Henderson County GOP Offering Implausible Spin on Behalf of Richard Burr
Richard Burr continues to be dogged by complaints about his irresponsible rhetoric on bank deposits, and his allies, such as Richard Danos, chairman of the Henderson County Republican Party, continue to dissemble about what he said:
The Times-News reported that as part of an economic talk to the County Chamber of Commerce, Burr told of urging his wife to withdraw some cash from their ATM during the banking crisis — a story he has repeated dozens of times. Many Americans took out some extra cash as a common sense precaution during that period.
Look. People withdraw cash from ATMs all the time. That would be a ridiculous anecdote to tell. Here’s what he actually said:
“On Friday night, I called my wife and I said, ‘Brooke, I am not coming home this weekend. I will call you on Monday. Tonight, I want you to go to the ATM machine, and I want you to draw out everything it will let you take,” Burr said, according to the Hendersonville Times-News. “And I want you to tomorrow, and I want you to go Sunday.’ I was convinced on Friday night that if you put a plastic card in an ATM machine the last thing you were going to get was cash.”
This is Burr, implying to his audience, that their bank deposits are not safe. In fact, bank deposits are insured by the FDIC. This is supposed to give people confidence that they need to have these kind of fears, and thus prevent bank runs. And with few bank runs, there’s little need for the FDIC to actually step in. When Burr implies that the deposits are not safe, he’s encouraging runs on banks. That won’t lead to anyone losing their deposits—whether or not Burr understands it, the deposits are insured—but it will lead to losses for taxpayers who need to pay out insurance claims, and it will lead to bank failures and job losses.
This isn’t a huge deal, in the scheme of things, but it was an irresponsible thing to say. Burr and his friends should just take responsibility and move on.
44 Responses to “Henderson County GOP Offering Implausible Spin on Behalf of Richard Burr”
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April 27th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
When Burr implies that the deposits are not safe, he’s encouraging runs on banks.
There goes Matthew and his time machine again!
Let’s remember the key fact here: Matthew thinks that people in their time machines would go back to last September and start a bank run!
April 27th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
it’s illegal in some states to knowingly spread false rumors about a bank (to prevent stampedes and runs, of course) — whether Burr’s gossip counts isn’t clear
April 27th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Let’s also remember, beyond Matthew’s assurances that people actually own time machines, that Matthew is mysteriously silent about Democratic Senators who actually start bank runs, while being mysteriously vocal about about Senators who didn’t start banks and who couldn’t start bank runs except among people who own time machines.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Perhaps for the first time ever, I have to agree with Al. Burr said that he had been worried; he didn’t say that there was still reason to worry.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Oops. I meant to say that I agree with Al’s first comment (at 4:19).
April 27th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Not satisfied with “going Galt,” they’ve elected to “go dolt.”
April 27th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Matt–You’re right–this isn’t a huge deal, and hardly worth the multiple posts you’ve devoted to it. Moreover, Burr tells this well after the fact, so I’m puzzled as to how this constitutes “encouraging a bank run.” Frankly, a similar thought crossed my mind at the time–not that I needed to get all my money out of the bank, but that some sort of 1933-style bank holiday might need to be called, and that deposits would be frozen. That’s what happened in 1933–and in 1933 ordinary folk were hardly as dependent on electronic transfers as we are now. As a result, I’ve been building up a small “mattress fund,” just in case, with periodic small withdrawals. Yes, my deposits are insured–but that’s not what I worry about; I need to make sure I have cash when I need it. If Burr’s wife hit the ATM three times in three days and withdrew the max, they’d only have a thou in cash; this hardly constitutes a “run.” You may not be able to imagine a world in which the ATMs stop working–but some of us can.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Um, no, guys. North Carolina is the largest banking center in the United States outside of New York. Bank of America and Wachovia are both headquartered there. They employ tens of thousands of people in North Carolina. Burr is partially elected to help the economy of North Carolina, and a huge part of that economy is financial services.
Burr is certainly suggesting that Bank of America or Wachovia were so unstable in September that he wanted to get cash out of them (it’s fairly unlikely that Burr would be banking with some other bank than those two). Why he’s repeating the story is unclear, but the man is supposed to (partially) represent the interests of North Carolina financial services employees, and he clearly (and repeatedly) doesn’t even have the most bare-bones basic knowledge of the industry. Burr’s idiocy is not just regular politician idiocy, but also is idiocy that is potentially threatening North Carolina jobs.
It would be like a Wisconsin senator repeatedly and insistently claiming that cheese causes AIDS or Ebola or something. (Now, a crazed South Carolina senator claiming cheese causes Alzheimer’s would be one thing, but imagine a Wisconsin senator doing so).
April 27th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
I think it is interesting that when Senator Burr, as a result of his priveliged position as a United States Senator, received information which he thought indicated that bank deposits were unsafe, he chose to use that information to his personal advantage. Apparently, he told his wife to withdraw as much of their savings as possible, but did not provide similar advice to his constitutents in North Carolina, who don’t have the same access to information that he does.
We can actually be thankful for his self serving behavior because, otherwise, his ignorance that banks deposits are insured could have led to a bank run.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Oh, the generic bank run. Ah, yes. And the losses caused by the withdrawal of insured funds. Oh, yes. Now I see.
My god, Matt is a fucking moron. The time travel explanation was a better one Matt. Should have stuck with that. Plus, it fits better with your college years reading graphic novels.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
(it’s fairly unlikely that Burr would be banking with some other bank than those two)
Oh, he could be with BB&T (aka the Bank of Ayn Rand), which would be especially ironic, given that it’s in much better shape than BoA or Wachovia.
In fact, his savings accounts are with Wachovia — or were in his 2006 disclosure statement — though he does hold BB&T stock.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Most banks have a very low limit on the amount if cash a depositor can withdraw from an ATM in one day (usually $500 or less). This is for the protection of the customer in case of forced withdrawal by gunpoint.
Burr’s effort to empty his account via an ATM are laughable.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Moreover, Burr tells this well after the fact, so I’m puzzled as to how this constitutes “encouraging a bank run.”
According to Matthew, either people now own time machines or banking runs apparently often occur six months after the event causing the panic.
You see, in Matthew-world, there are two choices. The first option is that all the people who own time machines will go back in time and take out all their money thereby causing a bank run six months earlier.
The second option is that people saw the event that caused them to panic, did absolutely nothing for six months after that event, then listened to their Senator talk about the event six months ago and said to themselves “duh, I completely forgot to make a run at the bank six months ago, so I better go do it now! Thank you, Senator Burr, for reminding me what it was I was supposed to get all panicky about six months ago – I almost completely forgot! Velma, bring that bank book down here – do you realize that we completely forgot six months ago to take out the money we were supposed to take out at that time? I KNEW there was something I forgot to do!”
April 27th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Burr’s effort to empty his account via an ATM are laughable.
Burr never said he tried to “empty his account” That’s a lie.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Al got into a time machine to find out when he wasn’t a hack, and arrived just as he popped out in the delivery room.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Burr is certainly suggesting that Bank of America or Wachovia were so unstable in September that he wanted to get cash out of them
If he was talking about Wachovia, he was absolutely right – seeing as how that bank collapsed at the end of September, and the FDIC had to step in. Luckily, the FDIC was able to arrange a sale to WF. But if not, who knows when depositors would have been able to get their money back – it almost certainly would not have been immediately.
April 27th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Re: what happened in 1933–and in 1933 ordinary folk were hardly as dependent on electronic transfers as we are now.
In today’s world it would be impossible to freeze accounts like that. At most there might might be a cash withdrawl limitation, as sometimes happens informally in places like Florida when a hurricane is impending.
Re: You may not be able to imagine a world in which the ATMs stop working–but some of us can.
Sure– if a hurricane (or other natural disaster) hits and knocks out power. It’s happened– after Katrina on the Gulf Coast, after Wilma in S Florida, etc.
April 27th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Al, you bleeping idiot, which vocabulary term didn’t you understand?
When Burr implies that the deposits are not safe, he’s encouraging runs on banks.
Is this a statement about people dong something in September? No, Einstein, it’s not. It’s a statement about people getting the idea IN APRIL 2009 that their bank deposits are not safe during periods of financial trouble.
Here, let me put it in terms you might understand:
Richard Burr says, “When I was fucking my sister last September, I made sure I didn’t use a condom, because they make your balls shrink.”
If Matt wrote “When Burr tells this story, he’s making people think that condoms cause your balls to shrink,” would he be saying that people are going to go back to last September and take off their condoms? In their magical time machines?
NO, Al, the answer to that question is NO. Instead, he’d be saying that Burr’s story is making people question whether condoms cause your balls to shrink, and that this might encourage them to go bareback NEXT TIME.
This is one of those really, really obvious points that you have to work really hard not to get. Ordinary stupid people grasp it immediately, but not Al. He’s special.
April 27th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
joe, is your point that the next time we find ourselves in September 2008 people might try to withdraw cash because of what Burr said?
April 27th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Again the stupidity and dishonesty of republicans is astonishing.
The implication of the story is the Burr is a g-d damn moron is illustrated by his ignorance of the following subjects:
History- particularly of the great depression,
Government- and what the role of the FDIC is,
and Ethics- when he used inside information to protect his own families interests- ya scumbag.
PS- this was a run on a bank. a one family run. ya moron.
April 27th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Thomas, is your point that the only time people would have sex is September 2008?
April 27th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
While I’m willing to stipulate that there will never again be a situation in which Al would need condom, it is quite possible that there will, at some point, be a situation in which troubles in the financial sector cause people to question whether their bank is going to collapse.
Now, Al, Thomas, I have a simple question for you: if such a situation occurs, do we want people to think that they have to run down to the bank and take out all of their money or they will lose it? Or do we want people to understand that their deposits are safe, not worry about losing their savings, and decide there is no need to clean our their bank accounts?
April 27th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
I think Burr’s a punk moron, but I don’t quite get why Matt perceives this anecdote as some horrific incident. Sure, it was dumb, and Al’s “time machine” comments are still pure shitbuggery, but still, Burr isn’t going out there and publicly advising people to take all their money out of banks. That would concern me.
April 27th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
it is quite possible that there will, at some point, be a situation in which troubles in the financial sector cause people to question whether their bank is going to collapse
Sure. It happens every 80 years or so – 1929, 2009… 2089, I guess.
If people at the next banking crisis in 2089 think back to Senator Burr’s words and cause a bank run, well, then I suppose I’ll have to eat my words.
April 27th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Burr isn’t going out there and publicly advising people to take all their money out of banks. That would concern me.
El Cid, you are OFF MESSAGE! Please refer back to your JournoList-approved talking points for your responses.
Thanks.
April 27th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Really? You think banks only fold, or come close to folding, every 80 years?
It doesn’t take a financial meltdown for people to become afraid that their deposits aren’t safe. In fact, it’s just the opposite – panics traditionally were started by people thinking their deposits aren’t safe, sometimes based purely on rumors, then the bank runs started, then the collapses began, then there were more banks runs, then the financial system melts down.
It isn’t good for people to think their deposits could be lost in September 2008. It is also not good for them to think that in April 2009, March 2013, December 2021, or May 2030.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Really? You think banks only fold, or come close to folding, every 80 years?
Banks fold all the time. Including many that have closed in 2009 since Burr made his comments. Incredibly enough, there wasn’t any Burr-caused bank run. Imagine that – reality debunking Matthew’s fantasy world.
However, there appears to be systemic threats to the sector – you know, what Burr was actually talking about – oh, every 80 years or so.
I do so look forward to 2089 to find out if Burr really did cause a bank run at the next systemic crisis, like you say he will. You have an awfully optimistic view of people’s lifespans and memories!
April 27th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
You know why Al is squealing so much about this story? Because it goes right to Burr’s character, and pushing impressions about people’s character is all the GOP has right now.
Richard Burr is the type of person who 1) panics in a pinch, 2) rushes to save his own bacon even at the expense of everyone else, and 3) does so using insider information not available to to the general public, but available to him based on his office.
Yeah, I drove drunk, but I didn’t hit anybody.
No harm no foul.
You keep babbling about time machines and 2089. I’m going to keep pointing out that Burr was encouraging people to think that their bank deposits aren’t safe in case of a bank failure RIGHT NOW.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Speaking of not causing an utter panic, maybe Matthew ought to consider saying something about somebody flying a 747 just over lower Manhattan. Now that actually did cause a panic.
But, you know, Matthew appears to like to post about fantasy panics that occured nowhere except Matthew’s fantasy world, instead of actual panics caused by Democrats.
Remember: fantasy, non-existent Republican-caused panics, good enough for multiple posts by Matthew! Actual, real-life Democrat-caused panics: silence from Matthew. But I understand, he can only post on JournoList-approved topics.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
I’m a rebel, and I live on the open road to feel the wind in my hair, etc.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Yeah, I drove drunk, but I didn’t hit anybody.
Yeah, I drank fantasy-liquor, who exists only in Matthew’s mind, and then I drove, but I didn’t hit anybody! Incredible! What luck!
April 27th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Good for YOU, dude! There you go!
Now, when this is happening, when people see banks failing around them, is it GOOD or is it BAD for them to think that they might lose their savings if their own bank fails? Is it GOOD or is it BAD for public officials to repeatedly suggest to them that those deposits are in danger?
Incredibly enough, there wasn’t any Burr-caused bank run. Yes, thank goodness that most public officials have more common sense than you or Burr, and don’t say things that encourage people to be afraid for their bank deposits.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Burr’s words weren’t fantasy, and rather than existing only in Matt’s mind, he repeated them over and over at public events.
Other than that, good point!
April 27th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
“Richard Burr is the type of person who 1) panics in a pinch, 2) rushes to save his own bacon even at the expense of everyone else, and 3) does so using insider information not available to to the general public, but available to him based on his office.”
Worse than that, he’s a guy who, instead of trying to help what’s probably the largest two or three employers in his state, tries to imply that the situation at those firms is even worse than it is (yes, wachovia from a shareholder’s standpoint was in trouble. no, normal-size bank accounts at wachovia weren’t at risk). He’s saying stupid, almost random stuff that helps to undermine the jobs of the very people who put him in the Senate.
Again, if I were an Wisconsin voter, I wouldn’t particularly view it positively if my Senator went around claiming that Wisconsin cheese has the AIDS virus or alien sperm samples or something.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Now, when this is happening, when people see banks failing around them, is it GOOD or is it BAD for them to think that they might lose their savings if their own bank fails? Is it GOOD or is it BAD for public officials to repeatedly suggest to them that those deposits are in danger?
The next time a systemic threat to the banking sector occurs in 2089, it will definitely be B A D (all caps!) if everybody who is still living and remembers Senator Burr’s words of 2009 cause a bank run. Definitely all caps B A D.
Hey, maybe by that time, Matthew’s time machine will be so common, that those people will also go back to September 2008 and cause a bank run then too!
April 27th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
This is really the silliest of Ygeslias’ quixotic crusades. An offhand remark by Burr in a speech is supposed to be encouraging a run on banks except Matt can supply no information on any run on any bank anywhere that he can tie to anything Burr has said. Matt is supposed to be a member of the Reality-based Community?
Doubly ironic as the only real run on a bank in the recent past caused by a member of Congress was the one Sen. Schumer (D-NY) started at IndyMac
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/07/feds-cite-schum.html
April 27th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
The part of the story you seem to be missing is that at the same time Burr was telling his wife to worry he was telling his constituents not to, a statement from Burr’s office the same weekend read in part:
“Today’s news of Citigroup’s acquisition of Wachovia might be unsettling to many in North Carolina. While these are difficult times in our economy, it is important to remember that this move provides for the protection of accounts and the soundness of savings for Wachovia’s customers. FDIC has said that all services for customers should continue uninterrupted.”
http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/burr_told_people_not_to_worry
April 27th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Al is trying another “sounds like” argument. What Al’s implying MY said Burr said isn’t what MY said Burr said.
April 27th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Al gave up @ 7:57. I asked a simple question – is it good or bad, while there is a higher than usual number of bank failures happening – for people to fear their savings would be lost…and he wouldn’t answer.
Psst, hey, Al, buddy. The answer to that is “BAD.” Right now, with a lot of bank failure happening, in the first half of 2009, it is BAD for people to think they need to pull their money out if they hear their own bank is in trouble.
BAD.
April 27th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Wow, look at that.
Campesino shows up with exactly the same talking point, exactly the same distraction, and exactly the same link as Al.
Do you know why it seems that Republicans all share the same brain?
Because they work at it. They strive for it. They act as though it were a virtue, because they think it’s a virtue.
April 28th, 2009 at 12:38 am
Campesino shows up with exactly the same talking point, exactly the same distraction, and exactly the same link as Al.
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Poor Joey, nothing original to say to support Matt’s silly crusade, which #37 shows is even sillier. He can only try to change the subject when multiple commenters in Yglesias’ multiple dull posts point out the same hypocrisy. Matt hyperventilates about a phantom bank run, while his party harbors the senator that really caused one. Projection, any one? I know it hurts, Joey, but there’s really nothing you can do.
April 28th, 2009 at 3:16 am
It was a moot point since he was talking about events from over six months ago as other commenters pointed about. As a North Carolinian, I also have to say that most people ignore Burr even here in NC and don’t really care what he has to say at a county GOP convention (to be perfectly honest, and it’s the same with his counterpart Kay Hagan). There would not have been a run on the banks even if Burr had said this in September.
April 28th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Hey, why is Matt talking about Richard Burr when…uh…what’s his name…Chuck Schumer blah blah blah Air Force One blah blah blah.
Oh, and YOU changed the subject!
Whatever. Hive mind troll.
April 28th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
joe from Lowell Says:
April 28th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Hey, why is Matt talking about Richard Burr when…uh…what’s his name…Chuck Schumer blah blah blah Air Force One blah blah blah.
Oh, and YOU changed the subject!
Whatever. Hive mind troll.
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You are exactly right on me changing the subject. I changed it from PHANTOM bank run (Burr) to REAL bank run (Schumer).
So put me in the Reality Based Community