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Want To Ask Alan Grayson Questions Live? Here Is Your Chance: WaPo;1:00 PM; Today
The man who is hated roughly equally by thoughtless extremists on either side of the political spectrum, yet who revels in his notoriety and is arguably the one single-most potent Congressman in D.C. currently, will be taking live question on topics ranging from "health-care and the House's passage last week of a reform
bill, his stand on Afghanistan urging President Obama to pull troops
out of the country, his use of controversial rhetoric in referring to
the Republicans' health-care plan and another incident using an
off-color word to describe a female Federal Reserve advisor, his
reaction to Republican Web site, MyCongressmanIsNuts.com, and more."
Readers should go to the following Washington Post site at 1PM Eastern for what promises to be at least an hour of pure unaduleterated lack of political correctness.
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I think if the Wild Man wants to do his country a service, he should concentrate on the 'Audit the Fed' effort - both out front and behind the scenes - and avoid giving fodder to the handwave issues. People love to watch him - he should get the issue out there on everyone's mind, get people questioning the Fed, rile people up...and kick Mel Watts' ass.
That may be a pretty big 'if', though.
He would have much more credibility if he would stay away from his health reform bull #*!& rhetoric.
Another shining example of the old adage "any publicity is good publicity" starts at 1 PM. While I aplaud the attention Alan Grayson brings to the Ponzi, his behaviour can be so outrageous at times that many simply dismiss him as a kook.
But sometimes you need a clown to bring attention to the other clowns.
We so desperately need 'kooks' like him.
Mr. I am H.S., you have an appropriate response..
Back to you.
He's Harvard U and Harvard Law.
Why he can't be more focused is a mystery with that kind of intelligence.
Agree he should forget about health care and concentrate on
sticking his boot as far up Mel "racist" Watt's ass as he is able.
And as for apologizing to the bitch, no one over the age of 30 needs to apologize to anyone for anything. He was right, she is political whore and nothing more.
He either wants to go balls out or not. If he dithers he's no more than a nut.
Tyler, vix, volume, spx and dollar chart(s)?
Appreciate his efforts on the Fed, otherwise this guy is a d-bag. His "hair" cut speaks volumes about his judgement.
At the risk of being labeled a "thoughtless political extremist" despite the facts that I detest partisan ideologues from both sides and also detest both political parties, I agree with your comment 100%.
i dont always agree with him, but i respect and so enjoy how grayson understands the art of asking a question, sharpened like a scalpel, and then shutting up while the victim bleeds, i mean respondant, as they dig their own grave with falsehoods and deceptions, which gryson is ready to expose as he rarely asks a question to which he does not already know the answer
+1
Alexandria, Va.: Mr. Grayson -- if you cannot be civil and are unable to act like an adult you ought to resign your position.
Your behavior and others like you and Joe Wilson ought to be removed from office. You are dragging politics further into the gutter instead of working on solutions.
Sen. Alan Grayson: You certainly are up-to-date on the Republicans' talking points.
Bowie, Md.: Do you think the 2012 election cycle will be a referendum on what the Dems did wrong or what they did right? What do you think are the key issues that will will be pivotal to Dems in the 2012 election?
I'm a registered Dem.
Sen. Alan Grayson: Whether we're talking about 2010 or 2012 or 2016, I don't think that the voters are going to want to hand power to a party that brought us to the brink of national bankruptcy in 2008, and started two endless wars. Even a dog knows when he's been kicked.
Yes Cog, and the Republicans push for a more civil discourse and a strict adherence to the truth is a real model. What in god's name is wrong with you anyway?!
LOL
gosh and the Dems are doing so much better.
Is he referring to the party that had power in the legislative or the executive branch in 2008? This is why I think he's a d-bag. Great when he's actually doing something (like leading the inquisition against the Fed), sounds like a partisan hack otherwise.
I wondered myself but in true political speaking style, his answers are mostly vague and non committal. But he's still great theater in a "body" full of pompous self centered egotists.
Honestly, we all know what he is. The only difference between him and most of the others is (IMHO) he holds no illusions about what he is. He called someone a whore and he knows he's one as well.
In some people's mind, this gives him the right to call the kettle black. That's not exactly a bad argument to make. Many lawyers have this myth built up in their mind about the great public service they provide. He understands at times he can be a shyster.
There is great freedom in knowing who and what you are.
He's one in a long line of political douche bags, plain and simple. Go out and start a business with your own savings, make a profit for a few years, hire some folks, and then we can talk.
Done, done, done and now we have talked.
get up to speed Anon 117436 - besides getting two Harvard degrees, he started both a succesful law practice and a succesful technology company
in fact, he acts a lot more like the leaders/heads of entrepenurial companies I have known than like bs politiciens. People that start businesses themselves foten have a great independent streak, great independent thought and are more fearless than regular worker bees...so they can be very valuable to society, but I often find them to be arrogant arses also, and once being successful, think everything they do is brilliant and that their succes, which is usually a mix of luck and skill/talent, is all due to their skill and talent. They also are not accustomed to be said no to, they are not used to politics of reporting to someone and all the everyday compromises and diplomacy most worker bees have to engage in to get along with bosses and co-workers...so they often in more of "bubble" land than regular workers, and thus can get very skewed views of the world, which normal workers have leavened by interaction with different others.
Look at Branson, Cuban, those types, who through luck and ability made it on their own...these are the only type of guys that make any sense when on CNBC...the CEOs that came up through the ranks are invariably idiots, as are most politicians. The self-made guys seem to have a better way of seeing what is actually going on, and are obviously way less prone to herding.
In these and many other ways, Grayson is more like self-made business man than a politician. And he has accomplished way more than 99.9 percent of the population, only getting into politics later in life....
And his un-civil schtick seems calculated...like he knows someone needs to be on the leading edge of not being respectful to arses that have ruined our country...Obama is all nice and respectful and what did that ever get him towards his agenda, his opponents couldn't be more obstructionist than they already are...so Grayson seems to be going for it, quite on purpose, although, it does seem to come quite naturally to him.
And his un-civil schtick seems calculated...
understatement of the year. Nothing but sound bites for the firedoglake crowd. I got a fundraising letter the day after he grilled legal counsel for the Federal Reserve. Told him to where to shove his fundraising letter. Everyone else who fell for this schtick will get another fundraising lettre in their inbox tomorrow. Right then I knew this guy is a political opportunist looking to raise cash for his race in a Republican leaning district.
There is great freedom in knowing who and what you are.
True nuff
Yes Cog, and the Republicans have been leading the charge towards a more civil discourse, complete with their strict adherence to the truth. What in god's name is wrong with you anyway?!
He really went after fellow Democrat Mel Watts for gutting the audit the Fed bill in question 5: "We're working on it. Stay tuned."
I can imagine what he would have said about Watts had he been a bought and paid for Republican instead of a bought and paid for Democrat.
His "Bill of Attainder" grandstanding just about drove me batshit.
I like what he has done in regards to highlighting the FED fraud, but it is becoming very obvious that he is in love with himself and the camera.
No, he's not a partisan hack, just speaking the truth that the entire economic collapse can be laid at the feet of the Republican Party. The Democrats had nothing to do with it, not even Democrats like Franklin Raines at Fannie Mae and his enablers in Congress.
<Washington, D.C.: "a party that brought us to the brink of national bankruptcy"
With all do respect sir, both parties did this. Dems have controlled Congress for 40 of the pat 50 years. Look at your party with Fannie and Freddie, AIG, etc.
Enough blame to go around...don't act like the Dems weren't in the pocket of the wrong people as well.
Sen. Alan Grayson: Not true. According to Federal Reserve statistics, 20% of our entire national wealth was destroyed between July 2007 and December 2008. Under the Bush Administration, we witnessed the greatest economic mismanagement I have ever seen.>
wow...so much for 'service to the country.'
I liked Grayson for about 2 seconds... Then I realized he's only in it for the show. Grayson is a sensationalist, egotist giant douche bag. In fact, he is the worst kind of douche bag, he is calculated in determining which issue will rally the most campaign support. If you watched the Fed interview with Ben Bernanke, you could see that he's trying to manufacture sound bytes, he is not seeking the truth, or backing his position from moral, constitutional, or legal grounds. He provided no educated followup questions or arguments to Bernanke. He may be boisterous and inflammatory, but he has no disipline or moral compass. He is an angry, rabid barking dog.
I would argue that this man is more dangerous than the others, since he provides the illusion of seeking the truth while, arguably, being even more deceitful than the rest. His agenda is far different than that of the common people.
He's a F$%#'ing bastard, make no mistake.
> Grayson is a sensationalist, egotist giant douche bag.
Yes, of course. But there's also the faintest possibility that he might be *our* sensationalist, egotist giatn douce bag.
With friends like that, who needs enemies...
Our friends are Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, et al. Beware of people like this Grayson guy. If the poop hits the rotating device, he will not try to help any of us, he will attempt to sieze more power. How do you feel about putting a secret house / senate committee in charge of the fed's money printing ???? Didn't think it could get any worse? well... it could.
"He's a F$%#'ing bastard, make no mistake."
Correct... a bastard amongst many bastards some may postulate...
It's those 20 second simplistic sound bites that makes him different... even an idiot can understand what he is saying... and that makes him more dangerous... Especially to the Fed.
Let's worry about the rest later shall we?
As always ZerOhead, you are short, sweet and to the point. It if takes a bastard to point out the bastards, so be it.
People have been so conditioned to attack the personality and totally ignore the message. This guy grates people's skin. So what? Is he bringing attention to issues that others are trying to ignore or paper over?
YES!
So we boil him in oil AFTER the others.
I like the way you think... we'll save him for later...
At this point, who cares about his haircut, or his personal motivations...he is bringing negative attention in some way shape or form to the Fed structure
i get the feeling that grayson enjoys his youtube hits almost as much as his facetime on cspan during the hearings.
i fear his lunacy will draw away from the audit.
I love this site, but you are really tarnishing your reputation by propping up blowhard nitwits like Grayson. There are plenty of people who want more transparency with the FED who arent lunatics like him. You make me sad with this:(
Stop typing, start clicking:
http://congressmanwithguts.com/
Knoxville, Tenn.: I watched the hearing about 1207 on the net, great stuff. I especially like the GC from the Fed squirming when asked whether the Fed intervenes in the equity markets.
You also asked about the gold the Fed has. What do you think an audit of the gold supply, which hasn't been conducted in 50 years, would reveal?
Rep. Alan Grayson: Keep watching, and we'll find out.
FAIL.
I am heartened greatly by the consensus here. Grayson has had some notable 5 minute confrontations with various Fed morons and was very capable in exposing them as the conniving scum that they are. That said, he is a preening douchebag that got scammed out of millions in a patently assinine stock swindle, and his over the top partisanship massively diminishes his credibility across the board.
The whole "Republicans want you to 'Die Quickly'" presentation is the kind of stunt that turns righteous crusader into a buffoon overnight.
Tyler, beware of hitching up to this guy. His usefullness has peaked.
re grayson criticism up thread
much, but not all of it deserved...but notwithstanding all his personality weakneses, at least the guy appears to be working towards fed reserv accountability and pulling back on bankstas welfare, no?
TD- please spare me this crap. This loon is a non-starter and would have been at the front of the (under-the-table) handout line before (had he been there) and is now as the financial mess continues. If he ever had any perspective with merit it didn't take long for him to step all over it.
Save the health care plaudits for the socialists and stick with the finances......
Politicians (successful ones, anyway) rely on at least a certain degree of populism, demagoguery and stagemanship. I fail to see how Grayson employing these tactics is in and of itself a failure, if it results in increased popularity, support and sway to otherwise correct intentions. A politician who has narcissistic and exhibitionist tendencies... imagine that...
I clearly know too little of the man's previous achievements (or lack thereof), so perhaps y'all so fervently opposed could point us to them? He may well be just another DC whoring windbag out to promote nothing but his own welfare, but I fail to see how the positions he has taken to date will endear him to interests who can make him rich(er) and latched onto the existing Congressional power structure.
Put himself through Harvard cleaning toilets and being a night watchman...
Clearly he is not amongst equals...
http://www.hughhewitt.com/blog/g/81ae0362-1ed1-4e51-860e-e434893fdf21
I know a thing or two about Dorm Crew myself, I am sure it contributes to my sense of outrage towards the self-perpetuating cycle of exploitation by the priviledged. Most in Grayson's position of gaining entrance to the 'big league' from under-resourced backgrounds go in the opposite direction (see New Yorker article on former head of AIGFP) - selling out to be given a chance to feed at the same trough as the "blue-bloods". Again, what's not to like?
edit: it was Vanity Fair on Cassano http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/aig200908?printable=true
Kudos. You're the only one i've seen anywhere who knows about this guy.
Why there isn't more about what he did after the VF piece is another mystery.
This crook needs to be pilloried at least as much as the other perps and IB types, but media seem to have totally missed it or are intentionally ignoring it.
That Grayson/Liddy piece is priceless... it's almost Monte Pythonesque...
Even without the reference to putting himself through Harvard cleaning toilets that resume doesn't pass the smell test. Here's what Grayson's bio says:
In the early 1990s, Alan took leave from the practice of law, and started a business. Alan was the first President of IDT Corp., a telecom/internet company.
Here's what IDT's website says:
http://app1.idt.net/local/signup_promo/management.htm
<Howard S. Jonas founded IDT in August 1990 and has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors since its inception.>
If somebody else was the founder is it accurate to say that you started the business?
IDT is still a public company today. After a 3 for 1 reverse stock spit when the stock was trading for pennies per share and after a huge rally with all the other crap companies in the last 8 months, IDT's market capitalization is $89 million. But Grayson sold out long ago. According to this article, Grayson didn't stick around IDT long.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/die-quickly-just-a-sample...
<In 1990, Grayson and a college friend rented space over a funeral home in the Bronx and founded IDT Corp., a telecommunications company. Grayson did not stay long but made a fortune and said he invested smartly in airlines and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Today he has a net worth of $31 million, according to financial disclosure forms, though he lost $34 million in a Ponzi investment scheme this year.>
Whatever, the claim that Grayson did not participate in the founding of IDT should be a relatively easy fact to check by opponents, and thus would have come out definitively. I really don't see this as a central issue at all, unless he did indeed acquire his fortune illegitimately -- I see no proof or even indication of this. I am more concerned with the pork he has championed in the form of earmarks -- but funding for county schools seems a little less onerous than most other "pet projects" (yes, hurricane research center definitely smells bad). I am just saying, the negatives in the case do not seem to even come close to outweighing the positives re: Fed transparency and a jolting of the existing power structure (though the latter is clearly wishful thinking). Chances are, Grayson will be marginalized and/or politically destroyed before being allowed to get close to effecting change. But this would happen in any case if he were to try to go for a principled stand, even if his antics were NOT buffoonish. This way he may have a slight chance simply b/c he would not go without a whimper.
Check it here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_grayson
Says President IDT... hmmm.... somebody might be wrong....
Hey IDT's Ceo Jonas gave $2,300 to Graysons campaign.... and that's public record...
You must have been as crushed as I was when I found out that Al Gore never invented the internet... if you're right... this guy is not going far...
But for now... he's my doggy...
Attack Grayson... good boy... KILL ....
Question: if the private bank cartel AKA the Federal Reserve is in charge of selecting and grooming all US presidential candidates, are they grooming Alan Grayson? I know he and Ron Paul support auditing the Fed, so is the Fed behind Grayson? sorta like playing both ends against the middle, similar to the recent articles about Goldman Sachs shorting the US housing market?
Got in late here, but in case Sir Greenspan reads Zero Hedge, which I cann't imagine he doesn't, here is my comment.
In 1966 you wrote an essay entitled "Gold and Economic Freedom." I wondered if you could tell me what so changed your reasoning from these two statements from that essay:
"An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense - perhaps more clearly and subtly than many consistent defenders of laissez-faire - that gold and economic freedom are inseparable, that the gold standard is an instrument of laissez-faire and that each implies and requires the other."
"...When business in the United States underwent a mild contraction in 1927, the Federal Reserve created more paper reserves in the hope of forestalling any possible bank reserve shortage. More disastrous, however, was the Federal Reserve's attempt to assist Great Britain who had been losing gold to us because the Bank of England refused to allow interest rates to rise when market forces dictated (it was politically unpalatable). The reasoning of the authorities involved was as follows: if the Federal Reserve pumped excessive paper reserves into American banks, interest rates in the United States would fall to a level comparable with those in Great Britain; this would act to stop Britain's gold loss and avoid the political embarrassment of having to raise interest rates. The "Fed" succeeded; it stopped the gold loss, but it nearly destroyed the economies of the world, in the process. The excess credit which the Fed pumped into the economy spilled over into the stock market-triggering a fantastic speculative boom. Belatedly, Federal Reserve officials attempted to sop up the excess reserves and finally succeeded in braking the boom. But it was too late: by 1929 the speculative imbalances had become so overwhelming that the attempt precipitated a sharp retrenching and a consequent demoralizing of business confidence. As a result, the American economy collapsed. Great Britain fared even worse, and rather than absorb the full consequences of her previous folly, she abandoned the gold standard completely in 1931, tearing asunder what remained of the fabric of confidence and inducing a world-wide series of bank failures. The world economies plunged into the Great Depression of the 1930's."
Hoping you will reply Sir Greenspan sir.
More staight talk from Grayson during the WaPo chat:
Roswell, Ga.: What do you have to say about Congressman Mel Watts, who represents a district containing the headquarters of Bank of America and the former headquarters of Wachovia and who receive heavy financial support from the financial services industry, killing the bill to audit the Fed?
Rep. Alan Grayson: Working on it.
_______________________
Washington, D.C.: "between July 2007 and December 2008"
Who controlled both houses of Congress? Who approves budgets/spending? Congress....
So, please explain what you are trying to say.
Rep. Alan Grayson: All these people waiting to have one question answered, and you have to ask two. Go to the back of the line.
Orlando, Fla.: Rep Grayson,
In the cash for clunkers program, I ask you sir, how can a $4,500.00 incentive to buy a car cost taxpayers $24,000.00? How do you justify this cost? Is this not a typical example of government waste? If you agree, I'd expect you to do your part in reducing government and not expanding it as currently being proposed. Thank you.
Rep. Alan Grayson: I don't think that your facts are right.
I think we all saw the link to the WaPo page at the top... OK, I get it, you don't like the guy and disagree with him; I still fail to see the meat of your argument against him. More specifically, I don't get how this is related to his efforts on HR1207 -- or how it negates that he asks serious, relevant questions and occasionally exposes some crooks and liars.
This where people need to detach themselves from parties and personalities. I once heard someone say, "You can't have permanent enemies in Washington." Citizens need to take this same approach with politicians. I support HR1207 and by proxy, Alan Grayson when it comes to this issue. Once this has run its course, I will jettison him like yesterday's copy of the WSJ.
Sounds like smooth talk rather than straight. Actually, Wash D.C. may have asked two questions technically - one was rhetorical leaving him with a one question net count.
Orlando needs to understand that those types of facts hinder his douchbaggery.
thx for the dialogue.
Helps me now completely dimiss him as yet another grandstander with no street cred now.
I figured it would happen but not so quickly.
I'm glad I held off in sending him any donations last week.
I have come to believe that Grayson is the greatest gift the Federal Reserve could have. It will be easy for anyone at the Fed to dismiss his credibility now, after the PR stunts he's pulled.
Frankly, a big part of my issue was with TD's setup to the chat, which I thought attempted to marginalize those of us who don't like the guy by referring to Grayson being hated by extremists on both sides of the political spectrum. TD used the word "unadulterated" and said there wouldn't be any political correctness in the chat. The reality was that Grayson pretty much toed his party's line and ducked any questions he didn't want to answer. When somebody disagrees with him from the other party he goes nuts (Republicans want you to die faster after you get sick), when his fellow Democrat Watts torpedoes HR1207 which he supposely cares so much about he says he's working on it, without acknowledging the reality that Watts is a tool of the financial industry.
And look at the non-response to the Cash for Clunkers cost issue. There haven't been many so-called stimulus programs more widely ridiculed at ZH than CFC. Grayson can't bring himself to defend it but as a Democrat he can't criticize it so he ducks the question by saying he thinks the questioner's number is wrong. That's how a typical politician behaves.
I liked it when I saw the YouTube videos of him grilling Bernanke. But recently he said Republicans (and Fox News) are the enemy of the state.
I'm registered as a Republican. I served as a Marine officer for 4 years active and 10 years in the Reserves. And he's calling me an "enemy of the state". If he was in front of me when he did that, I would deck him. I cannot tell you how angry that made me.
Statements like his are chilling. And I don't simply chalk it up to, any publicity is good publicity. I take him at his word. He's calling ME an enemy of the state.
Try to keep yourself from identifying so reflexively with 'your side', you are an individual. You do yourself a disservice with such weakminded behaviour.
The world is but a great theatre and the politician its greatest thespian
Grayson is full of himself and a moron. You all like him because he is a Fed basher, but you miss what he is really after. He wants himself (Congress) to do what the Fed is doing and is unhappy he (Congress) does not have more money to throw around. It is a pure power grab -- no fundamental concern about government doing things it shouldn't.
It is indeed a sign of desperate times that anyone would genuflect before Alan Slingblade Grayson, even in the role of “useful idiot”. All that can be expected from this crackpot is thoughtless extremism, impotence, and unaduleterated (sic) political correctness…
The U.S. has experienced a hostile takeover by a tyrannical, ruthless cabal of coat-and-tie leftist radicals seeking to remake the Republic into Castro’s Cuba, or worse. Grayson is a reliable vote for this group.
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