I’ve posted many articles that focus on how our economy and our government has been taken over by "banksters," and in this one, I’ve found something we can do about it. There’s a list of ten (or nine) senators deserving of future support, and others who deserve to be voted out. Also, there’s a grass roots campaign we can join and tell our friends about, Mobilization for Our Economy. Read more here.>> – Ilene
Financial Reform Report Card: Banksters 37, People 10, Partisans 53
By David DeGraw, AmpedStatus Report
The financial reform process is providing definitive proof as to what the true priorities are for each Senator. The two most important amendments thus far have been the Brown-Kaufman (Democratic) amendment to break up the big banks (Voted down 61-33), and the Vitter (Republican) amendment to audit the Federal Reserve (Voted down 62-37). The Sanders amendment to “audit” the Federal Reserve, was a positive step, but a very weak measure, hence its unanimous (96-0) passing.
The results thus far reveal that 10 Senators have emerged as American heroes, voting in favor of the American people and against the banks on both measures. Here are the Senators who deserve our support:
For the People (10)
- Cantwell (D-WA)
- Coburn (R-OK)
- Dorgan (D-ND)
- Ensign (R-NV)
- Feingold (D-WI)
- Lincoln (D-AR)
- Sanders (I-VT)
- Shelby (R-AL) [see note below]
- Webb (D-VA)
- Wyden (D-OR)
On the other side, 37 Senators have revealed themselves as puppets of the Financial Oligarchy. These Senators are paid-off shysters who should be protested against and voted out of office!
For the Banksters (37)
- Akaka (D-HI)
- Alexander (R-TN)
- Baucus (D-MT)
- Bayh (D-IN)
- Bennet (D-CO)
- Bond (R-MO)
- Brown (R-MA)
- Carper (D-DE)
- Conrad (D-ND)
- Corker (R-TN)
- Dodd (D-CT)
- Feinstein (D-CA)
- Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Gregg (R-NH)
- Hagan (D-NC)
- Inouye (D-HI)
- Johanns (R-NE)
- Johnson (D-SD)
- Kerry (D-MA)
- Klobuchar (D-MN)
- Kohl (D-WI)
- Kyl (R-AZ)
- Landrieu (D-LA)
- Lautenberg (D-NJ)
- Lieberman (ID-CT)
- McCaskill (D-MO)
- McConnell (R-KY)
- Menendez (D-NJ)
- Nelson (D-FL)
- Nelson (D-NE)
- Reed (D-RI)
- Schumer (D-NY)
- Shaheen (D-NH)
- Tester (D-MT)
- Udall (D-CO)
- Voinovich (R-OH)
- Warner (D-VA)
The final group, which is the majority, represents partisan hacks who just followed the lead of their party and voted positively only on their party’s amendment. We’re not ready to dismiss all of these Senators, some of them could end up being swing votes down the line, but for the most part, they will just blindly follow their party leadership, which is rarely good when you have a corrupted system where both parties are run by bought off leaders.
Party First (53)
- Barrasso (R-WY)
- Begich (D-AK)
- Bennett (R-UT) *
- Bingaman (D-NM)
- Boxer (D-CA)
- Brown (D-OH)
- Brownback (R-KS)
- Bunning (R-KY) *
- Burr (R-NC)
- Burris (D-IL)
- Byrd (D-WV) **
- Cardin (D-MD)
- Casey (D-PA)
- Chambliss (R-GA)
- Cochran (R-MS)
- Collins (R-ME)
- Cornyn (R-TX)
- Crapo (R-ID)
- DeMint (R-SC) *
- Durbin (D-IL)
- Enzi (R-WY)
- Franken (D-MN)
- Graham (R-SC)
- Grassley (R-IA)
- Harkin (D-IA)
- Hatch (R-UT)
- Hutchison (R-TX)
- Inhofe (R-OK)
- Isakson (R-GA)
- Kaufman (D-DE)
- Leahy (D-VT)
- LeMieux (R-FL)
- Levin (D-MI)
- Lugar (R-IN) *
- McCain (R-AZ)
- Merkley (D-OR)
- Mikulski (D-MD)
- Murkowski (R-AK)
- Murray (D-WA)
- Pryor (D-AR)
- Reid (D-NV)
- Risch (R-ID)
- Roberts (R-KS)
- Rockefeller (D-WV)
- Sessions (R-AL)
- Snowe (R-ME)
- Specter (D-PA)
- Stabenow (D-MI)
- Thune (R-SD)
- Udall (D-NM)
- Vitter (R-LA) *
- Whitehouse (D-RI)
- Wicker (R-MS)
* did not vote on one amendment. Senator Byrd (D-WV) missed both votes.
UPDATE: Zach Carter wrote in with very valid points concerning Senator Shelby (R-AL). Looks like we are down to 9. Zach’s note:
“I’d put some kind of disclaimer out there for Richard Shelby. He’s a total bankster, he just knows how to vote. He’s aggressively sabotaged measures to establish a resolution authority for megabanks, tried (and to a substantial degree, succeeded) in gutting the proposed CFPA, been instrumental in undercutting the Volcker rule and the derivatives reforms. He just does all of his dirty work in private negotiations with Dodd, so the public never sees him going to bat for the banks. At the last American Bankers Association “government relations” meeting, Ed Yingling gave a big speech about how playing for time strengthened Shelby’s hand in negotiations– the clear implication was that Shelby was the ABA’s main man in the Senate.”
The Wall Street Elite have controlled our political process for too long. Enough is enough! Fight back by joining the Mobilization for Our Economy.
ForOurEconomy.org is a grass roots campaign to wrest control of our economy from the big banks, crony capitalists and financial elites. Crony capitalism has resulted in an unprecedented concentration of wealth. The economic top 1% of the population now controls a record 70% of all financial assets. The inequality of wealth in the United States between the economic top 0.5% and the remaining 99.5% of the population is now at an all-time high. The finance industry has received trillions of dollars in bailouts from the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve, while at the same time giving themselves record bonuses and salaries. Through grass roots action this Mobilization will show that this is OUR economy and we intend to control it.
