Now at 207 co-sponsors for H.R. 1207!

[kathy88]

bottomline is, a lot of these people are going to use their co-sponsorship to try and gain activist support from ron paul supporters. And that is fine! I happily support these folks in matters of the federal reserve.

What we do is when they come to us for help using their sponsoring of 1207 as leverage, we gladly say we can help, but only if we open a dialogue on non-interventionism and civil liberties.

Brass tacks for me --- some of these guys are getting out here with us and ron paul on this legislation. With the way things work in politics, they'll come back to us for help on some other matter. That is when we engage, but stick to our principles. When our principles align with that for which they're asking our assistance, we activate and build a bridge.

You know, i don't think ron paul would have garnered all this support if it wasn't for supporters, but also his bulletproof, teflon statesman manner. A lot of these people disagree with rp on a lot of things i am sure, but because ron never makes it personal and always makes it about policy, they can politely disagree and come together on issues like auditing the fed.

I can't remember the last time i heard a sitting member of congress demean ron paul as a person, in fact, you hear the greatest things from both sides of the isle.

I really wish more people here would act like ron paul.


Goooo hr 1207!!!

qft

 

[klamath]

Bottomline is, a lot of these people are going to use their co-sponsorship to try and gain activist support from Ron Paul supporters. And that is fine! I happily support these folks in matters of the Federal Reserve.

What we do is when they come to us for help using their sponsoring of 1207 as leverage, we gladly say we can help, but only if we open a dialogue on non-interventionism and civil liberties.

Brass tacks for me --- some of these guys are getting out here with us and Ron Paul on this legislation. With the way things work in politics, they'll come back to us for help on some other matter. That is when we engage, but stick to our principles. When our principles align with that for which they're asking our assistance, we activate and build a bridge.

You know, I don't think Ron Paul would have garnered all this support if it wasn't for supporters, but also his bulletproof, teflon statesman manner. A lot of these people disagree with RP on a lot of things I am sure, but because Ron never makes it personal and always makes it about policy, they can politely disagree and come together on issues like auditing the Fed.

I can't remember the last time I heard a sitting member of Congress demean Ron Paul as a person, in fact, you hear the greatest things from both sides of the isle.

I really wish more people here would act like Ron Paul.


GOOOO HR 1207!!!

Well said Cowlesy! Work issues, not personal fights and get more done.

 

[anaconda]

This is gonna start getting real interesting...

Get ready for some fireworks.

 

[itshappening]

the main problem will be Senator Shelby, is the FEDs man in the senate so we need a campaign that targets Shelby

 

[freejack]

Where the heck is Gary Ackerman. I emailed him twice about this and have not received a response.

 

[Mahkato]

61 diggs.

Also don't miss this one on the front page: http://digg.com/d1tNoA

 

[tremendoustie]

Heads on a (proverbial) stick! Heads on a (proverbial) stick!

 

[Mahkato]

Heads on a (proverbial) stick! Heads on a (proverbial) stick!

lol

 

[ashura]

Question from someone ignorant of the bill process: should HR1207 continue to move forward, is there a chance it will eventually unfortunately end up being tinkered with and neutered by the statists in Congress?

 

[tonesforjonesbones]

Oh this is GREAT...tones
(doin the happy dance!)

 

[Mahkato]

Question from someone ignorant of the bill process: should HR1207 continue to move forward, is there a chance it will eventually unfortunately end up being tinkered with and neutered by the statists in Congress?

Regardless of what they do with it, it will help raise awareness of the Fed's evils.

 

[Mahkato]

115 diggs.

 

[RonPaulFanInGA]

Getting Boehner is absolutely huge.

I thought (and wrote here earlier) that I didn't think it possible to get any of the big three of Boehner, Pelosi or Frank to co-sponsor this bill. Amazing.

 

[AuH2O]

A reminder people, 218 cosponsors doesn't do anything.

218 signatures on a discharge petition will bring the bill to the floor, but getting those signatures will be much more difficult than getting cosponsors, at least from Democrats. Signing a discharge petition is basically an insult to their party leadership and removes power from them, which most members are reluctant to do.

Also, some early cosponsors may not have imagined that this was going to have a chance of passing when they signed on, and especially Democrats might not have expected it to be so heavily partisan.

In sum, 218 cosponsors =/= a magic number.

 

[pmbug]

If a discharge petition is drafted, and a co-sponsor does not sign it, s/he is going to have to explain themselves or face the consequences for alienating a large number of voters on one of the most important issues this Congressional session will handle. Much like the reps who switched their vote on the second attempt at the stimulous bill, we will not forget.

 

[specsaregood]

218 signatures on a discharge petition will bring the bill to the floor, but getting those signatures will be much more difficult than getting cosponsors, at least from Democrats. Signing a discharge petition is basically an insult to their party leadership and removes power from them, which most members are reluctant to do.

This is true; but at the same time the party leadership does not want to take the risk of being overruled/neutered either and may allow it up for a vote to avoid this situation.

Much like the reps who switched their vote on the second attempt at the stimulous bill, we will not forget.

Yes, but the real problem was the Senate originating the second bill. That is where we are going to run into all kinds shenanigans on this bill too. My prediction is that it passes the House, then the Senate neuters it and alters it to such a degree that Dr. Paul won't vote/support the final bill. Unless WE stop them that is.

 

[AuH2O]

If a discharge petition is drafted, and a co-sponsor does not sign it, s/he is going to have to explain themselves or face the consequences for alienating a large number of voters on one of the most important issues this Congressional session will handle. Much like the reps who switched their vote on the second attempt at the stimulous bill, we will not forget.

Most of these democrats will think they have a better chance of reelection by not alienating their party leadership than by not alienating the monetary policy voting bloc.

The larger question is how leadership will handle this if they believe they cannot stop it. I expect to see the Democrats try to co-opt Federal Reserve Transparency for themselves by pushing Kucinich's bill forward. Otherwise they will attempt to neuter 1207, and champion its passage, thus taking credit for Auditing the Fed while not accomplishing a full audit.

 

[Mahkato]

Digg C4L's new press release: http://digg.com/politics/Ron_Paul_s_Audit_the_Fed_Bill_Hits_207_Co_Sponsors OR http://bit.ly/wI7dW

And digg the original: http://digg.com/politics/207_co_sponsors_for_HR1207_Federal_Reserve_Transparency_Act

 

[Mahkato]

215 diggs

 

[gls]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/31204170

Fed Would Be Shut Down If It Were Audited, Expert Says

The Federal Reserve's balance sheet is so out of whack that the central bank would be shut down if subjected to a conventional audit, Jim Grant, editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, told CNBC.

With $45 billion in capital and $2.1 trillion in assets, the central bank would not withstand the scrutiny normally afforded other institutions, Grant said in a live interview.

"If the Fed examiners were set upon the Fed's own documents—unlabeled documents—to pass judgment on the Fed's capacity to survive the difficulties it faces in credit, it would shut this institution down," he said. "The Fed is undercapitalized in a way that Citicorp is undercapitalized."

Grant said he would support legislation currently making its way through Congress calling for an audit of the Fed.

Moreover, he criticized the way the Fed has managed the financial crisis, saying the central bank's target rate should not be around zero.


"I think zero is the wrong rate for almost any economy," Grant said, adding the Fed has "embarked on a vast experiment in moral hazard. Interest rates are the traffic signals in a market economy, and everything's green. ... You have to wonder whether these interest rates are the right clearing rate or rather they are the imposition of a central bank."

Amid a disparity between analysts predicting there will be no rate hikes soon and the fed funds futures indicating tightening by the end of the year, Grant said he thinks the Fed indeed will begin raising rates as inflation creeps into the picture.

Fed funds futures have fully priced in as much as a half-point rise in the target rate from its current range of zero to 0.25 percent.

"If the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when there's too much unanimity of opinion, then one begins to worry about this," he said. "The Fed proverbially has been late."