Lautenberg on Wall Street and the political parties

by: Hopeful

Thu Feb 04, 2010 at 03:06:52 PM EST

Even as we saw today that New Jersey adults believe Wall Street has benefited "a lot" from President Obama's policies (which is, after all, undeniably true), the Wall Street Journal reports Republicans are chasing Wall Street's cash:

In discussions with Wall Street executives, Republicans are striving to make the case that they are banks' best hope of preventing President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats from cracking down on Wall Street.
GOP strategists hope to benefit from the reaction to the White House's populist rhetoric and proposals, which range from sharp critiques of bonuses to a tax on big Wall Street banks, caps on executive pay and curbs on business practices deemed too risky.

It includes discussion of an approach to Democratic contributor James Dimon, the chairman and chief executive of J.P. Morgan, who donated to Democrats in the past. The Huffington Post got reaction from Senator Frank Lautenberg:

"Criticism of a group or organization has to be weighed in terms of the total context," he said. "When you see someone like Dimon, who's a pretty outstanding business leader, I can't imagine that he's going to want to be isolated from the Democratic presence. That doesn't bother me."
But isn't arguing that you deserve Wall Street support politically perilous? "I think that's harmful to their interests, but I'm not their doctor," said Lautenberg.
HuffPost clarified that the question was about Democrats fighting for Wall Street support. Isn't that the wrong message? "I don't think so. I think that unless there's some really egregious behavior, I think that they should support us and I think that we should be willing to accept their help," he said.

Not much to say here. Wall Street owns both parties and the elite like it that way. I'm reduced to hoping the big bonuses help close New Jersey's budget gap. I do wonder, though, what would constitute "egregious behavior" towards Wall Street.

Hopeful :: Lautenberg on Wall Street and the political parties

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Organizing for America-New Jersey statement (0.00 / 0)

Ah, this came through too...

Samantha Gordon, Organizing for America (OFA)-NJ State Director, issued the following statement in response to today's Wall Street Journal article reporting that Republicans are turning to Wall Street to help fund 2010 campaigns:
"The news today that Republicans are training their sights on Wall Street is both troubling-and motivating. While all Americans should be concerned by elected leaders looking to Wall Street banks to help fund their campaigns, OFA supporters in particular should see this strategy as yet another reason to continue our work in support of financial reform.
"During his first year in office, President Obama-with the support of Organizing for America volunteers across the country-has already taken action on a number of fronts to rein in the excesses of Wall Street-and we're ramping up to do even more this year. Already, President Obama has made significant moves to curb the unnecessary risk-taking that brought our economy to edge of collapse in the first place, including: working to cap executive compensation and excessive bonuses and imposing fees on the biggest banks to ensure financial institutions who can afford to pay out major CEO bonuses also afford to make taxpayers whole again.
"It's time for America to focus on rebuilding Main Street and work to strengthen the middle class by building a foundation for a more prosperous future. Organizing for America-NJ stands ready to do our part in support of President Obama-and we remain more committed than ever to bringing about the change that voters called for in the 2008 elections."

Obviously I much prefer this statement.

Frank LoBiondo Record and Jon Runyan Watch

by: Hopeful @ Thu Feb 04, 2010 at 21:16:54 PM UTC