John Carney Mad About the Fight Over the Dodd-Frank Rollback
We already know that a provision to roll back the Dodd-Frank provision that forbid banks from booking their derivatives in the the parts of their business that is insured by taxpayers. They would have to keep them in the portions of their business where losses were borne entirely by the bank and their shareholders. Elizabeth Warren led what Bloomberg called The Great Swaps Rebellion during the Cromnibus negotiations. And John Carney was peeved:
John Carney couldn’t understand why the vote was so close. The Delaware congressman, a Democratic member of the House Financial Services Committee, had been there when a reform to the Dodd-Frank “swaps push-out” passed—in a 55-6 landslide. He’d joined a veto-proof majority, 292-122, to back the reform in a House bill that was throttled by the Democratic Senate. The bank-friendly Democrat had not expected the reform’s quiet return, as a rider in the must-pass “Cromnibus” spending package, to kick off a revolt.
“This passed with nearly 300 votes,” said Carney on Thursday night, after the House had voted on the Cromnibus, and as legislators of both parties congratulated him or wished him Merry Christmas. “It would have been more than 300, like some of the other bills we’ve done, if there wasn’t this toxic description of what it might do. Unfortunately, the world we live in, the political world, is one of perception. I try to deal with the facts. Sometimes that’s at odds with the way we do work here, where you get these political narratives that take on a larger than life part of the discussion.”
Put it this way: Carney was not Ready for Warren.
(I really wanted to quote that last bit.) This entire article is Carney not being ready for Warren — or specifically not being ready for the kind of representation that looks out for taxpayer dollars, especially when being promised to people who don’t have a recent good track record of managing their own risk.
Thursday, Politico (sorry) notes that the “liberal” and “moderate” wings of the Democratic party are at some odds over this new state of affairs:
Liberal Massachusetts Rep. Mike Capuano incensed the moderates when he said if Democrats support rolling back Dodd-Frank regulations, “you might as well be a Republican.”
Capuano’s comments were so pointed he immediately offended the handful of Democrats who had voted with Republicans previously on the issue and still support it, the sources said. Capuano said in an interview that he stood by his remarks and he had not heard that any of his colleagues were upset. The bill was defeated by Democrats Wednesday.The moderate Democrats pushed back in the caucus meeting in exchanges described as “intense and emotional.”
They were angered because that same legislation had garnered support from more than 70 Democrats in the 113th Congress, but became a political landmine after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) criticized the legislation as a Wall Street handout.
So really it looks as though Warren is making it tougher for the so-called moderates to hide their corporate ties and interests behind the label of “moderation”. And it is about time:
At the New Democrat meeting, Hoyer was on the receiving end of impassioned concerns by his moderate colleagues. Reps. Gerry Connolly (Va.), John Carney (Del.) and Jim Himes (Conn.) all voiced strong opinions, according to sources in the room.
The 40-member group expressed anger at the liberal faction for name calling and for dismissing their point of view outright. The lawmakers told Hoyer that any future Democratic majority would look more like them than the liberal faction of the caucus.
Maybe. But if Elizabeth Warren’s fight against this rollback is any indication, it is going to be really hard for these moderates to do the business of their corporate funders without making sure that they are seriously representing and making sure that government works for the people they ask to vote for them every 2 years. But these “moderates” also need to come to grips with how angry Americans still are that banks got away with damn near killing us all, then got extraordinary help from the government to survive. Lots of middle-class homeowners never got that kind of help and they were the front line of the crash. Too bad that John Carney doesn’t care about this or the people who are still suffering from the bad behavior of the banks he so furiously works for.
Tags: Elizabeth Warren, Featured, John Carney, John Carney Is Not Representing You
Coons has a robo call going out that explains why he is voting for the keystone tarsands project.
On and on.
Seriously? Chris Coons too?
God Dammit.
That makes the override vote a nail biter.
If anyone can get a recording of this robo call, we’ll post it if you send it to us.
If Coons is voting for this thing, then that seems to complete his evolution to representing everyone but Delawareans.
arrrrrrrrrrrrgh. Coons too?
And so the Carperization of Delaware’s politicians is complete. Carper, Coons and Carney are Corporatists, not Democrats.
Maybe now we can stop attacking someone because of what one person says is on a Robo-call (and no one asks why Chris Coons would make a robo call on this?). Senator Coons just finished arguing the positions AGAINST building Keystone XL-on Fox News Sunday. He articulated well on every aspect of this project- environmentally hazardous; few permanant jobs created; more jobs created by re-building the infrastucture and refunding credits for solar energy.
From what I understand (https://www.congress.gov/amendment/113th-congress/senate-amendment/494/text), Chris Coons voted yea for a “DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR THE PROMOTION OF INVESTMENT AND JOB GROWTH IN UNITED STATES MANUFACTURING, OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION, AND REFINING SECTORS,” which would only come into play if the pipeline were approved by the President. A typical Congressional BS amendment, that does nothing except the possible earmarking of funding for promotion of investment and job growth. Setting the stage for future waste by building a foundation of legitimacy. It was not a vote for the pipeline it was a vote for pork.
@Dave — the Keystone vote in the Senate is still in the future, this week perhaps.
@Mitch — once the program posts its video, I’ll link to it.
Tweet from Fox News Sunday:
Chris Coons on KXL “It’s clear the votes aren’t there for a veto override”
I hope the Fox News Sunday appearance will be view able online later. Right now there is only one clip a 29 second clip on Facebook
My source, a classic swing voter, was utterly convinced that he got a Robo call from Coons explaining why he is going to vote for the keystone tar sands project. But people are utterly convinced about a lot of stuff.
Coons’ remarks on Fox lead me to believe that he will vote no on the tar sands pipeline, but at this point his intentions are still shrouded, somewhat, in mystery.
To: Delaware Dem
From: Dorian Gray
Subject: Voting
File this one away and read it the next time you’re wondering why people don’t vote. This is exactly why people don’t vote. Please stop trying to shame people who know very well that no candidate on offer represents their interests.
I understand a Delaware politician, even a “liberal” one, sucking the balls of big banks. Fine. At least I comprehend why that’s in somebody’s interest. But I fail to see why Coons just doesn’t say that pipeline in the middle of the country built for a Canadian Company’s tarsand oil does zero for Delaware. If what Dave wrote above is accurate it should tell you all you need to know. So Coons supports it if it passes and doesn’t support it if it doesn’t. Wow, way to take a stand there, buddy.
Damn, why did I read this? Now I’m pissed again. We really need to find a way to make Carney feel some heat over this kind of bullshit
I’m glad to write letters or help organize if anyone has any ideas how to embarass this corporate pig tool
I really tire of the single senator (or congressman) meme from the media that goes like this:
Hear ye! Hear ye!! Look! Listen! Zoikes!!!!! OMG LOOK! Look what this awesome Liberal Senator is SAYING (SAYING…S.A.Y.I.N.G) This Liberal Senator X is making things difficult for people like blue dogs (this time Carney) Look out, things are going to Change. JUST wait and see. Change! Hopefully this liberal godsend will run for President. Can you imagine!!! All the CHANGE that will ensue! Think of the debates, and how when someone like Senator Warren SPEAKS that the bills will practically be rewritten with that oh so prayed for liberal agenda.
As if all these bullshi@ words being espoused by these freaking windbags will ever amount to anything for those people on the left, hell the people in the middle.
Thank you so much Senator Warren for gasp…making it hard on Carney. As if he can’t walk into Hotel DuPont now without being brow beaten by the staff.
Senator Warren, could have blocked the fuc**ing bill if she wanted. She could have shut down the government. She could have put something in as secret as what was allegedly put in that rolled back the derivatives.
Hell, where was was Crazy Hair Socialist Bernie? Was his horse strapped to its oat bag bag in Liberal Vermont when all this was going down?
Enough with nonsense. It’s bullshit. As if Carney will do something differently next time. Or any of them.
Daily Kos is listing Coons as a toss up. They are also listing Carper as a toss up, so take it for what its worth.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/12/1357226/-The-15-Democratic-Senators-poised-to-decide-the-fate-of-the-country?detail=hide
Folks, I believe this is a link to the video.
( http://www.hulu.com/watch/736116 )
Chris Coons definitely stood his ground against the Keystone Pipeline, and he stood up for our Vice President. Way to go Senator Coons.