Lots and lots of words and speeches about the necessity for some sort of regs on the financial markets….Dems have a plan (one that does not go far enough, IMO) and there was suppose to be a vote sometime this week, but now the GOP is back to slowing down all bills in an attempt to under mine all of the Obama proposals…..
The NY Times is reporting:
Republicans, including Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, have said they would use the procedural vote to block the start of debate on the Democrats’ bill unless the Democrats agree to make substantial changes in it. But in a political climate of public impatience and anger at Wall Street, it was not clear how long the Republicans could hold ranks in delaying the bill.
Republicans also said they would propose regulatory language aimed at the giant mortgage entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which for practical purposes are now wholly controlled by the federal government. Some Republicans say the absence of the mortgage giants from the financial regulation bill is a glaring omission, while Democrats say they need to be dealt with in separate legislation.
More on the GOP FinReg Plan…..Their alternative proposal includes several similar provisions, including establishing a board to oversee systemic risk, consolidating banking regulation, and reducing Federal Reserve independence (though, to be fair, the GOP doesn’t expand Fed authority anywhere close to what the Obama plan does). The GOP’s plan disappointingly does not address attacks on hedge funds and derivative contracts, and it expands the role of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, the Republicans are chiefly focused on ending the policy of “too big to fail” and are opposed to bailouts, which is very encouraging. Here is a comparison of three key provisions that favor the GOP:
Why do they continue to play a game…..why not sit down and negotiate with the Dems on the proposals they have? There seems to be plenty of room for compromise in both plans. Why is it necessary to hold press conferences and play games that Repub consultant Lutz diagrams for them? Does that mean that Repubs have NO original ideas? If they do why is this Lutz guy doing all the writing and talking points for them?
Once again……the games politicians play get in the way of REAL reform…….and where is the loud mouths in the Tea Party? They started with the original bailout and morphed into the right wing spin machine….but yet they do not seem to have an opinion on FinReg…..so where are they? Speak up people!
These days, being a politician, just like being a bureaucrat, is seen by those involved as an end in itself…
Q: What line of work are you in?
A: I’m a politician.
Q: What does that entail?
A: It’s my job to make lots of money for myself and to oppose every goddamned thing.
Q: Why?
A: I’m a politician.
Q: What is your line of work?
A: I’m a bureaucrat.
Q: What does that entail?
A: It’s my job to make lots of money for myself and to make every goddamned thing as complicated and frustrating as possible.
Q: Why?
A: I’m a bureaucrat.
…And THAT, in a nutshell, is the problem – with goodwill, everything else has a solution!
My problem with this is….first, I do not think that the bill will solve the problem……second, the Repubs are not that far from the Dems on Regs but they chose to be obstructionists and not let the debate go forward…….eventually, the American people will see just how bad the GOP is….when they do it will be the third party that everybody makes fun of….more so than now…..
and that’s what Obama is relying on (has been hoping for??) for the next elections, don’t you think?
Not just him but ALL Dems…..this issue could be a win-win for them….after they took a beating with the health reform……
Exactly! They’re all just playing games – gambling in fact – unfortunately, the currency they’re using for chips is ordinary people’s lives 👿
The Repubs have voted again to stall debate……the Dems will have a great issue at election time…the longer they fuck about the more power they are giving the Dems….
Here is what is striking me as odd… you mean to tell me that there is not a single republican senator whose seat might be in jeopardy for voting “no” on every single piece of legislation. Certainly, there are republicans that are sitting on seats of states that lean democrat.
To use Jon Stewart’s favorite phrase as of late, the republicans can “go –bleep– themselves.”
Terrant…..good question……I think this is why the GOP is becoming a Southern white party….
There are some great conservs out there and they are calling the GOP out on a lot of issues…..too bad they do not control the party…I think it would be better….
Have you seen the “Open Letter To Conservatives”? If not it is a pretty good read….
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/a/m/americandad/2010/03/an-open-letter-to-conservative.php