Of all the November 2008 House and Senate candidates who support impeaching Cheney and Bush in 2008, one of the most interesting is a Senate candidate from the impeachment hotbed of Maine who is also showing leadership on protecting families against predatory lenders. Her name is Laurie Dobson. Check out this statement:
US Senate Candidate Urges Five-Year Moratorium on Home Foreclosures
Kennebunkport’s Laurie Dobson blasts Wall Street greed, proposed Bush solution
(Kennebunkport) US Senate candidate Laurie Dobson of Kennebunkport has proposed an immediate five-year moratorium on all home foreclosures, which she blames on the “reckless and irresponsible financial practices” of predatory mortgage lenders and greedy Wall Street financial firms.
Dobson’s proposed federal law would prohibit any and all foreclosures for the duration of the current world economic crisis. “No foreclosures for any reason, period,” she demanded.
A former Democrat turned Independent, Dobson believes the current subprime mortgage crisis could spawn a repeat of the “Dust Bowl” crisis of the 1930s, depicted in the John Steinbeck novel, The Grapes of Wrath. “In 2008 alone, three to five million American families will face the threat of foreclosure,” she said, with even more at risk in the future. Foreclosures and evictions, already at their highest rates in decades, are about to mushroom, she said. “It’s a potential disaster on the scale of a hundred Katrinas.”
Foreclosure threatens all Mainers, not just cash-strapped homeowners, she insisted. A single foreclosed home, abandoned and neglected, can undermine home prices in an entire neighborhood.
“Americans deserve a government big enough and tough enough to stand up to Wall Street and the hedge fund pirates who caused this mess,” said Dobson, who is challenging Republican Susan Collins and Democrat Tom Allen in next year’s US Senate race. “Collins, Allen and the other current members of Congress haven’t had the guts to do it. That’s why Mainers need a change. We need stronger, more determined leadership.”
A five-year moratorium on foreclosures isn’t a comprehensive solution, Dobson admits, but would give the country time to formulate one. “Congress needs to focus its efforts on helping the average American family, instead of serving only the interests of the rich and powerful, as the Bush Administration has consistently done.”
The White House’s proposed plan would at best help only prime borrowers who have never missed a payment, Dobson insisted, a totally unrealistic pre-condition that would shut out vast numbers of those that need help most.
“Today’s mortgage crisis is the fruit of decades of economic decline in this country. Clever salesmen conned many families by offering adjustable rate mortgages with deceptively low teaser rates to lure them in,” Dobson argued. She calls these ARMs “cynical exercises in consumer fraud,” since many homebuyers could barely afford the initial payments. “After a short honeymoon, the low teaser rate is re-set, sometimes resulting in a 30-50% increase in their monthly payments.”
Protecting homeowners from foreclosure is just one ingredient in Dobson’s plan. She also wants to prevent the financial crisis from shutting down necessary infrastructure, like airlines, railroads, utilities, even factories. “Many industries have collapsed over the last few years, destroying the economic life of their communities. This must stop.”
No family in America should be forced to choose between making their mortgage payment or paying for food, gas, heating, or health care, Dobson concluded. “More than one piece of legislation will be needed to get us out of the coming worldwide hyper-inflationary depression. But a law making all foreclosures a federal crime would be a good place to start. I call on all of Maine’s elected officials in Washington to join with me immediately in making this a reality. Let us take this first step now.”
The Independent candidate’s platform, which can be seen at her website, www.DobsonforSenate.com, has three main planks:
1.
•An immediate end not only to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but what she calls the “policy of perpetual warfare.”
2.
•Impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney and restoration of the rule of law, which Dobson said they have undermined. She also supports repealing the Patriot Act, ending warrantless surveillance, restoring habeas corpus. “It's time to re-establish the Bill of Rights as more important than the whims of any President,” Dobson explained. “It's time to remind Americans that no government official — not even the president or vice president — is above the law.”
3.
•Free medical coverage for all those serving their country and their families. “When we stop spending a trillion dollars a year for war, we will have the money to pay for universal health care.”
For more information, make a donation or become a volunteer, visit www.DobsonforSenate.com.
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Contact: Laurie Dobson, 207-967-0432
Email: Contact@DobsonforSenate.com
