“It’s appalling,” said Rep. Jim Himes. He was talking about the money that special interests stuff in the pockets of our lawmakers. “It’s disgusting… and it opens the possibility of conflicts of interest and corruption,” he added.
So, naturally, he promptly joined the disgusting system that has turned our Capitol into a wide-open bazaar for buying and selling legislative favors. “It’s unfortunately the world we live in,” the Connecticut Democrat shrugged. Even though Himes is only in his third term, he’s become an aggressive trader in this bazaar, heading up fund-raising for his fellow Democrats in the US House.
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Why him? One, as a member of the committee that oversees Wall Street, he can attract campaign cash like honey attracts flies, especially when big banks are lobbying furiously to get exemptions from legislation that restricts some of their destructive profiteering. Two, Himes has proven to be a trusted ally of the wheeler-dealer bankers, supporting their de-reg bills. And three, he is one of them, having been made a millionaire as a Goldman Sachs banker.
Republicans are totally in Wall Street’s pocket, but Democrats are sinking into it, too. With the admirable exception of Rep. Maxine Waters and a handful of other Dems who stood with consumers, most Democrats on the committee joined every Republican member in May to do the bank lobby’s bidding. Six days later, Himes’ fund-raising operation arranged for the seven freshmen Democrats on the committee, each of whom had stood with the bankers, to trek up to the heights of Wall Street for a personal bonding session with the CEOs of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. Thus are forged the ties that bind.
Hey, Democrats – don’t just deplore this corrupt system, stand with us to overthrow it. To learn how go to www.PublicCampaign.org.
“Banks’ Lobbyists Helping In Drafting Financial Bills,” The New York Times, May 24, 2013.
“Four In CT’s Congressional Delegation Are Millionaires,” www.ctnewsjunkie.com, January 25, 2012.
“FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 160,” www.house.gov, May 17, 2013.
” Bipartisan Legislation on Derivatives, SEC Accountability & JOBS Act Implementation Passed in Full Committee Markup,” www.house.gov, May 7, 2013.
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