Banking on Dodd
Ralph Nader blames "The Senator from Wall Street" for the financial mess we're in.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
By Andy Bromage
Chris Dodd, the populist hero? Chris Dodd, the protector of taxpayers? Chris Dodd, the Sheriff of Wall Street? Puh-leeze.
How about Chris Dodd, the guy who helped steer us into this mess in the first place? Or Chris Dodd, the guy who spent a career passing laws friendly to banks and taking gobs of their money whenever election time rolled around?
[snip]
But Dodd's record is marked by votes to loosen controls over the banking and securities industries that his Senate Banking Committee was supposed to be overseeing. Most notably, Dodd voted to repeal the Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act, therefore allowing commercial banks, investment banks and insurance companies to merge into the risk-taking goliaths such as Washington Mutual, at the heart of this recent meltdown.
[snip]
Dodd says campaign contributions he gets from Wall Street have no influence over his decision-making. Do you believe him?
No, because he's been getting them for 25 years. And he told me once he didn't even have to raise money in Connecticut in the Democratic Party because he gets so much from the securities industry. He gets their mind set. He knows how to be panicked when they panic. He supported the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act [of 1995], which insulated the corporate law firms and accounting firms from security class actions. He was the big protector.
This is a great story: Chris Dodd was co-chair of the Democratic National Committee, which means usually they are loyal to their president. The minute Clinton vetoed the Securities Reform Act, Dodd raced over to the White House to mobilize an override. The firms wanted immunity and Chris Dodd gave it to them.
Does this crisis all go back to the 1998 repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act?
Sure. And Chris Dodd supported the repeal.
*snip* I originally read this at FR:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2101715/posts but if you want to read more go to:
http://www.newhavenadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=10003
