Perhaps CNN’s “Open House” should be renamed to “Open Bias.” The April 21 show had host Gerri Willis issuing her own call for new mortgage regulations.
In a short segment on the subprime mortgage market, Willis pointed out that lawmakers were “jawboning” in D.C. about the issue. She mocked Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who held “a homeownership preservation summit,” for not doing anything. “I guess the wheels turn pretty slowly inside the Beltway,” she commented.
Then she blamed congressional inaction for hurting homeowners. “Politicians have yet actually to write some legislation to take on this problem, and that is hurting tens of thousands of people across this country,” she said. Willis made no mention of personal responsibility in homeowners borrowing more than they could pay.
This wasn’t the first time Willis took an anti-industry position that excluded personal responsibility. In August 2006 she complained that a court ruling in favor of insurance companies had hurt uninsured Katrina victims. “A federal judge deals a big blow to homeowners recovering from Hurricane Katrina,” said Willis on the [1]August 19 “Open House.” “It’s a blow to the hundreds of homeowners who did not have flood insurance along the Gulf Coast,” she explained.