Joan Walsh over at Salon.com has been delighted listening to our Senator become one of the leading voices on banking reform. And she wants him to run. Ms. Walsh is late to the party here, but she’s got it right (mostly):
Yes, Kaufman could be seen as complicit in that arrangement, which might hamper his standing with Delaware voters. But while he’s had the seat, he’s voted his conscience and he’s led in the ways Biden would have – and maybe even more aggressively, when it comes to bank reform. Some might say that Kaufman is only free to be so aggressively progressive because he’s not running for reelection, but I’m not that cynical. I hope Kaufman reconsiders, now that he sees what the job requirements are: strong values, and a little courage. Democrats need more fighters.
I don’t know if Biden would have taken this position on these banks — I strongly suspect not — but that takes nothing away from Senator Kaufman and his extraordinary leadership on this issue. Congress would do really well to listen to what he has to say and act on it. He understands completely the risk of Too Big to Fail as well as the shenanigans bank will pull to make sure that they continue to socialize all of the risks they take. Senator Ted was on Countdown last night discussing the Goldman Sachs testimony, which was highlighted in UI’s post this AM. And he has been just everywhere talking up the idea of tough reform.
It is too late for a Draft Ted movement, I imagine, but it is fun to see our local hero on banking reform get this kind of attention.