Blanche Lincoln - An Important Political Lesson

Make sure when you say you're in it but not of it
You're not helping to make this earth a place sometimes called Hell
Change your words into truths and then change that truth into love
And maybe our children's grandchildren
And their great-great grandchildren will tell
I'll be loving you -- As

Andrew Cockburn has a good piece titled, Wall Street's Bad Dream, about Blanche Lincoln's surprise derivatives' bill. It got through her committee, but will soon be shredded in the greater Senate. At least it was an attempt, but really, putting derivatives on open exchanges or whatever else you want to do with them is besides the point, they shouldn't exist. More important is the political lesson here. Ms Lincoln drew a primary opponent and she is fighting to save her political life, such existential matters get elected officials to change, and that's one thing that is going to change our politics. If we do not create an organization that can elect people at every level of government, we will not get change from a political process entrenched with established interests, Wall Street being just one.

Another example here is the former/future Governor of California, who as Attorney General of the largest state of the union has pretty much been awol from the greatest scandal in American history, is starting to turn up the rhetoric on Wall Street. This too has indeed been instigated by political survival. While some may accuse Jerry of blowing with the political winds, he does have some political credibility on this issue. Here's the NYT from 1992:

As the self-proclaimed candidate of the people, Mr. Brown ventured to Wall Street and, standing near a statue of George Washington at Federal Hall, denounced "so much of the speculation, so much of the casino politics, so much of the casino profits" that he said fueled Mr. Clinton's campaign.

Brandishing a recent Business Week article with a headline calling Mr. Clinton a "toast of Wall Street," Mr. Brown declared, "His campaign is all about the few raising money to manipulate the majority." He later said, "Mr. Clinton is attached to a leash that is held by Wall Street."

There's some some donated campaign research and advise Jerry, that way lies the governor's mansion, but phew, it makes one realize how long this fight. That round lost to the Clintons leading the Democratic party into the desert. Did you see the other day, Mr. Bill throwing Larry Summers under bus on derivatives? It wasn't all that Wall Street money they collected over the years, the selling of the Lincoln bedroom, or go down the list, it was the bad advise of Larry Summers. Ho-Ho-Ho Bubba, you still got it! But it gets to the larger point, the Democratic party has zero credibility on financial reform. Can we build something that does?