Voters of America! All 41 Republican Senators Knuckle Under to the Banks!!
Matthew Yglesias:
The Battle Lines: 41 Senate Republicans have signed a letter promising to oppose the Democrats’ Wall Street reform bill with none of them offering any alternative proposals of their own. They claim that the bill “allows for endless taxpayer bailouts of Wall Street and establishes new and unlimited regulatory powers that will stifle small businesses and community banks.” Of course the status quo already allows for endless taxpayer bailouts. The point of the new regulatory powers it to (a) prevent the need for bailouts and (b) provide an alternative process to bailouts. The banks aren’t paying McConnell to put a stop to bailouts, they’re paying him to prevent the regulations that might stop bailouts.
They have all decided that future campaign contributions from banks are worth more to them than the combination of (a) their duty to the country, and (b) the political hit they will take from the voters for carrying the banks' water.
They are all betting that the voters are stupid enough to not understand who they are working for.
It would be very nice--and good for the country--if over the next five years the voters of America proved them wrong, and all 41 of them lost their seats in the Senate.
Just saying.