Santelli for Senator
Posted by Richard on February 19, 2009
It's possible that a Senate seat from Illinois may be vacant soon. If so, CNBC's Rick Santelli would be a great choice to fill it (although he said he'd never move to Washington, D.C., because he doesn't "want to take a shower every hour"). Speaking from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Santelli delivered what's billed as the "Rant of the Year" on YouTube. Here it is:
(YouTube link. And CNBC link in case it gets pulled from YouTube.)
Watching it is more fun, but here's a semi-accurate transcript excerpt (from Right Pundits):
Mr. Ross has nailed it. The government is promoting bad behavior. We certainly don't want to put stimulus pork and give people a whopping $8 or $10 in their check and think that they ought to save it.
And in terms of modifications, I tell you what. I have an idea. The new administration is big on computers and technology. How about this, Mr. President and new administration. Why don't you put up a website to have people vote on the internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers mortgages? Or would they like to at least buy buy cars, buy a house that is in foreclosure … give it to people who might have a chance to actually prosper down the road and reward people that can carry the water instead of drink the water?
This is America!
How many people want to pay for your neighbor's mortgages that has an extra bathroom and can't pay their bills?
Raise their hand!
This morning, I heard another sob story about someone in danger of losing their house. This was a computer technician in some New York suburb. Three years ago, on an $80k income, he bought a $550k house with no money down, and then spent an undisclosed amount remodeling it. Now, he's not getting as much overtime as he used to, has run up $30k in credit card debt, and is borrowing from family and friends to make the mortgage payments. He was portrayed in a sympathetic light as the quintessential "victim of the crisis" whom the Obama bailout is intended to help.
You know what? I'm not one whit sympathetic. I resent the fact that I and millions of others who behaved more responsibly are going to get socked to bail this fool out of the mess he got himself into. Not to mention the added debt burden being passed on to future generations of responsible people.
Of course, there'll be fewer responsible people in the future because, as Santelli noted, these bailouts are "promoting bad behavior," so that's what we'll get more and more of.
Ned said
Today was the day America woke up!
Thank you Mr. Santelli. I am an Italian-American and I am so proud.
nemov said
The Santelli rant made my day. The fact that the guys on the floor were cheering him on made it even better. During the Great Depression FDR badgered Wall Street until investment froze. We can’t let that happen again.
rgcombs said
I’ve watched it three times and enjoyed it more each time. Thanks for stopping by!