All 41 Repubs sign letter to oppose financial reform.

[kentuck]

Either they have no fear or they know their supporters are dumb as rocks??

Reportedly, Susan Collins was the last Senator to sign the letter sent out to all Republican Senators after Mitch McConnell had met with 25 Wall Street executives to plan their strategy. They have agreed to block all reform against Wall Street and the Big Bankers.

But they know their supporters better than we. They know they have very short memories. They have forgotten how the stock market dropped to about 6500 points early last year and how they lost a huge percentage of their 401K's. They forget the rates the Big Banks put on their credit cards last year. Worst of all, they forget that it can happen again and probably will. Unless there is some reform and regulations placed on these folks.

Where are the "Tea Baggers" and the gun folks when you need them? They are more worried about Barack Obama than the real boogie man. They are setting the table to destroy us all. With their paranoia and propaganda, they cannot see or remember anything that happened just last year. If they cannot come to their senses, we are all doomed to suffer at the hands of the Big Bankers and Wall Street.

All we can do is to fight and try to shake them out of their coma.

[stubtoe]

1. Sigh. This is gonna be like pulling teeth. Again.

[havocmom]

3. It might be the only way the DEMS don't lose seats come November

edited to ad: the economy is still in such a shambles that it seems possible (to me) that the GOP really doesn't want to be back in power. So much better to wait until DEMs get things improved THEN go in and raid the hen-house all over again. Too many voters don't pay attention to recent history.

[Captain Hilts]

2. That will bite them in the butt. nt

[WeDidIt]

4. Your subject line is innacurate and deceptive

The only way McConnell could get all 41 to sign on to a letter of opposition was to specifically leave out all reference to a filibuster.

The letter only expresses opposition and says not one word about filibuster.

[kentuck]

6. opposition = filibuster

Where do you see the difference?

[WeDidIt]

8. HAd it been a letter of filibuster, it would have said filibuster

The lighter language leaves those who would not sign on to a letter specifically stating they would filibuster the bill some wiggle room. The ONLY WAY McConnell could get four of the GOP caucus to sign on was to specifically leave out all mention of a filibuster.

So again, your title is inaccurate and deceptive. The letter says nothing at all about filibustering the bill.

[HughMoran]

10. yep

It's clear, at least to me, that a filibuster is a massive loser for Republicans on this issue - one the Dems will be much more likely to take on versus HCR. Republicans are going to lose on this bet - and lose bad.

[kentuck]

11. I changed it to say "oppose".

But obviously, you have information that the rest of us do not have. Can you give us a link about those four Senators? I must have overlooked that article. It was not my intent to "deceive" anyone.

[WeDidIt]

15. The original letter McConnell was trying to get signed was a letter of filibuster

He intended to stop the bill in its tracks because he expecgted Reid to cave when McConnell had 41 signatures on a letter to filibuster the bill.

He could not get Snowe, Collins, Brown, or Voinovich to sign onto it.

He then altered the language to read "oppose" instead of threatening a filibuster. Brown, Voinovich, and Snowe all signed on immediately. Collins took a bit more coaxing.

[kentuck]

14. I'm waiting for your link ??

It would be good to know which four Repubs would not sign on for a filibuster. I look forward to reading it.

[WeDidIt]

16. Here's a link

It only mentions Collins refusal. Doesn't mention the other three:

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/banking-financial-institutions/92513-mcconnell-short-commitments-to-block-democrats-wall-street-bill

[kentuck]

22. It doesn't say that McConnell changed it to get Collins to sign it??

Maybe she just changed her mind? Either way, they now have 41 signatures to block it and there is no guarantee that some Democrats will not vote with Wall Street and McConnell?

[WeDidIt]

23. They don't have 41 signatures to filibuster

Without a filibuster, there's no blocking it.

They need 41 votes against cloture, not 41 votes against the bill.

It's doubtful that 30 will vote against cloture. Nobody wants to be seen sticking up for the banksters in an election year.

[kentuck]

25. That's true.

If they can't get 60 votes to continue debate, they cannot vote on the bill.

[WeDidIt]

26. Believe me, if McConnell could have gotten 41 signatures on a letter of filibuster

he would have because he knows damned well and good Reid shuts that shit down whenever they have the votes for a filibuster.

[kentuck]

27. I would agree it makes them look mighty stupid...

Although they have all agreed to oppose everything this President is for. This is a little more difficult to oppose because it could hurt them at the polls.

[Ikonoklast]

28. This is the correct answer.

They cannot get the votes to sustain a filibuster, and The Turtle knows it.

[kentuck]

29. Let's hope they don't have the 41 votes to block it?

I can't believe they would be that stupid?

[napi21]

5. I seriously doubt anyone has forgotten the devastation in the market.

I believe MOST if not all of them still haven't recovered to the asset level they had before the crash. I know what we're all hearing in the media, but something makes me feel there are things going on in the background that will pry some of the Pubbies lose from McConnell's grip. A lot of this "NO" to everything stuff is being done for show. It keeps them in the media cycle!

[Dark]

17. But they probably remember that Obama was president during the bank bailouts and the first crash.

And that he was singlehandedly handing out bad loans, driving up the deficit and killing kittens.

They live in their own world.

[tridim]

20. $4.50+ gasoline in the summer of 2008 is LONG forgotten

That's just one example.

I hear people complaining about $2.50 gasoline today, even on DU.

[kentuck]

24. And the future traders for Goldman Sachs were mostly responsible...

for those gasoline prices. It wasn't the marketplace or a supply and demand issue.

[Wapsie B]

7. The ball-lickers, err Tea Baggers are so angry about a Democrat in the White House

and a black Democrat at that. The gop is using this rage as a smokescreen to do anything necessary to protect Wall Street.

[SoCalDem]

9. They have no fear.. Their party is the "default" party (according to them)

and every time a dem ANY dem, but ESPECIALLY a black one, gets elected president, they do their damnedest to stymie any legislation that he tries to pass..

They vilified Carter, all but destroyed Clinton, and they will do no less to Obama..


Their party has devolved into a contrarian party.. anything a dem wants to accomplish just HAS to be bad, because even though they were booted out of office, they know in their hearts that the public didn't really mean it, and THEY are the true rulers..:puke:

they are blowhard bullies, through and through, and the media LOVES them because they make for a great "story"..

[blm]

12. Because GOP is the Party of WALL STREET, MURDEROUS MINEOWNERS, INSURANCE Co. DEATH PANELS

and IMPERIALISTIC INVASIONS of other countries. Fascist Financiers control that party, and have for many decades through the Bush family and their cronies.

The GOPs Wall Street masters are now being exposed and so the GOP is charged with obscuring the debate as much as possible. Nice of the TeaBaggers to help out the fascists, eh?

[Sheepshank]

13. So Mitch McConnell

Spouts a bunch of easily disproven drivel. Stuff along the lines of 'death panels'. He and his 41 signers are all going to look like freaking idiots....in a very short amount of time.

While I realize the party of 'no' will stand by their "no", surely they would have actual facts to back things up for a change and veer in a different direction than the Mitch McConnell letter?

[gratuitous]

18. The campaign ads write themselves

Republicans: The party of robber barons.

Saving for retirement? Republicans say you can kiss it good-bye, sacrificed on the altar of the Free Market.

Two sets of rules: One for the small depositors, quite another for the Big Money Boyz. And if you're not sure which one you are, you're not one of the Big Money Boyz.

[TwilightGardener]

19. Fine, they're all on record, then.

[anarch]

21. well, to be fair, reform or not,

we are still pretty much all doomed to suffer at the hands of the Big Bankers and Wall Street. That's necessary to maintain our society's class structure. All any reform is gonna do is maybe have them lay off kicking us while we're down, after suffering at their hands. Which would be nice, relatively speaking, but still....

[Old and In the Way]

30. This is more of a "Please don't bring this issue to the floor".

"See, we Republicans are really, really united against talking about this issue and, if you do bring a vote up to debate, we'll be really mad. Because we won't have the votes to filibuster...and we won't have the votes not to stop passage of this legislation."

Time to go all in Harry and Chris...Republicans are bluffing with a pair of douches.

[kentuck]

31. You may be right .

:-) It was reported that McConnell told the Wall Street execs that he could not block the legislation unless he had something to present in its place.

[classysassy]

32. Why do we pay their salaries?

while they are employed by the banksters.