Why is it okay that Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to politicians, most of all John Kerry and Barack Obama?

Isn’t it even more interesting that PAC’s gave $20,000—$80,000 to most of the people on that list, with the exception of Kerry, Obama, Clinton, and McCain?

I’m not sure GSE‘s should be making political campaign contributions. I’ve got to think there’s a conflict of interest in there.

That said, FM/FM are themselves legitimate in terms of day-to-day dealings. Some individual executives have made poor business/ethical decisions. But the businesses themselves exist within the proper boundaries of law.

Lemme put it another way: they’re not drug dealers, slave traders, or gun runners.

So, a perfectly valid and legitimate business contributes money all legal and above board to your campaign. Especially if it comes without obligatory strings attached (I don’t know if it did or not), then of course you take the money for your campaign.

I wonder what the moderator’s criteria is sometimes…

@celeste….care to elaborate….?

Well, they deleted this question, which I don’t see as bad at all, and I also read somewhere that they took down someone’s request for ideas to be cheered up.

I’m not sure how they decide that a question is “inappropriate”

Sorry Celeste. I don’t understand what you are talking about…? The question is still here as we are obviously posting in the thread.

I am lost…?

It was reposted. It was posted. Taken down. Reposted.

@celeste ahhhh. OK. thanks for the clarification

In all fairness, I was the moderator who initially censored your question. Due to a glitch when moderating (I was on the road on my iPhone and the signal dropped) the censor went through without the full explanation.

Usually when a Q is censored for not meeting the Quality Standards as set forth in the guidelines, we (mods) try to provide a brief detail as to which specific area we found to be “gray.”

In your previous version of this question, it was a matter of the wording and details (or lack of details) that caused the moderation. The question was posted as “Who are FM/FM, and why have they donated $120,000…”

The only details provided in the description was a link to the same article you linked to in this Q. IMO, this was a rhetorical question (your link already provided the answer), and in this manner seemed less of a question about wanting to know who they are than why they donated. I know it’s subtle, but that wording does make a difference.

I apologize for not stating this in the message to you or PM, I usually am pretty thorough; I was “on the road,” and by the time I got home had forgotten to check to see if the details had been included.

Again sorry for any misunderstanding; feel free to PM me if you have any questions or follow up.

Jon

What is a PAC?

PAC = Political Action Committee

I just heard on CBS that Freddie Mac donated hundreds of thousands to Jon Mccain too.
Here’s a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP12aNzocSc

Why are you asking the question in such a one-sided way?

You can actually see a breakdown of capaign comtributions by industry here and for the FIRE (Finance, Insurance, Real Estate) industry, the breakdown was more equitable this year than in the past. Other election cycles have traditionally seen more going to the Republican side.

Here is a good article on the influence in both campaigns.

Thanks, that gave me a lot more insight on the whole issue.

@La Chica There are tons of questions asked on here in a one sided way…..And if you read them carefully they are almost always associated w/ politics, religion etc.

@snoopy

Unfortunately, if the question doesn’t jive with the views of the majority on this site, people are bashed, ridiculed, and some questions are taken down. I love this site and some of the people on it, but more and more people are becoming very angry when someone questions the status quo and main stream views.

I’ve learned from past when I first joined this site, that some questions, or at least the way they are worded, make people angry. I now try to ask legitimate questions, which I would like answers to. I ask, not to piss people off, but for answers to questions that are unknown to me.

So stop being douche bags and just answer the questions. You know who you are.

Chris, are you talking to me?

Because yeah, I would say this question doesn’t “jive” with me. It’s one sided and unfair. But I think I brought up a legitimate point, and I didn’t bash, ridicule, or take down anything.

@la chica

It was not directed towards you specifically. Just everyone in general that acts that way. If someone asks a one sided question, it should be responded to with a factual answer. Instead, people get bashed. Sometimes people hear something and ask fluther. A correct answer itself is all that is needed to prove someone wrong, not a rude attack.(again, not directed at you)

So you weren’t directing that at me specifically or you weren’t directing that at me at all? There’s a difference.

@la chica

It wasn’t directed to you at all. You did none of what I said. It was directed at some flutherers who get angry when certain questions are asked. I have not seen it from you. Sorry if you took it personally.

@chris I would agree w/ you that this would be ideal….(just answer the question, no matter how it is formatted)....

However I think that some grow weary of seeing questions that are slanted a certain way and appear to be worded to convey a certain view only and are not truly seeking an answer to a question.