Fannie Mae's Political Immunity - WSJ.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121728651034091275.html?mod=opinion_main_review_and_outlooks

President Bush is poised to sign the housing and Fannie Mae bailout bill, after the Senate passed it with 72 votes on the weekend. But an underreported part of this story is that Majority Leader Harry Reid refused to allow a vote on Republican Jim DeMint's amendment to bar political donations and lobbying by Fannie and its sibling, Freddie Mac.

This is a rare parliamentary move for a body in which even Senators in the minority party have long been able to force votes. The strong-arm play illustrates how politically powerful these government-sponsored enterprises remain even after going hat in hand to taxpayers. This has implications in the days ahead, because the Beltway battle now shifts to who will be the new regulator for the mortgage giants and how much political insulation he'll have from Fannie and Freddie pressure.

This is a great example of how Congress works.  They create "quasi-governmental" agencies that acts as if they were a private enterprises.  Said agencies spend millions on lobbyists and political contributions over the years.  Now, those politicians who received all those generous contributions are spending the taxpayers money on a huge bail-out, and in the process guaranteeing that Fannie and Freddie are free to continue making those vital contributions to our political process.