Washington Post: Republicans voted unanimously Monday to block an effort to overhaul financial regulations from reaching the Senate floor, pledging to hold out for significant changes to the bill even as they acknowledged the political risk of appearing to obstruct a popular cause.
The 57 to 41 vote in favor of beginning debate, short of the 60 needed, was expected, although Democrats did suffer an unanticipated defection when Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.) joined Republicans as a no. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) was prepared to call further votes Tuesday, Wednesday and beyond.
"We need to keep the pressure on to get a deal as quickly as possible," Reid spokesman Jim Manley said. [MORE]
Let the game begin. Harry Reid and the Democrats aren’t really that serious about reforming the financial industry. If they were, how come such troublesome things like, Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac, the sub prime mortgage market or Mortgage Backed Securities are not addressed? These were the things that damn need brought down our financial house. Instead, what we get is another 1300+-page bill, which seeks to give government more control over the private sector.
Democrats are looking for issues to run on in November. By trying to paint Republicans as defenders of Wall Street excess, they hope to give themselves something else to run on other than ObamaCare. Look for Reid to drag out this bill for all it is worth.
Ben Nelson is also playing a game here too. He wants to distance himself from Reid and Pelosi whenever and wherever possible in a sorry attempt to erase the memory of the Cornhusker Kickback. Good luck with that, Ben! In the end, should a significant Republican issue be addressed in a rewrite of the bill, old Ben will be right back on board with the Democrats.
Via: Memeorandum
Via: The Washington Post
Via: banking.senate.gov