This Washington
Pelz Says McKenna Not Standing Up to Banks
The Democrats are in attack mode against the Republican gubernatorial candidate, state Attorney General Rob McKenna. (McKenna, aiming to be the first Republican to win a governor's race in Washington state since 1980, is beating the Democratic candidate US Rep. Jay Inslee in all the recent polls.)
Seizing on a story in the Palm Beach Post yesterday in which he believes McKenna gave a Pollyannish quote about a controversial nationwide foreclosure deal, Washington State Democratic Party Chair Dwight Pelz accused McKenna of giving banks "a free pass" in a conference call this afternoon.
Attorneys general nationwide are collectively negotiating with banks to pursue lesser punishments against banks for illegal mortgage foreclosure practices if the banks agree to ease loan payback requirements for strapped debtors. Democratic AGs have criticized the deal for being too soft on banks.[pullquote]Several states' attorneys general, including AGs from California, Massachusetts, and New York, have dropped out of the negotiations in disgust.[/pullquote]
Pelz said: "He [McKenna] claims that his top priority is standing up for consumers, but now we learn that he [is] negotiating a settlement that provides a horrendous deal for the victims of abusive Wall Street practices."
Several states' attorneys general, including AGs from California, Massachusetts, and New York, have dropped out of the negotiations in disgust, criticizing the pending deal for not pursuing a full-fledged investigation into illegal foreclosure practices and for agreeing to too broad a waiver from claims.
"It goes against the DNA of an AG to say, ‘I’m going to agree to a waiver of liability without investigation’,” Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway told Politico when he dropped out of the negotiations.
McKenna's quote, in contrast (from the Palm Beach paper):
So, does Pelz want McKenna to drop out of the settlement talks? Isn't it better to have a representative from Washington State at the table? I put both questions to Pelz during this afternoon's conference call.
Pelz said he believed McKenna is being too soft on the banks instead of being a strong advocate for Washington consumers—"tens of thousands of Washington families were were hurt by what the banks did to the American housing market three years ago." He concluded: "He needs to go back to the table and get a stronger deal."
I asked the Republicans for a response to Pelz and here's the email I got from state party spokesman Josh Amato:
Inslee has a web site, but Amato is referencing the fact that Inslee's web site doesn't have an issues page. McKenna's does.
As for the question about Gregoire, that's a pretty snappy rejoinder from the Republicans. Gregoire was, indeed, criticized for waiving future claims against tobacco companies, something Pelz criticized the pending mortgage deal for.
His press release says the deal "provides Big Banks immunity from further investigations."
Seizing on a story in the Palm Beach Post yesterday in which he believes McKenna gave a Pollyannish quote about a controversial nationwide foreclosure deal, Washington State Democratic Party Chair Dwight Pelz accused McKenna of giving banks "a free pass" in a conference call this afternoon.
Attorneys general nationwide are collectively negotiating with banks to pursue lesser punishments against banks for illegal mortgage foreclosure practices if the banks agree to ease loan payback requirements for strapped debtors. Democratic AGs have criticized the deal for being too soft on banks.[pullquote]Several states' attorneys general, including AGs from California, Massachusetts, and New York, have dropped out of the negotiations in disgust.[/pullquote]
Pelz said: "He [McKenna] claims that his top priority is standing up for consumers, but now we learn that he [is] negotiating a settlement that provides a horrendous deal for the victims of abusive Wall Street practices."
Several states' attorneys general, including AGs from California, Massachusetts, and New York, have dropped out of the negotiations in disgust, criticizing the pending deal for not pursuing a full-fledged investigation into illegal foreclosure practices and for agreeing to too broad a waiver from claims.
"It goes against the DNA of an AG to say, ‘I’m going to agree to a waiver of liability without investigation’,” Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway told Politico when he dropped out of the negotiations.
McKenna's quote, in contrast (from the Palm Beach paper):
Our settlement will provide huge benefits - estimated in the tens of billions of dollars - for borrowers," Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna said today . "The deal we are negotiating will not give banks a get out of jail free card.
So, does Pelz want McKenna to drop out of the settlement talks? Isn't it better to have a representative from Washington State at the table? I put both questions to Pelz during this afternoon's conference call.
Pelz said he believed McKenna is being too soft on the banks instead of being a strong advocate for Washington consumers—"tens of thousands of Washington families were were hurt by what the banks did to the American housing market three years ago." He concluded: "He needs to go back to the table and get a stronger deal."
I asked the Republicans for a response to Pelz and here's the email I got from state party spokesman Josh Amato:
Jay has already been criticized in the media for being light on substance and heavy on attacks. Does Dwight really think playing the part of Jay's negative surrogate is really helpful at this point?
Were there similar calls on Gregoire to drop out of the tobacco settlement because some felt the settlement wasn't high enough?
Where is Jay's website?
Inslee has a web site, but Amato is referencing the fact that Inslee's web site doesn't have an issues page. McKenna's does.
As for the question about Gregoire, that's a pretty snappy rejoinder from the Republicans. Gregoire was, indeed, criticized for waiving future claims against tobacco companies, something Pelz criticized the pending mortgage deal for.
His press release says the deal "provides Big Banks immunity from further investigations."
