Congressmen Ryan-- one for the banksters, one for American working families
Wisconsin arch-villain Paul Ryan has become something of a household name this year, as he's worked diligently to gut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in his new position as Chairman of the House Budget Committee. That Ryan, since being elected in 1998, has taken $2,412,522 in direct "contributions" from Wall Street and Big Insurance, more than any other politician in Wisconsin history, including senators and Members of Congress who were already serving when he was barely out of diapers. In return, he has been a steadfast champion for Big Business, Big Insurance and Wall Street, trampling the legitimate aspirations of his own constituents. He was key to the passage of Bush's TARP bailout and key to the passage of a budget that seeks to end Medicare and severely cut back on Social Security benefits. This week he helped pass legislation that sought to protect consumers from the greed and avarice of criminal banksters, the same criminal banksters who have financed Paul Ryan's political career.
Tim Ryan represents a blue collar district in northeast Ohio which was carried by Gore, Kerry and Obama with over 60% of the vote. Even in the middle of the Great Shellacking last year, Tim's GOP opponent only managed to win 30% of the vote. In a more normal year, like 2008, Tim won with 78%-- and with 80% in 2006. Wall Street and Big Finance hasn't shelled out for him the way they have for Paul Ryan. Not even close. And the statement he made after voting against the GOP's legislation to gut Dodd-Frank and put consumers back into jeopardy explains why the same banksters who love Paul Ryan, feel very differently about Tim Ryan.
Today, on the one-year anniversary of Wall Street Reform, Republicans are holding votes on a measure to gut consumer protections put in place to protect against another “Great Recession.”
Millions of Americans lost their homes, jobs, savings, and economic security because of the recklessness of Wall Street and other financial institutions. Instead of embracing efforts to avoid another economic collapse, House Republicans have done everything they can to defund, delay, and destroy implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one of the cornerstones of Wall Street Reform.
Less than a week ago, President Obama nominated former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to serve as the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Today’s measure to alter Wall Street reforms would slash his position from the CFPB.
“The Republicans are hell-bent on deregulating Wall Street and returning it to the Wild West style of banking that led to the complete collapse of our economy," said Congressman Ryan. "We are still dealing with the fallout of their recklessness. As Democrats attempt to put more cops on the financial market beat, the Republicans are content with burying their heads in the sand and hoping the modern day robber barons will behave themselves. None of the criminals that caused the collapse went to prison. And now, these measures to defund, delay, and destroy implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would undermine oversight for mortgages, credit cards, student loans and other financial transactions.
As we recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression, House Republicans have once again demonstrated how out of touch they are by attacking the very safeguards put in place to protect against an economic collapse in the future. They might be comfortable leaving their constituents without these essential measures, but the people of my district and across Ohio have suffered enough. They deserve some peace of mind as they try to recover from the financial hardships they’ve faced.”
Yesterday Tim told me why he was eager to sign onto the Grijalva-Ellison letter to Speaker Pelosi to protect the Big Three. “Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are essential to making sure people are having their most fundamental needs met. Working families have been hit the hardest by the economic difficulties we’re facing-- cutting programs that make sure they can cover basic living and medical expenses while we continue to protect tax cuts for the top 1% is unthinkable. We must continue to stand up for working people-- the Republicans’ definition of “shared sacrifice” continues to only fall on those who have sacrificed too much already.” Ryan on Ryan... on the floor:
There hasn't been a poll, at least as far as I know, that asks Americans if they think life imprisonment for banksters who, carried away with greed and avarice, tanked the economy, is too lenient. Nor has their been a poll that asks if politicians who have been paid off by these banksters to enable this kind of behavior deserve even greater punishment than the banksters themselves. And why should there be such polls, when we all know perfectly well that the system is so gamed that there will never even be serious investigations of the offending banksters or politicians?
On the other hand, AARP did commission a poll to find out how strongly Americans feel about the institutional financial reforms required to make the investment and banking markets safe for consumers, safe from predators and their political whores. Not surprisingly, most Americans feel strongly that safeguards are needed. Perhaps surprisingly, that even includes Republican Party supporters!
In fact, by a 3 to 1 margin Americans want financial firms held accountable and financial reforms to take effect as soon as possible. And they want the Elizabeth Warren's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau-- so feared and loathed by Wall Street and their political puppets-- to be up and running as planned, not diluted by industry’s current attempts to weaken its funding and structure. This is what the poll found:
• Likely voters, including majorities of Independents, Democrats, and Republicans, favor the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform law by a 5 to 1 margin (71% vs. 14%).
• Presented with information about challenges in Congress to the law, almost two-thirds (63%) believe that policymakers should allow the law to be fully implemented.
• Three-quarters (74%) of voters support the existence of a single entity with the mission of protecting consumers from deceptive practices.
• Voters also voice overwhelming support for the following consumer protection functions of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau: Requiring clearer explanations of rates and fees, restricting lenders from offering loans with risky or confusing features, and banning incentives to mortgage brokers to put homeowners into higher rate mortgages than they qualify for.
• Three-quarters (73%) of voters want to see federal oversight of financial companies that previously lacked national oversight, including mortgage brokers, payday lenders, and companies offering pre-paid debit cards.
Nancy LeaMond, Executive Vice President of AARP: “During the financial crisis, too many older Americans lost their savings due to the failure of an outdated and compromised financial regulatory system. That's why most Americans say they want clear, accurate information so they can make the best financial decisions for their families, and a watchdog that will protect them from financial abuse.”
Republicans in Congress will try to prevent the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from ever functioning. Right now, it's scheduled to start tomorrow. In the clip above, Elizabeth Warren explains to Rachel Maddow why she feels that it will work despite Wall Street and right-wing Members of Congress who are dead set against fairness in the system.
I thought it might be worth mentioning that this year the financial industry is once again pouring millions of dollars into the political system in the hopes of keeping Republicans in power. Of the 6 Members of Congress who have taken the biggest legalistic bribes from the finance sector, 5 of them are dead set against any reform that would protect consumers. Mostly very familiar names, as well; in order of the amount of bribes they've accepted (just this year):
Eric Cantor (R-VA) $378,700 John Bohner (R-OH) $355,325 Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) $235,800 Spencer Bachus (R-AL) $186,515 Ed Royce (R-CA) $185,879
This week Darrell Issa's inept and cartoonish committee tried, unsuccessfully, to terrorize Elizabeth Warren-- to the point where even Blue Dog Jim Cooper was so embarrassed and exasperated by his right-wing colleagues that he said "Some of us come here and we get so used to the food fight that we want it to continue. And you'll probably score brownie points if you make your partisan hit. You might even get on a better committee. Well, congratulations. You will not have solved a problem." The video above is of blatant corporate whore Dennis Ross from Florida who is pushing legislation to repeal the Dodd-Frank Act and prevent the regulation of the investment and banking industry. Short attention span, presumably.
The day after, someone in the White House-- presumably a Tiny Tim Geithner ally-- leaked to the media that Obama had decided to name someone other than Warren to head the consumer protection bureau that Wall Street and their allies are so scared of. Presumably he'll name either ex-banker Raj Date or Rich Cordray, neither of whom makes Wall Street banksters fear that they're criminal behavior is going to land them in prison cells.
The bureau’s director requires confirmation by the Senate. After 44 Republican senators announced in May that they wouldn’t vote to approve any candidate to run the bureau without changes in its structure, analysts said the White House might have to resort to a temporary appointment during a congressional recess. Sixty of the 100 senators are effectively required to vote for a nomination due to procedural rules.
In 1986 President Reagan nominated Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III to the US District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. When the Senate Judiciary Committee was confronted with incontrovertible evidence that Sessions is a dedicated and vicious racist and even a KKK "sympathizer" he was rejected as unfit for the judgeship and Reagan reluctantly withdrew the nomination. Alabama racists were outraged and Sessions' rejection led to him being elected Attorney General of the state and then to the U.S. Senate. He's the first Republican in history to be reelected to a Senate seat from Alabama.
Clearly Sessions was never going to vote to confirm Warren. And, in all likelihood, the Republicans would have been able to filibuster her nomination so that it would never have even been voted on. We'll never know for sure because Obama raised the white flag and wimped out-- depriving one of America's most gifted and dedicated civil servants with the opportunity to go before the people and make her case, an opportunity that could have done her as much good with the voters of Massachusetts and it did Sessions with the voters of Alabama 2 decades ago. And many in Massachusetts thinks she will be a candidate for the U.S. Senate, the only Democrat likely to beat Republican tight-rope walker Scott Brown.
From the lips of Washington’s top Democrats to the ears of Massachusetts party leaders, all systems are go for a US Senate run by Elizabeth Warren-- if she wants it... Warren is being touted as a Democratic star worthy of taking on Republican Senator Scott Brown. It’s a combination consolation prize and rescue mission.
“Elizabeth Warren is still in the running for the consumer protection job. I hope she gets that job,’’ said Massachusetts Democratic Party chairman John Walsh. But if it doesn’t come through, “I would love it if she were interested in joining the race. I would talk to her and encourage her in a heartbeat,’’ said Walsh, officially embracing the buzz that began with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Patty Murray of Washington, who also chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
John Kerry says he isn't endorsing anyone in the primary, even though another Warren, Setti, is a declared candidate and a former aide. The Wall Street Journal on the other hand, delighted to see her out of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, called for her, perhaps sardonically, to run for the Senate in a snide OpEd Thursday.
Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren has become a great liberal hero as the architect of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and now she may be contemplating a run for the Senate in Massachusetts. Our advice: Go for it... By running for the Senate, the Harvard law professor could test her views against popular opinion. It's true she'd have to take on Republican Scott Brown, and a March survey showed he would beat her by 17 percentage points. But 59% said they hadn't heard of Mrs. Warren, and a famously liberal state like Massachusetts would surely give her a hearing. Step out of the shadows, professor, and embrace a little democratic legitimacy.
UPDATE: Obama Picks Cordray To Head The CFPB
Obama will announce tomorrow that Cordray, the former Attorney General of Ohio, is his pick for the top job at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He's currently the director of enforcement for the bureau.
By picking Cordray, Obama hopes to avoid a bruising Senate confirmation battle that would have occurred had he selected Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard law professor who came up with the idea and ultimately helped to set up the agency.
"Richard Cordray has spent his career advocating for middle class families, from his tenure as Ohio's Attorney General, to his most recent role as heading up the enforcement division at the (bureau) and looking out for ordinary people in our financial system," Obama said.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, called the selection of Cordray a "great move. There's no question of Rich's qualifications."
He predicted the Senate will likely confirm Cordray for the post "unless they get to be hyper-partisan. My only fear is Republicans don't think we should have consumer protection rules."
The Cordray selection places pressure on Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who has voiced objections about some of the powers of a new agency. Brown said, "I fully expect Rob Portman to support Rich Cordray."
Obama acknowledged Warren's leadership in a statement announcing Cordray's nomination, thanking Warren "not only for her extraordinary work standing up the new agency over the past year, but also for her many years of impassioned leadership, and her fierce defense of a simple idea: ordinary people deserve to be treated fairly and honestly in their financial dealings.
"This agency was Elizabeth's idea, and through sheer force of will, intelligence, and a bottomless well of energy, she has made, and will continue to make, a profound and positive difference for our country," he said.
Warren, who hand-picked Cordray to serve in the agency shortly after his loss in last November's elections, expressed support for his selection.
"Rich has always had my strong support because he is tough and he is smart-and that's exactly the combination this new agency needs," she said. "He was one of the first senior leaders I recruited for the agency, and his work and commitment have made it clear that he will make a stellar director."
UPDATE II: Elizabeth Warren's Statement
"Last year, when President Obama and Secretary Geithner asked me to help them stand up the consumer bureau, I enthusiastically accepted the position and got to work because I believe firmly that the CFPB can make the consumer finance markets work better for American families - eliminating fine print, making costs, benefits, and risk clearer, and holding those who break the law accountable. In the time since, we have been hard at work building an agency to do just that.
"Today, the President announced his intent to nominate Richard Cordray to serve as the first Director of the CFPB. Rich has a proven track record of fighting for families during his time as head of the CFPB enforcement division, as Attorney General of Ohio, and throughout his career. He was one of the first senior executives I recruited for the agency, and his hard work and deep commitment make it clear that he can make many important contributions in leading this agency. He will make a stellar director. I am very pleased for Rich and very pleased for the CFPB.
"In May, forty-four Republican Senators wrote a letter saying that they will block anyone from serving as CFPB Director. Many of them don't like either the agency or the ideas that led to its creation. They lost that fight last summer in a straight up vote, but they have said they will use a filibuster over nomination to undercut the agency and its effectiveness.
"I remain hopeful that those who want to cripple this consumer bureau will think again and remember that the financial crisis-- and the recession and job losses that it sparked-- began one lousy mortgage at a time. I also hope that when those Senators next go home, they ask their constituents how they feel about fine print, about signing contracts with terms that are incomprehensible, and about learning the true costs of a financial transaction only later when fees are piled on or interest rates are reset. I hope they will ask the people in their districts if they are opposed to an agency that is working to make prices clear or if they think budgets should be cut for an agency that is trying to make sure that trillion-dollar banks follow the law. I hope they will ask their constituents if they are opposed to the confirmation of someone who saved $2 billion for retirees, investors, and business owners as Ohio Attorney General and who has worked hard on the front lines fighting against fraudulent foreclosures and abusive lending practices.
"Partisanship may be the most important thing in Washington, but in the rest of the country, people expect their public servants to work together to learn from past regulatory failures and to put our energy into solving problems, not scoring political points. In visiting with people and business leaders across the country-- including community bankers and credit unions in all 50 states-- I see a real eagerness to move forward, to work together to repair a broken credit market. I hope that Republicans in the Senate take notice and stop their fight to preserve a regulatory system that failed us.
"Prior to the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, the President and I fought side by side to make the new agency possible. And, if we need to, I know we will continue to fight side by side, to keep it strong and independent and to make sure it has the tools it needs to serve the American people."
