So Why Doesn't He Do Something About It?

Rep. Mike Rogers knows it's a problem. So why doesn't he do something about it?

Rogers acknowledged during a "town hall" meeting on WHMI radio last month that Michigan has led the nation in home mortgage foreclosures. The centerpiece of the show was a private help line for people facing foreclosures that helps them find out what their options are.

Do any of those options include government help? Apparently not in Rogers' mind.

As the New York Times pointed out in an article in editions for Monday (March 31, 2008), the foreclosure crisis is causing problems for Republican members of Congress in states like Michigan and Florida that are experiencing large numbers of foreclosures. Their constituents want them to help, but the Republican members of Congress aren't willing to bend.

Legislation sponsored by Democrats is pending in both the House and Senate. But Rogers has not sponsored any legislation himself to try to deal with the issue.

A look at the legislation listed on Rogers' website that he has co-sponsored turns up nothing in the way of foreclosure assistance. Bills on repealing the estate tax for rich people, designating national pet week, naming post offices, and so on dominate the list.

But nothing for distressed Michigan homeowners.

Rogers sounded compassionate in his radio town hall meeting, but the fact is he is stuck in a Republican ideology that doesn't allow compassion for people who have worked hard all their lives and now find themselves overwhelmed by this mortgage crisis.

That's why Rogers can offer nothing but empty gestures.

Rogers' potential challenger, Democrat Bob Alexander of East Lansing, lists cutting back home foreclosures as one of his priorities.

That means more than handing out the number for a help line.