Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders may represent Vermont and have a New York accent, but right now he looks a little like a Texas Ranger. The motto for those Lone Star State lawmen - "One Riot, One Ranger" - comes from their legendary ability to face down a hostile crowd single-handed. Bernie just faced down something that may be even scarier that rioting cowboys in the Panhandle: a powerful Democratic chairman and his entire Committee.

Sen. Sanders isn't a Democrat (he's an independent socialist who caucuses with them), but he has a lot to teach progressives inside and out the party about how to stand up for what's right: Detach from party leaders, hang tough, and be prepared to walk away if you can't negotiate something reasonable. He's fighting for better policies - and ones that the public strongly supports. (Our American Majority project has more details.)

Let's hope they're paying attention across the country - and at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. more »

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev’rywhere you go;
Take a look in Tiffany’s store, glistening once again
With Wall Street bonus trinkets all aglow.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Art flies from Christie’s.
But the amazing sight to see is the tax cut guarantee
For the most wealthy.

Hedge funders content, still paying 15 percent
Is the wish more »

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I was getting ready to attend next week's America's Future Now conference, whose theme is that progressives must lead, and thinking about the relationship problems progressives are having with Barack Obama and the Congressional leadership. All the relationship books say that you need to be clear about what you need, so that you can communicate those needs to your partner in a healthy way. (At least that's what I imagine they say; I don't really know.)

The relationship between progressives and the Democratic leadership involves love, anger, and a lot of co-dependence. Some progressives seem to defend the President no matter what he does. Others have written him off as the hopelessly cynical tool (or manipulator) of a corrupt political system. Then there are those in the middle, the ones who get disillusioned and then fall in love all over again whenever he gives a great speech like he did yesterday. Political life must be a series of fifty first dates for them. more »

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Last week, Congress decided it would not confront Too Big To Fail, the single gravest threat to our collective financial security. more »

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The country needs meaningful financial reform a lot more than it needs more political analysis. Yesterday, however, the two became even more intertwined than usual. By compromising on good policy on Thursday, it looks like Democrats have outsmarted themselves politically too. Now the only fix left for them is to push for the best possible policies going forward. more »

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Late last night, the U.S. Senate rejected the single most important element of Wall Street reform by a vote of 33 to 61. The SAFE Banking Act would have forced the break-up of the nation's six largest banks, and dramatically reduced the political clout of America's financial elite. The 61 votes against the measure are votes in favor of Wall Street's stranglehold on our economy. more »

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Word is circulating through Capitol Hill right now that Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) has agreed to back a comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve, paving the way for the almost certain passage of the measure. This is a major victory for serious Wall Street reform, and evidence of the mounting momentum to hold big banks and their regulators accountable. more »

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Despite all of the attention heaped on the Treasury Department and the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Federal Reserve served as the chief bank bailout engine in the U.S. economy during the Great Financial Crash of 2008, and remains the government's top bailout agency today. more »

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The financial services reform bill is on the Senate floor this week. The recently announced criminal investigation of Goldman Sachs, the bumbling testimony of Goldman's "Fabulous Fab" and the rocking Wall Street protest last Thursday show that momentum is with reformers. more »

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The Senate Budget Committee nearly voted to break up Wall Street's biggest banks. But four Democrats helped pro-Wall Street Republicans kill an amendment from Bernie Sanders that would "require the divestment of any financial institution the failure of which would pose a systemic risk to the economy."

Republican Senator Jim Bunning, on the other hand, crossed the aisle to vote for the bill along with nine Democrats.

The four Democrats who helped rescue the big banks were Kent Conrad, Mark Begich, Mark Warner, and Bill Nelson. If you live in North Dakota, Alaska, Virginia, or Florida, you might want to let your Senator know how you feel about what they just did. And here's a promise: When Senators like these serve their banking masters at their nation's expense, we intend to let you know about it. more »

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