Bailout News Congressional Video: Senator Jim Bunning Issues A Stern Warning To Fed Vice-Chairman Donald Kohn About AIG
Youtube Video: Senator Bunning And Fed Chairman B-52 Bernanke On AIG -- March 2009
Editor's Note: As often happens, the original youtube video has been pulled. I searched extensively and could not find the same clip anywhere else. I have replaced it with another clip. The text below refers to the original clip and is worth the read on its own.
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I will have more commentary on this post later, but for now enjoy this 5 minute clip of former major league pitcher and member of the baseball Hall of Fame, Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky.
Fed Vice-Chairman Donald Kohn was squarely in the crosshairs last week as Bunning was throwing high and tight. (Bunning led the majors in hit-batters during the era that included Bob Gibson, so he's not likely afraid of knocking The Fed off the plate.)
Point of fact, here is the short description given of the Senator by the Wall Street Journal in one of the links below:
"Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), the Hall of Famer that he is, may hold an undisputed claim as the best pitcher in the United States Senate. He’d also win any competition as the leading agitator against the Federal Reserve and Treasury. You can always count on Mr. Bunning to lob grenades at a hearing with a central bank official, even if his fellow lawmakers (on both sides of the aisle) use decidedly different tones."
The golden moment occurs about 30 seconds into the clip as Bunning says:
“We have put in approximately $170 billion to $180 billion into one corporation. And you are telling us that the counterparties that got par for their bonds, or for whatever — the American taxpayer shouldn’t know who they are” Mr. Bunning said, growing more agitated. “And then you may come back to us and and ask for more money for more banks and more corporations. You will get the biggest ‘no’ you ever got. I will hold the bill. I will do anything possible to stop you from wasting the taxpayers’ money on a lost cause. And that’s what AIG is, it’s a lost cause.”
The look on Kohn's face is hilarious as he's being flailed.
Call it symbolic, I don't give a rat's ass. Bunning just threw some 98 mph heat straight at Bernanke's head. We celebrate the good moments here because they come not often, and this is one hell of a good moment.
Smells like napalm (fillibuster) in the morning. "Smells like victory!" from Duvall in Apocalypse Now.
After the jump we have several links with reaction to the partial revealing of AIG counterparties and 3 additional youtube videos of Bunning grilling various Fed members including B-52.
And a quick shout to readers JL and his gang of merry scientists at Battelle. Thanks for slogging through our posts day after painful day.
Here is another clip from Apocalypse Now. I did NOT provide the caption.
link 6 Bunning Ripping Bernanke on Youtube
link 7 More Bunning Ripping Bernanke Part 2 on Youtube
link 8 $1.2 Trillion Fed Slush Fund: Congressman Alan Grayson Grills Fed VC Donald Kohn
DailyBail
Updated to include Robert Duvall clips from Apocalypse Now.
Reader Comments (10)
That's a line from Apocolypse Now I think. Maybe it's another Vietnam-era movie.
You're fast.
I was still completing the body of the post, I didn't think anyone would read it before I got the videos in there.
Best moment from all the hearings last week.
Jimmy Rogers ris Geithner on AIG. Good viewing if you haven't seen it.
http://dailybail.com/home/2009/3/4/bailout-aig-joseph-j-cassano-is-an-irresponsible-asswipe-who.html
http://dailybail.com/home/2009/3/4/bailout-aig-and-ben-bernanke-cnbc-videos-federal-reserve-cha.html
Great post on Bunning. I haven't seen this anywhere else. The video at least.