When a dyed-in-the-wool old school liberal like Connecticut senator Chris Dodd goes completely over to the dark side on all matters financial, you know the books are cooked and the little guy doesn’t stand a chance. I’m not as down on the Wall Street reforms as Matt Taibbi, but I agree with him about the disgraceful double-crossing Dodd pulled on members of his own party who were only trying to make it so the bill had some real teeth.
Dodd has already announced his retirement, so his opposition to Elizabeth Warren to be the first head of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency isn’t political. It’s either personal, or it’s little more than a naked attempt to solicit cushy job offers for his second career on Wall Street. I don’t really care who heads the agency, but I think Warren deserves the position and is well qualified. I also think her nomination would do wonders to pick up the spirits of a lot of disenchanted liberals. I think a fight over her nomination would be very helpful in getting opinion leaders on the left a little more enthusiastic about the midterms.
Among a rotten lot, Sen. Dodd has always been one of the good guys. What a lousy way to end his career…in the hip pocket of the Banksters.