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Cites advocacy for Fannie Mae, stock in AIG
By John C. Drake
Globe Staff / October 9, 2008
Republican Senate candidate Jeff Beatty tried to tie incumbent Democrat John Kerry to the economic crisis yesterday, saying Kerry failed the state in the 1990s by advocating for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to enter the subprime mortgage market.
Beatty also denounced Kerry for owning stock in the insurer AIG and for accepting campaign contributions from people employed on Wall Street and other sectors of the financial industry.
"He seems to be taking care of his political interest, and he seems to be taking care of special interests," Beatty, a national security consultant from Harwich, said at a press conference at the State House. "I don't see where he's taking care of the interests of the people of Massachusetts."
AIG received an $85 billion bailout from the Federal Reserve last month, and the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to keep the mortgage giants from failing.
Beatty resurrected a 1999 article in a now-defunct journal called "Mortgage-Backed Securities Letter" about a letter Kerry wrote to regulators urging Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to expand their role in the subprime market, even though Kerry in the letter also called for safeguards and transparency in the industry.
Beatty also said Kerry was compromised when he blocked legislation in 2000 that would have stripped $150 million in Big Dig-related funding from AIG because disclosures show Kerry personally owns about $2 million in AIG stock.
"This to me is a serious conflict of interest," Beatty said, calling on Kerry to sell his AIG stock and donate some $44,000 in campaign contributions from employees of AIG, most of which was received in 2004 during his presidential campaign, to homeowners facing foreclosure. "He has certainly earned the title of Senator 'Cash and Kerry.' "
Kerry campaign spokeswoman Brigid O'Rourke dismissed the allegations. She said Kerry never did favors for AIG.
"In case Jeff Beatty hasn't noticed, that AIG stock he's talking about isn't looking so hot these days - sort of like his favorite baseball team, the New York Yankees," O'Rourke said. "Instead of playing phony political games with Jeff Beatty, John Kerry would rather concentrate on the work he's been doing for our state's troubled homeowners."
In his uphill battle to knock off the Bay State's 24-year incumbent junior senator, Beatty has recycled previous attacks on Kerry from his presidential run in 2004 and his just-finished primary campaign.
Beatty faces long odds. Recent polls conducted by the research firms Rasmussen Reports and SurveyUSA show Kerry holding more than a 30-point lead over his challenger. The two will face off in a pair of debates before the Nov. 4 election, one radio exchange on WTKK-FM and a televised debate on NECN.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/ar...nger_tries_to_link_kerry_to_financial_crisis/

By John C. Drake
Globe Staff / October 9, 2008
Republican Senate candidate Jeff Beatty tried to tie incumbent Democrat John Kerry to the economic crisis yesterday, saying Kerry failed the state in the 1990s by advocating for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to enter the subprime mortgage market.
Beatty also denounced Kerry for owning stock in the insurer AIG and for accepting campaign contributions from people employed on Wall Street and other sectors of the financial industry.
"He seems to be taking care of his political interest, and he seems to be taking care of special interests," Beatty, a national security consultant from Harwich, said at a press conference at the State House. "I don't see where he's taking care of the interests of the people of Massachusetts."
AIG received an $85 billion bailout from the Federal Reserve last month, and the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to keep the mortgage giants from failing.
Beatty resurrected a 1999 article in a now-defunct journal called "Mortgage-Backed Securities Letter" about a letter Kerry wrote to regulators urging Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to expand their role in the subprime market, even though Kerry in the letter also called for safeguards and transparency in the industry.
Beatty also said Kerry was compromised when he blocked legislation in 2000 that would have stripped $150 million in Big Dig-related funding from AIG because disclosures show Kerry personally owns about $2 million in AIG stock.
"This to me is a serious conflict of interest," Beatty said, calling on Kerry to sell his AIG stock and donate some $44,000 in campaign contributions from employees of AIG, most of which was received in 2004 during his presidential campaign, to homeowners facing foreclosure. "He has certainly earned the title of Senator 'Cash and Kerry.' "
Kerry campaign spokeswoman Brigid O'Rourke dismissed the allegations. She said Kerry never did favors for AIG.
"In case Jeff Beatty hasn't noticed, that AIG stock he's talking about isn't looking so hot these days - sort of like his favorite baseball team, the New York Yankees," O'Rourke said. "Instead of playing phony political games with Jeff Beatty, John Kerry would rather concentrate on the work he's been doing for our state's troubled homeowners."
In his uphill battle to knock off the Bay State's 24-year incumbent junior senator, Beatty has recycled previous attacks on Kerry from his presidential run in 2004 and his just-finished primary campaign.
Beatty faces long odds. Recent polls conducted by the research firms Rasmussen Reports and SurveyUSA show Kerry holding more than a 30-point lead over his challenger. The two will face off in a pair of debates before the Nov. 4 election, one radio exchange on WTKK-FM and a televised debate on NECN.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/ar...nger_tries_to_link_kerry_to_financial_crisis/