Tweet
I’ll be on MSNBC today at 3:30 — jh
Harry Reid’s release of the Senate merged health care bill threatens to block out the sun today, but there actually is an important debate taking place in the House Financial Services committee. The Ron Paul/Alan Grayson bill to audit the Fed now has 311 cosponsors, so the House really has to do something about it, but Mel Watt’s “something” is a bank/Fed effort to gut it.
So, FDL sent a letter to the Committee today, signed by Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO, Andy Stern of SEIU, Leo Gerard of the USW, Jamie Galbraith, Dean Baker, Bill Black, Naomi Klein, Tyler Durden, Yves Smith, L. Randall Wray, Thomas Ferguson and myself saying “the Watt amendment is a vote for more secret bailouts” and calling for passage of the Paul/Grayson bill.
The Huffington Post’s Ryan Grim, who has written about the potential impact of the Watt Amendment, was on MSNBC discussing it with Dylan Ratigan and Naomi Klein today:
DYLAN RATIGAN: How is the Federal Reserve trying to basically game this Ron Paul amendment which looks like it will pass, and then chop its head off just as soon as it makes it into the room?
RYAN GRIM: This is an immensely consequential debate that’s going on in the House right now, and it also tells you a little bit about how Congress works.
The Ron Paul/Alan Grayson bill has enough support to pass. So instead of trying to kill it, which they can’t do any more they come in with what they call a “compromise.” A serious with a capital “s” amendment, but if you look at the fine print of it, it actually just extends the secrecy of the federal reserve, and as you said it’s backed by prominent economists at the fed and formerly at the Fed. They didn’t say that they that they were wit the Fed when they sent a letter around backing it, but a Google search checking their resumes show that these are Fed bankers behind it.There is really unprecedented and very meaningful opposition to the Federal Reserve that has come together from the left and the right kind of opposing the center that is trying to hold.
Ratigan asked him if there was any hope of Watt being defeated:
RYAN GRIM: Just this morning the blog Firedoglake organized a letter that’s signed by the AFL-CIO, the SEIU and other economists saying we need to back the Paul/Grayson ammendment and a vote for the Watt amendment is a vote for more secrecy at the Fed, more secret bailouts. But you also have unanimous Republican support for this in the committee, so you have this left/right convergence, kind of a grass roots movement, that is trying to challenge the establishment.
I’ve heard from those who are on the Financial Services Committee that the tide is starting to turn. The letter was circulated this morning to members of the Committee and provoked some heated exchanges. Yesterday, the Watt Amendment was looking like a sober “compromise,” and today it’s being seen as the Fed’s trojan horse.
34 Comments
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About FDL Action
jane, is that 3:30 ET or PT?
Wow, Jane, amazing that you’ve made an impact on this as well. Congratulations!
This is interesting. If you really listen to the Teabaggers, most of what they say is nuttiness-BUT every once in a while they stray into reality. One of those reality moments is when they howl about the secretive banking system and how it has been gamed by the Federal Reserve resulting in a total fleecing of the taxpayer through bailouts and other means. The Teabaggers also seem to understand that the banking system holds Congress in the palm of its hand. What I’m getting at is why don’t we reach out to these folks? Establish connections, identify common ground and see if we can push in the same direction for once, at the real evil in our society. We all recognize that the greatest weapon in the arsenal of the elite has been “divide and conquer.” If we can heal one area of division (and “banksterism” may be the critical area) then why not?
ET
Dems are in danger from Republicans hijacking real greivances–not tea bag fantasy–that the Dems fail to address.
Ratigan is highlighting issues that are not being addressed legitimately by bought-and-sold politicians who are trying to stay bought.
This is brilliant!
And so exciting to see the forces come together.
“so you have this left/right convergence, kind of a grass roots movement, that is trying to challenge the establishment.”
Finally finding common cause against some elements of Washington/Wall Street cronyism. Political expedience on the part of the electorate would be on many occasions a powerful tool. Join the wingnuts on some Issues, fight them on others, and watch Washington’s critters shit their pants.
Bipartisanship, yay!
If that’s Shuster’s show, don’t say “BJ.” You might get excommunicated…
Knock ‘em dead.
And can you and Liz Warren start planning your Hamsher/Warren 2012 strategy, please?
Geithner defending himself, and by extension the Fed, was pathetic. I’m betting Bernanke is wishing Randian Greenspan was still chairman.
Naomi, have I told you lately how much I love you?
The Watts amendment was a business as usual way to gut needed legislation. It could not have happened without the connivance of Barney Frank. Bank of America is headquartered in Watts’ district. It would be interesting to know who phoned whom among Frank, Bernanke, management at BoA and Watts.
It could not have happened without the connivance of Barney Frank.
Precisely. Frank is nothing more than a tool, and (it would appear) a rather powerful one. As far as I’m concerned, he’s fair game to primary, too.
Some light needs to be shone on the Banking Queen, right quick!
Provocator! Rawwwwwwr!
Right on.
Well played, Jane. Thanks to Trumka, Stern, Gerard, and the others for working together on this.
I think Watt underestimated the pushback he was likely to receive, even from within NC.
AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND….
Citizen Hamsher and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:
There is a strong wind of fresh air blowin through DC today and Obama had better get his sails set into it or he’s gunna be a lame duck before next November. We now have what we’ve been waitin’ for, a consolidation of politics in a time of economic crisis. But we must be very careful about the limits and conditions of coalitions with the populist rightwing in this. The people on the right who are goin after the Federal Reserve are goin’ after it because it is a symbol of what they see as the tyranny of the Northern banks over the remenants of their slavocracy and their mythic feudal empire. These folks are not one bit interested in economic justice or in free labor and when push comes to shove they can not be trusted when the corporate bankers offer to pay ‘em off to fight organized labor in the street.
No Sister Jane, be careful of who you get in the foxhole with here and make sure you don’t have any of ‘em at your back.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION AND FOR GOD’S SAKE GET THE TROOPS HOME!!
In order to primary someone successfully, you have to have a candidate who is perceived as being able to win both the primary and the general election. Sestak is that for Specter.
For House seats, that frequently means that good friends who have worked together for the party will wind up parting ways–often with bitterness. Which makes recruitment of candidates difficult.
Just to be clear on the real implications of what has become a cliche statement of outrage at non-performance.
I don’t actually think either Geithner nor Bernanke have anything to ‘hide’. They are both to square (1950s slang) to have anything to hide, and revealing the names of the bailees and the amnounts of the bail is no longer going to shake the financial system to its foundations. The simple terrible truth is that they both got played, but if we were in their position up against the biggest and smartest sharks in the financial world, if not the whole world, what would we do. The sharks were holding a 1933 financial collapse over their heads. And they might have been scared too, but knew that when the Titanic goes down, it’s best to have a reserved lifeboat. Steerage can take care of itself, as it always does.
I hope the amendment goes through. The conventional wisdom on this stuff has got to move left, for a change.
Go get em Jane…expose the political dynamic in which the more the Fed gets involved in the bill, the less support they have.
Whoops. I miss spoke. I hope the amendment fails. Preview is your friend.
The interesting element is the convergence of the banks and the insurance industry. Going after this just might help the PO.
Teabaggers are organized and active. Yes, they were fueled by corporate money. But would’nt it be great if they went rogue on this question of bankster corruption? I am a member of the Pragmatic Party. I am interested in FIXING problems, not slavish adherence to ideological dogma. I don’t care who “hijacks real grievances” as long as SOMEBODY is trying to address and FIX the problem. If an understanding of a issue by Teabaggers overlaps with the way Progs see the situation AND the remedies are also shared by both groups, what’s the harm in working together? Who knows? They might find out we don’t have horns and loosen up on other issues as well.
Blue Texan has his regularly scheduled post up and ready: “Did Palin Misrepresent Her Creationist Beliefs to Get on the McCain Ticket?”
The antidote to Corporatist centrism, is grass root centrism. Fight fire with fire! Also important to remember when you do, – throw it; don’t eat it!
Alliances of convenience happen all the time. We’re smart enough to know when conditions of the deal are moving out of our favor. The real pity here would be to miss out on a rare chance to close ranks with those who normally oppose us against those who ALWAYS oppress us.
Left and Right working together against the Ultimate Capital Evil is the ultimate corporate nightmare. Remember those memos in Michael Moore’s movie Capitalism?
What Geithner and Bernanke don’t want is objective evidence of how closely they were working with the banks to the detriment of everyone else. They have both used the slogan of transparency all the while refusing to say what they were doing. As the agents of the banks, it is not so much what they want to hide but what the banks want to hide.
Signed and,as usual, gracias Jane.
I agree that it makes perfect sense to amplify our power by incorporating anyone who is willing to act in our overall interests, in this case in order to rein in the power of the FED to disburse as it wishes poublic money with no direct benefit to the public.
Those on the right have been equally outraged as those on the left at the squandering of our money by Obama and others acting on behalf of the Financial sector. We have common cause in wanting to be rid of Geitner/Summers, the reinstitution of Glass/Steagel and putting an end on the usurious practices of all Banks.
I find that often times I am in agreement with Ron Paul over issues of detrimental government collusion with private firms (ie Banks), on his espousal of government’s non intervention in private behaviour and in his belief in the government’s non interference in the affairs of other countries. He should be made to feel welcome and inclined to work with the left on issues we both believe will further the public’s interest.
Jane, you Grok that any chance we have to get any significant reform in this country on any of the progressive/liberal agenda is to bring down the corporate stranglehold on the Congress. Anything that weakens their hold increases our chances of getting decent health care reform, environmental regulation, middle class economic security and maybe even some help with defending the constitution. I support your efforts whole heartedly.
Oh, this is great news. I already signed that letter – got an email from Jane this a.m.
Wonderful to hear it might actually work.
Almost 3:30 et – looking for Jane on tve now.
Totally agree with your comment about this program, and it must make the electeds who have sold their souls at bargain basement discounts rather uncomfortable.
No sh*t, Sherlock…
Well, almost missed Jane – wasn’t expecting her to be on the segment about Pres.’s Asia trip.
Even tho’ it’s not the area she’s known for, she still made mincemeat of the young Repub ignoramus on opposite her. Shuster made him look pretty stupid, too.
Maybe we can actually get past the “bow” “issue.” 10% unemployment would seem rather more important.
I really like that Paul and Grayson have found common ground on this. Truly bipartisan. I figure Obama will be mentioning this any second…right?
Don’t expect much noise from the WH. Their position recently has been to let Congress take the lead on economic reforms. I don’t think they want to take any heat for whatever blood-letting may be necessary. Thankfully the House has a storeroom full of pitchforks for such occasions.