July 14, 2008 (LPAC)--In a shameful act of sabotage, which will bring them permanent shame, the Democratic leadership of the Louisville, Kentucky City Council on July 10, acted to kill passage of the LaRouche-initiated Homeowners and Bank Protection Act (HBPA), the resolution which already had serious traction when it was introduced in the Kentucky State House in January. The Louisville resolution, introduced initially in May by Councilman Dan Johnson, had been endorsed by numerous Louisville trade union organizations, as well as the Kentucky state Senate, and the County Democratic Party. After having been challenged during Council hearings, the resolution--which called on Congress to pass a firewall of protection for the chartered banks, and put a moratorium on home foreclosures--was finally scheduled for a vote at the July 10 meeting.

The act of betrayal came in the Democratic Caucus meeting which occurred prior to the Council event. At that meeting, HBPA advocates John Jeffries, former president of the IAM Local Lodge 740 (the machinists union), and Carol Smith, an LPAC representative and UAW activist, were invited to speak for the resolution. In addition to reviewing what the resolution would do, and its broad-based support, Jeffries and Smith stressed the accelerating nature of the foreclosure and banking crisis, which demanded that action be taken immediately.

Stepping up to sabotage the passage were Democratic Caucus leader Rick Blackwell, also a former City Council President, and current City Council President James King, both of whom displayed stunning incompetence, if not total corruption. Blackwell, who had previously introduced a bill modeled on Rep. Barney Frank's bailout package, as a counter to the HBPA, led off the assault, with the line that the Council couldn't support a bill which no Congressman had yet supported.

Blackwell was followed by King, who admitted he was a banker, but went on to argue that there is no banking crisis outside some mortgage banks!--and that the resolution was wrong. In fact, King is not only a banker, but the former state chairman of the Kentucky Bankers Association. His ruse that he would abstain from the vote, because he was a banker, was nothing but a dirty trick. His speech had done its job--to kill the resolution.

Between the time the Caucus members left their meeting, and reached the City Council meeting, sponsor Johnson had been convinced to withdraw his sponsorship, and the HBPA never came up for a vote.

But, the responsibility for the de facto defeat of the resolution is clear. The next time there is a foreclosure in Louisville, or a local bank shuts down, along with your bank account, Louisville citizens have to be aware whom to blame. The finger of blame needs to be pointed directly at those responsible for sabotaging the HBPA--Rick Blackwell and James King!