupt or are now in deep trouble.

I wonder how these commentators can ignore facts where the only thing to be gained is to reinforce their preconceived notions, scapegoat people and policies they already dislike, and make self-reflection unnecessary.

Liberal Media Watch

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Rough coverage for the Democrats in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette this morning; at least as it came up in my RSS Feed.

First, from the “I-have-a-narrative,-and-I’m-not-afraid-to-use-it department” we have “analysis” by someone named Eli Saslow for the Washington Post asserting that Hillary’s speech “didn’t deliver” on unity. The “analysis” boils down to, “Oh, sure she said the right things, and said them well, but I found some Clinton supporters who still didn’t much care for Obama. I’m not going to tell you whether these people are at all representative of Democrats generally.” (c.f. Convention report from Russ Stilwell (“she did not disappoint”; Star News Reports “full throated support of Obama”)

Next, we have a story about the pro-McCain billionaire trying to make Obama look scary because he knows a guy who was a 60s radical.

Then, we have a story about how Elizabeth Edwards deserves scorn because she was complicit in keeping John Edwards’ affair secret.

Then, we have a story about how the Democratic Convention isn’t really helping Denver economically.

Finally, on the mostly positive side, there is a series of briefs telling some of what was actually said at the convention. My favorite line from Ohio Governor Ted Strickland:

“You know, it was once said of the first George Bush that he was born on third base and thought he’d hit a triple,” Strickland said. “Well, with the 22 million new jobs and the budget surplus Bill Clinton left behind, George W. Bush came into office on third base, and then he stole second.”

As the crowd roar, Strickland added, “And John McCain cheered him every step of the way.”

There was also a good one from Bob Casey, not reported in the linked material, “John McCain says he’s a maverick. But he’s voted with Bush over 90% of the time. That’s not a maverick. That’s a sidekick.