Donkeys of Wall Street
by digby
If you like your Democratic Representatives to be servants of Wall Street, you’re going to love this:
Rep. Jim Himes is among those under consideration for the post of chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, according to sources and published news reports.
The DCCC — or D-triple-C as it’s commonly called — is the Democratic Party arm most directly involved in electing Democrats to the House of Representatives.
Although it raised $171.9 million for the 2014 election — compared to $131 million for the DCCC’s Republican counterpart — Democratic House candidates took a drubbing with a net loss of 12 seats. On top of the loss of 63 seats in 2010, there will be fewer Democrats in the House when the 114th Congress convenes in January than at any time since the 1940s and maybe longer.
Through a spokesman, Himes declined to talk about whether he was interested in the position. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has sole power to appoint the new chairman, who would replace departing chairman Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y.
Of course. Recall this article from a couple of years ago called Wall Street’s favorite Democrat:
Wall Street doesn’t have many friends in Washington these days—especially among Democrats on Capitol Hill. They pushed through the massive Dodd-Frank financial overhaul and are scrutinizing derivatives trading and similar high-risk practices.
There is one House Democrat who’s shown some sympathy for Wall Street: Jim Himes. A former Goldman Sachs (GS) investment banker who represents Greenwich, Westport, and other affluent Connecticut towns where many bankers rest their heads at night, he isn’t shy about defending the industry or decrying Wall Street bashing. Banking policy has devolved into a “morality play that is good vs. evil, Democrat vs. Republican, which is absurd,” he says. Dodd-Frank “contains some very, very good things and very important things. And it contains some silly things.”
From his seat on the House Financial Services Committee, Himes has sided with Democrats in resisting Republican calls to repeal Dodd-Frank—which he helped to write and voted to pass—but he’s also joined with Republicans who argue the law puts the industry on too short a leash. This year, he has authored legislation to limit the ability of regulators to oversee international swaps trades, and worked out a deal between the parties to water down requirements that financial firms keep their derivatives deals separate from their federally insured banks. He has also leaned on regulators to ease restrictions on the speculative trading banks do for their own accounts.
I guess some of them feel as if they were too populist this time out and they need to get back in the good graces of the people who own the country. No, not “the people” — “the rich people.”
If you want to read a piece about just how daft this is, this piece from Howie at Down With Tyranny will make smoke come out of your ears.
And this
It’s not a done deal. There are others in contention. But we’re hearing that the leadership, including Pelosi, are inclined to support Himes. If that’s true, the lesson from this last election was that they believe their path to victory lies in electing the most Wall Street friendly Democrats they can find. How that’s different from what they did this last time — with disastrous effects — is anyone’s guess.
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