A lot of talk yesterday about the foreclosure scandal sweeping the nation. With calls mounting for Congress to intervene, we are starting to see bigger names in Washington coming out to protect the poor bankers. Here’s Eric Cantor coming to their defense yesterday:

What we’re talking about, Debbie, you have 10 percent, if that, of the population who are now in a foreclosure situation or in a mortgage that they have been unable to meet the obligations… Now, come on, people have to take responsibility for themselves. We need to get the housing industry going again. We don’t need government intervening in every step of every aspect of this economy.

Yet when the bankers didn’t take the responsibility of properly filing paperwork or even verify that people should be foreclosed on, Cantor didn’t stand up and say they needed to take responsibility.

But even more infuriating is to hear a key White House advisor also come out and more or less defend the bankers:

President Barack Obama’s top adviser said Sunday that he wants Congress to address improper foreclosures but indicated that the White House doesn’t support calls for a national moratorium.

“I’m not sure about a national moratorium because there are, in fact, valid foreclosures that probably should go forward and where the documentation and paperwork is proper,” Axelrod said on CBS’ Face the Nation.

This scandal is now extending to around 40 states. That’s a vast majority of this country and given the complexities of the situation, a national moratorium is exactly what we need. The banks are recording record profits again, so putting things on a hold for a couple of months while we sort them out isn’t going to destroy them financially.

Yes there are people who went out and knowingly bought way more house than they could afford. These people do deserve foreclosure, but having a little wait for that to happen so that those who don’t deserve foreclosure have a chance to stay afloat is the proper thing to do. It’s not these people who did anything wrong – it’s the greedy and irresponsible bankers. Why would Axelrod and Cantor want to give them anymore protection, and why should any regular, middle-class American even support them? I know I won’t.