Like all politicians (except maybe GW) Chuck Schumer is, or is at least trying to be slick. But for people paying attention it's not hard to see what is really going on here. Ya see, Schumer isn't doing to well these days, and in fairness what incumbent really is doing that well right now? But Schumer could possibly be the next majority leader (perhaps MINORITY leader if things keep up) of the Senate, whenever that time comes so when I saw a story on the New York Times site about the possibility of his political "mortality" I had to take a look. Turns out his poll numbers are plummeting...well, SOME of them are. Some of them show that he is flat, but if you average plummeting and flat together the result is still equal to: Not good. NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg isn't happy with him for not bring enough money back home to New York for healthcare (join the club Mr. Mayor!), Wall Street is mad that in their view he is not "pro-Wall Streety" enough, and his constituents...well, they're not happy with him either. The latter, according to the pollsters doesn't really show that he is necessarily in electoral trouble, just a lack of enthusiasm among his supporters. No one is writing Schumer's political obituary just yet, but as we saw in the special election disaster in Massachusetts; lack of voter enthusiasm can turn into a candidate's lack of employment quite suddenly even for someone once considered a shoo-in.
But here's where he starts to look like a slickster, Schumer has been very pro-Wall Street and very pro-big banks for years. In fact, it wasn't long ago that the bankers LOVED this guy.
So you see, until the financial crisis Schumer appears to have been a Wall Street Darling, but now not so much. My how times have changed..."Wall Street’s current disaffection is intriguing, as Mr. Schumer served for 30 years as Horatio at the bridge, guarding against too many incursions against the financial industry. He artfully sidetracked an effort to tax hedge funds and pushed for repeal of legislation that prohibited commercial banks from engaging in risky investments like trading stocks or mortgage-backed securities. And he helped craft a bank-friendly bailout. In return, he has taken in more money from the securities and finance industry over the course of his career than any Democrat other than Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts."-SOURCE: http://www.nytimes.com/
"Of late, Mr. Schumer has put a little flannel in his pinstripe love. He favors an Obama administration proposal to tax large banks. He has spoken out about “outrageous” bank overdraft policies." -SOURCE: http://www.nytimes.com/So, now that things have gotten just O' SOOO OUTRAGEOUS...he wants to give them an extra tax, and hey, he even CALLED them OUTRAGEOUS! OMG..I bet they must have cried when they heard that!
I have better idea, how about instead of whining about how "outrageous" bank practices are let's have Senate hearings on fraudulant bank practices that not only brought the American economy to it's knees, but that of the entire world. If it's so "outrageous" why not see a few bankers heads roll? We've certainly seen plenty of other heads roll that had very little to do with the problem, except maybe buying a home.
In the end, Schumer will probably be re-elected, and corrupt bankers will run away with millions and retire to their own private island on the Mediterranean, and that is why this is "not more meaningful, just more of the same!"
Adversarial Light,
Mortecai
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