Hillary Clinton’s sub-prime connection

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News item: Newsday reports that longtime Hillary Clinton aide and fixer Maggie Williams made $200,000 working for a now-bankrupt sub-prime lender that was known for marketing high-fee loans to low-income borrowers. The lender, Delta Financial Corp., hired Williams to improve its crisis-management operation after state and federal investigations led the company to pay $12 million to borrowers.

I’ve been hoping for an item like this so that I could climb up on my high horse and make a few political points. First, let’s be honest about why Delta Financial hired Maggie Williams: they hired her because she is known and respected by the Clintons and other important Democrats (she was recruited by a former New York City politician). She was hired as a political fixer. Someone who could pick up the phone and get a United States senator on the other end.

Second, the Clinton connection is a reminder that sub-prime lenders had friends and defenders in both parties. There is a bit or revisionist history running around right now that claims Democrats tried to rein in sub-prime lenders. Yes, a few state attorneys general did try. But the Democratic Party in Washington was deep into this mess, cheering just as loudly as Republicans were for the ‘rise in homeownership levels.’ The responsibility for years of criminally weak regulation of mortgage lending rests with both political parties.

True, the mortgage mess now has become a partisan issue, with Democrats advocating aggressive government intervention and new regulations on lenders. But let’s not confuse that with history, and how we got here. And let’s remember, the lenders, builders, the banks may be dumb, but they’re not stupid: they have plenty of friends in both parties today, massaging legislation and regulation as we speak.

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.
Photo Credit: AP