From 9 Years Ago: The Democrats Bow to Megabanks by Ralph Nader

[Better Believe It]

From the Archive: The Democrats Bow to Megabanks
Elizabeth DiNovella
The Progressive
February 18, 2009

The Democrats Bow to Megabanks
By Ralph Nader
January 2000

Never underestimate the ability of Congress to repeat its mistakes. A decade ago, after it gambled and lost on deregulation, Congress was forced to launch a $500 billion taxpayer-financed bailout of the savings and loan industry. Congress has just rolled the deregulation dice again. This time the outcome may be even more costly.

Congress and the White House have come up with the granddaddy of all financial deregulation, the “Financial Services Modernization Act,” which whipped out the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 and removed the major restrictions of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956. In so doing, Congress and Clinton have opened the door for banks, securities firms, insurance companies, and in some cases nonfinancial corporations to combine into a handful of giant conglomerates.

These conglomerates will be the financial equivalent of nuclear bombs. The explosion of even one could have a disastrous impact not only on the U.S. economy but on financial systems around the world.

http://www.progressive.org/node/126302

Well, when you're right, you're right. Nader called it nine years ago. Was anyone listening?

[blueclown]

1. Nader is a very smart man.

It is a shame that many people do not take his words seriously because they think he cost Gore the election in 2000.

[Winterblues]

2. But he had the audacity to run for President and not as a Democrat..

Can't mention him around here. Some people here think he is the entire reason the world is in the shape it is. And Gore didn't win Tennessee. :shrug:

[anonymous171]

3. Why would we have listened to Nader then? Or even now?

He's useless.

[blueclown]

4. Why is he useless?

[Greyhound]

5. How about because he's right?

Why would we listen to anybody?

[NavyDavy]

6. hes a tool for the repukes!!! I wish people would stop putting

crap about him on our sites....

[blueclown]

7. A tool for the Repukes?

You gotta be joking...

[NavyDavy]

12. Nope....serious as an heart attack

[blueclown]

14. The man's political philosophy is the direct opposite of the Pukes.

WTF are you talking about?

[Better Believe It]

19. Right! Here's a recent example of Nader pushing the Republican agenda

Ralph Nader touts help for poor as way to stimulate economy
by The Republican Newsroom
February 04, 2009

WESTFIELD - Helping the poor and the unemployed helps the struggling economy, according to consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader.

"Extending unemployment compensation and expanding the food stamp program produces consumer demand. It's the fastest way" to get the economy back on its feet, he said Wednesday, prior to speaking at Westfield State College.

He blamed the crisis in the nation's financial system on the lack of proper government oversight of banks. "But there's a spectacular opportunity that comes from the severe crisis. It's a chance to reregulate law and order on top of these giant corporations."

He said there is a constant struggle "between Wall Street and Washington, and Wall Street has a way of rolling over Washington."

"But now Washington, as a trustee for millions of American taxpayers and hundreds of billions of dollars, has to take control of the situation," Nader said. "We have to crack down on big banks."

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/nader_touts_help_for_poor_as_w.html?category=Westfield



Consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader talks with students from Springfield's Renaissance School before his speech at Westfield State College Wednesday.

[defendandprotect]

34. Exactly . . . How many times have Democrats mentioned HOMELESS or POOR . . . ???

And it is the way to go --- Thanks, Nader!!!

[defendandprotect]

31. Probably until . . . .

anyone left at DU who still believe the Democratic scapegoating of Nader

finally wakes up! ---


How many numbskulls still believe the Nader scapegoating . . . ???


Meanwhile, GORE won 2000 -- "no matter how you count it" --

INCLUDING FLORIDA -- !!!

*****************

PLUS 300,000 Democrats in Florida voted for Bush - !

600+ illegal military ballots were counted for Bush --

More than 3,000+ votes went to Buchanan on the Florida "Butterfly ballot"

approved by Democrats!

Third parties in Florida -- Libertarians/Socialists -- took more than 18,000+ votes.

The GOP sponsored fascist rally outside of Miami Dade Election HQs stopped the

vote counting mandated by the Florida Supreme Court -- and was not interferred with

by police enforcement!

Finally, the Gang of 5 on the Supreme Court put Bush into the Oval Office ---


....but somehow that was also Ralph Nader's fault . . . !!!

[Snotcicles]

32. Our site? nt

[JackRiddler]

55. What do you mean "our sites"?

[Ichingcarpenter]

57. I just smelled something........ did you?

I supported Nader in 2000 in Colorado but voted Gore because
I wanted the Green Party to grow back then. It sold out later.


Gore even said Nader didn't cause him the loss.

Nader is right on a lot of issues.

[leftstreet]

26. WHEN NADER DIES, I WILL RIP OUT MY SEATBELTS

NOT

Am I in time for the Two Minutes Hate?

[defendandprotect]

29. How about to avoid $8.5 TRILLION+ in bailouts of capitalism . . . ??

Or -- you can cut off your nose to spite your face .... !!!


How many numbskulls still believe the Nader scapegoating . . . ???


Meanwhile, GORE won 2000 -- "no matter how you count it" --

INCLUDING FLORIDA -- !!!

*****************

PLUS 300,000 Democrats in Florida voted for Bush - !

600+ illegal military ballots were counted for Bush --

More than 3,000+ votes went to Buchanan on the Florida "Butterfly ballot"

approved by Democrats!

Third parties in Florida -- Libertarians/Socialists -- took more than 18,000+ votes.

The GOP sponsored fascist rally outside of Miami Dade Election HQs stopped the

vote counting mandated by the Florida Supreme Court -- and was not interferred with

by police enforcement!

Finally, the Gang of 5 on the Supreme Court put Bush into the Oval Office ---


....but somehow that was also Ralph Nader's fault . . . !!!

Wake up ---!!

[TheWraith]

8. Fuck Ralph Nader. Maybe he shouldn't have kissed Bush's ass and given him the presidency.

Nader exists now only to attack Democrats for allegedly having done all the things Republicans actually have. If he weren't being a complete shill he might have mentioned that that the FSMA was written by three REPUBLICANS and passed on a nearly party-line vote in the Senate.

[Better Believe It]

15. You're mistaken. Only 8 Senate Democrats voted against the financial deregulation bill.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, is also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act.

You can find the actual roll-call vote Senate on the final bill that came out of the House/Senate conference committee and became law in post #10.

[Better Believe It]

18. It was Senator Reid's job to kiss President Bush's ass.

And he did a mighty fine job!

[JackRiddler]

21. Will you people never let the Big Lie rest? Gore won. Bush stole it.

Those of you still screaming about Nader's irrelevant role are providing an alibi for the criminal regime, which lost Florida.

Focus!

[Occam Bandage]

40. And Bush couldn't have if it weren't for Nader.

There were multiple but-for factors. If only one percent of Nader's hundred thousand votes had gone for Gore, the margin would have been too great to steal.

[JackRiddler]

48. Strictly hypothetical -- and a distraction from the reality. Blame the criminals...

Not the third party.

How do you know how many votes Bush could have stolen? How dare you presume to count the Nader voters for your preferred column, "if only" there had been no Ralph candidacy? The Bush mob raped a nation and a world, and when you blame it on Ralph, all you do is demonstrate your powerlessness and narrow-mindedness.

Gore could have also had a larger total if more Democrats had voted for him. Or non-voters. But you want to single out Nader. Is it that you hate the left? If so, just admit it.

Maybe Lieberman helped gain votes in Florida, or maybe the choice of this pompous fraud for VP made voting for Gore unbearable to a few thousand more who went instead to Nader, or nobody. That's on Gore for picking Lieberman, not on Nader.

After election day, while Nader supported a full recount, Lieberman actively sabotaged his own ticket, for example on the question of invalid military ballots.

Where's your decade of reflexive anger at Lieberman, facilitator of the recount debacle and champion of neocon wars?

The Nader hatred is very, very transparent.

.

[Occam Bandage]

59. That's all very nice, but are you willing to say now

that not one percent of Nader's FL vote would have gone Gore had he simply done the responsible thing and listened to the people asking him to pull out? That seems unreasonable. (And yes, that would have been sufficient; Bush used every trick he had and was only 500 ahead, and even with that he had to stop the recount. This was pre-Diebold, keep in mind, the options were limited) You can list a bunch of other but-for factors, and I'll agree that all may have helped. However, when you attempt to diminish one particular but-for factor by claiming there are others, you're being quite transparent, and your attempts to fob that off on me are sad.

If you happily demand that Lieberman accept responsibility for losing 2000, then I will agree with you. If you happily demand that Bush accept responsibility for stealing 2000, then I will agree with you. If you happily demand that Gore accept responsibility for losing 2000 (never mind that he lost far more votes from the center than from the left, so it would seem a smarter strategy would have been to be less liberal), then I will agree with you. If you then turn around and say, "well, hey, wait, we can't blame Nader for losing 2000; I like Nader." then I will say that you're putting your political prejudices above your political ethics, while assuming that everyone else is doing the same.

[defendandprotect]

33. Right . . . Only Nader thinks the corporations have bought government . . .

and our elected officials --- !!!

Yes, Nader is a prime enemy of corporate-Democrats ---

How many numbskulls still believe the Nader scapegoating . . . ???


Meanwhile, GORE won 2000 -- "no matter how you count it" --

INCLUDING FLORIDA -- !!!

*****************

PLUS 300,000 Democrats in Florida voted for Bush - !

600+ illegal military ballots were counted for Bush --

More than 3,000+ votes went to Buchanan on the Florida "Butterfly ballot"

approved by Democrats!

Third parties in Florida -- Libertarians/Socialists -- took more than 18,000+ votes.

The GOP sponsored fascist rally outside of Miami Dade Election HQs stopped the

vote counting mandated by the Florida Supreme Court -- and was not interferred with

by police enforcement!

Finally, the Gang of 5 on the Supreme Court put Bush into the Oval Office ---


....but somehow that was also Ralph Nader's fault . . . !!!

[Downtown Hound]

9. Few people here deny Ralph Nader's intelligence or criticize his views

on national matters. Nader did call this, but he was far from the only one. And all those other dyed and true progressives didn't run two misguided presidential campaigns at crucial moments in our history. Yes, our system is fucked up. Yes, more voices should be allowed in. I have yet to be convinced of how running a campaign that has absolutely no chance of winning and only serves to put a monster like Bush in the White House is really going to change that.

Nader's done some good work. Too bad he blows it on his own ego.

[defendandprotect]

36. Nader has done "good work" . . .

Most of what we know politically about the buying of government and

elected officials -- we know because of Nader's work for decades and decades --


How many numbskulls still believe the Nader scapegoating . . . ???


Meanwhile, GORE won 2000 -- "no matter how you count it" --

INCLUDING FLORIDA -- !!!

*****************

PLUS 300,000 Democrats in Florida voted for Bush - !

600+ illegal military ballots were counted for Bush --

More than 3,000+ votes went to Buchanan on the Florida "Butterfly ballot"

approved by Democrats!

Third parties in Florida -- Libertarians/Socialists -- took more than 18,000+ votes.

The GOP sponsored fascist rally outside of Miami Dade Election HQs stopped the

vote counting mandated by the Florida Supreme Court -- and was not interferred with

by police enforcement!

Finally, the Gang of 5 on the Supreme Court put Bush into the Oval Office ---


....but somehow that was also Ralph Nader's fault . . . !!!

[Better Believe It]

10. Blame The Meltdown On The 1999 Repeal of Glass-Steagall

Blame The Subprime Meltdown On The
Repeal Of Glass-Steagall
The Consumerist
April 17, 2008

A lot of blame has sloshed around for the sub-prime meltdown, from greedy borrowers to greedy mortgage brokers to Alan Greenspan, but if you want the real culprit, it was the repeal of the Glass-Stegall Act. On November 12, 1999, the champagne must have been shooting from the walls at Citigroup, which had worked behind the scenes for over 30 years to get the act overturned. After recovering from their hangover, they and their banking buddies went on a sub-prime lending orgy. But what was Glass-Steagall and how did it use to protect us?

Glass-Steagall was passed under the Roosevelt administration in 1933 in direct response to the Wall Street shenanigans that ushered in the Great Depression where banks shoved their own depositors into buying the stocks the banks were dealing. The basic idea was to keep banks from speculating with the savings that American citizens were entrusting within their vaults.

Now, on the one side they could sell mortgages to homeowners, and then invent fancy investment structures which they sold on Wall Street. Because they were "covered" on both ends, banks felt free to sell increasingly dicey mortgages, just so long as another sucker was picking up the garbage. This sucker was picking it up because he had a plan to repackage it and sell it to another sucker, and so on. Eventually we end up with no-doc stated income interest-only option-ARM no money down mortgages being repackaged as "sound investments" being sold as "stable assets" for city pension plans to park their money in. (See "Subprime Meltdown As Told By Stick Figures").

We can only imagine the level of machination exerted over those 30 years, but we do know this. Robert Rubin was Secretary of Treasury, which had oversight over Glass-Steagall regulation. Days before he resigned, Glass-Steagall was repealed. Just over a year later, he became chairman of the Citi executive committee, with an annual compensation of $40 million, a position he still holds, despite Citigroup's $24 billion in subprime-related losses.

Please read the entire article at:

http://consumerist.com/381032/blame-the-subprime-meltdo ...

--------------------------------------

Repeal of the Act

The bill that ultimately repealed the Act was introduced in the Senate by Phil Gramm (R-TX) and in the House of Representatives by James Leach (R-IA) in 1999. The final bill resolving the differences was passed in the Senate 90-8-1 and in the House: 362-57-15. This veto proof legislation, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 12, 1999.

The banking industry had been seeking the repeal of Glass-Steagall since at least the 1980s.

The repeal enabled commercial lenders such as Citigroup, the largest U.S. bank by assets, to underwrite and trade instruments such as mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations and establish so-called structured investment vehicles, or SIVs, that bought those securities. Citigroup played a major part in the repeal. Then called Citicorp, the company merged with Travelers Insurance company the year before using loopholes in Glass-Steagall that allowed for temporary exemptions. With lobbying led by Roger Levy, the "finance, insurance and real estate industries together are regularly the largest campaign contributors and biggest spenders on lobbying of all business sectors . They laid out more than $200 million for lobbying in 1998, according to the Center for Responsive Politics..." These industries succeeded in their two decades long effort to repeal the act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass-Steagall_Act

------------------------------------------------------

Here's how the Senators voted on the final bill that President Clinton signed into law.

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 106th Congress - 1st Session

as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate

Vote Summary

Question: On the Conference Report (S.900 Conference Report )
Vote Number: 354 Vote Date: November 4, 1999, 03:30 PM
Required For Majority: 1/2 Vote Result: Conference Report Agreed to
Measure Number: S. 900
Measure Title: An Act to enhance competition in the financial services industry by providing a prudential framework for the affiliation of banks, securities firms, and other financial service providers, and for other purposes.
Vote Counts: YEAs 90
NAYs 8
Present 1
Not Voting 1

Grouped By Vote Position

YEAs ---90
Abraham (R-MI)
Akaka (D-HI)
Allard (R-CO)
Ashcroft (R-MO)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Bond (R-MO)
Breaux (D-LA)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Byrd (D-WV)
Campbell (R-CO)
Chafee, L. (R-RI)
Cleland (D-GA)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Coverdell (R-GA)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
Daschle (D-SD)
DeWine (R-OH)
Dodd (D-CT)
Domenici (R-NM)
Durbin (D-IL)
Edwards (D-NC)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Frist (R-TN)
Gorton (R-WA)
Graham (D-FL)
Gramm (R-TX)
Grams (R-MN)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Helms (R-NC)
Hollings (D-SC)
Hutchinson (R-AR)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (R-VT)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerrey (D-NE)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Mack (R-FL)
McConnell (R-KY)
Moynihan (D-NY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nickles (R-OK)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Robb (D-VA)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Roth (R-DE)
Santorum (R-PA)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Sessions (R-AL)
Smith (R-NH)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Thomas (R-WY)
Thompson (R-TN)
Thurmond (R-SC)
Torricelli (D-NJ)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Wyden (D-OR)

NAYs ---8
Boxer (D-CA)
Bryan (D-NV)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Feingold (D-WI)
Harkin (D-IA)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Shelby (R-AL)
Wellstone (D-MN)

Present - 1
Fitzgerald (R-IL)

Not Voting - 1
McCain (R-AZ)

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/r...

---------------------------------------
Statements in support of bill that repealed of Glass-Steagall Act



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: CHRISTI HARLAN
Friday, November 12, 1999 202-224-0894

GRAMM'S STATEMENT AT SIGNING CEREMONY
FOR GRAMM-LEACH-BLILEY ACT

Sen. Phil Gramm, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, made the following statement today in a ceremony at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where President Clinton signed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act into law:

"The world changes, and Congress and the laws have to change with it.

"Abraham Lincoln used to like to use the analogy that old and outmoded laws need to be changed because it made about as much sense to continue to impose them on people as it did to ask a man to wear the same clothes he did when he was a child.

"In the 1930s, at the trough of the Depression, when Glass-Steagall became law, it was believed that government was the answer. It was believed that stability and growth came from government overriding the functioning of free markets.

"We are here today to repeal Glass-Steagall because we have learned that government is not the answer. We have learned that freedom and competition are the answers. We have learned that we promote economic growth and we promote stability by having competition and freedom.

"I am proud to be here because this is an important bill; it is a deregulatory bill. I believe that that is the wave of the future, and I am awfully proud to have been a part of making it a reality."

-30-

----------------------------------------------

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release November 12, 1999
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT FINANCIAL MODERNIZATION BILL SIGNING

Presidential Hall

1:37 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you and good afternoon. I thank you all for coming to the formal ratification of a truly historic event -- Senator Gramm and Senator Sarbanes have actually agreed on an important issue. (Laughter.) Stay right there, John. (Laughter.) I asked Phil on the way out how bad it's going to hurt him in Texas to be walking out the door with me. (Laughter.) We decided it was all right today.

Like all those before me, I want to express my gratitude to those principally responsible for the success of this legislation. I thank Secretary Summers and the entire team at Treasury, but especially Under Secretary Gensler, for their work, and Assistant Secretary Linda Robertson. I thank you, Chairman Greenspan, for your constant advocacy of the modernization of our financial system. I thank you, Chairman Levitt, for your continuing concern for investor protections. And I thank the other regulators who are here.

I thank Senator Gramm and Senator Sarbanes, Chairman Leach and Congressman LaFalce, and all the members of Congress who are here. Senator Dodd told me the Sisyphus story, too, over and over again, but I've rolled so many rocks up so many hills, I had a hard time fully appreciating the significance of it. (Laughter.)

I do want to thank all the members here and all those who aren't here. And I'd like to thank two New Yorkers who aren't here who have been mentioned -- former Secretary of the Treasury Bob Rubin, who worked very hard on this; and former Chairman, Senator Al D'Amato, who talked to me about this often. So this is a day we can celebrate as an American day.

To try to give some meaning to the comments that the previous speakers have made about how we're making a fundamental and historic change in the way we operate our financial institutions, I think it might be worth pointing out that this morning we got some new evidence on the role of new technologies in our economy, which showed that over the past four years, productivity has increased by a truly remarkable 2.6 percent -- that's about twice the rate of productivity growth the United States experienced in the 1970s and the 1980s. In the last quarter alone, productivity grew at 4.2 percent.

This is not just some aloof statistic that matters only to the Federal Reserve, the Treasury, and Wall Street economists. It is the key to rising paychecks and greater security and opportunity for ordinary Americans. And the combination of rising productivity, more open borders and trade, working to keep down inflation, the dramatic reduction of the deficit and the accumulation of the surplus, and the continued commitment to the investment in the American people, research and development, and new productivity-inducing technologies has given us the most sustained real wage growth in more than two decades, with the lowest inflation in more than three decades.

I can tell you that back in December of 1992, when we were sitting around the table at the Governor's Mansion, trying to decide what had to be in this economic program, the economists that I had there, who are normally thought to be -- you know, you say, well, they're Democrats, they'll be more optimistic -- none of them believed that we could grow the economy for this long with an unemployment rate this low and an inflation rate this low. And it's a real tribute to the American people.

So what you see here, I think, is the most important recent example of our efforts here in Washington to maximize the possibilities of the new information age global economy, while preserving our responsibilities to protect ordinary citizens and to build one nation here. And there will always be competing interests. You heard Senator Gramm characterize this bill as a victory for freedom and free markets. And Congressman LaFalce characterized this bill as a victory for consumer protection. And both of them are right. And I have always believed that one required the other.

It is true that the Glass-Steagall law is no longer appropriate to the economy in which we lived. It worked pretty well for the industrial economy, which was highly organized, much more centralized and much more nationalized than the one in which we operate today. But the world is very different.

Now we have to figure out, well, what are still the individual and family and business equities that are still involved that need some protections. And the long, and often tortured story of this law can be seen as a very stunning specific example of the general challenge that will face lawmakers of both parties, that will face liberals and conservatives, that will face all Americans as we try to make sure that the 21st century economy really works for our country and works for the people who live in it.

So I think you should all be exceedingly proud of yourselves, including being proud of your differences and how you tried to reconcile them. Over the past seven years, we've tried to modernize the economy; and today what we're doing is modernizing the financial services industry, tearing down these antiquated walls and granting banks significant new authority.

This will, first of all, save consumers billions of dollars a year through enhanced competition. It will also protect the rights of consumers. It will guarantee that our financial system will continue to meet the needs of underserved communities -- something that the Vice President and I tried to do through the empowerment zones, the enterprise communities, the community development financial institutions, but something which has been largely done through the private sector and honoring the Community Reinvestment Act.

The legislation I signed today establishes the principles that as we expand the powers of banks, we will expand the reach of that act. In order to take advantage of the new opportunities created by the law, we must first show a satisfactory record of meeting the needs of all the communities the financial institution serves.

I want to thank Senator Sarbanes and Congressman LaFalce for their leadership on the CRA issue. I want to applaud literally hundreds of dedicated community groups all around our country that work so hard to make sure the CRA brings more hope and capital to hard-pressed areas.

The bill I signed today also does, as Congressman Leach says, take significant steps to protect the privacy of our financial transactions. It will give consumers, for the very first time, the right to know if their financial institution intends to share their financial data, and the right to stop private information from being shared with outside institutions.

Like the new medical privacy protections I announced two weeks ago, these financial privacy protections have teeth. We granted regulators full enforcement authority and created new penalties to punish abusive practices. But as others have said here, I do not believe that the privacy protections go far enough. I am pleased the act actually instructs the Treasury to study privacy practices in the financial services industry, and to recommend further legislative steps. Today, I'm directing the National Economic Council to work with Treasury and OMB to complete that study and give us a legislative proposal which the Congress can consider next year.

Without restraining the economic potential of new business arrangements, I want to make sure every family has meaningful choices about how their personal information will be shared within corporate conglomerates. We can't allow new opportunities to erode old and fundamental rights.

Despite this concern, I want to say again, this legislation is truly historic. And it indicates what can happen when Republicans and Democrats work together in a spirit of genuine cooperation -- when we understand we may not be able to agree on everything, but we can reconcile our differences once we know what the larger issue is -- how to maximize the opportunities of the American people in a global information age, and still preserve our sense of community and protection for individual rights.

In that same spirit, I hope we will soon complete work on the budget. I hope we will complete work on the Work Incentives Improvement Act, to allow disabled people to go to work -- and I know Senator Gramm has been working with Senator Roth and Senator Jeffords and Senator Moynihan and Senator Kennedy on that.

There are a lot of things we can do once we recognize we're dealing with a big issue over which we ought to have some disagreements, but where we can come together in constructive and honorable compromise to keep pushing our country into the possibilities of the future.

This is a very good day for the United States. Again, I thank all of you for making sure that we have done right by the American people and that we have increased the chances of making the next century an American century. I hope we can continue to focus on the economy and the big questions we will have to deal with revolving around that. I hope we will continue to pay down our debt. I still believe in a global economy. We will maximize the opportunities created by this law if the government is reducing its debt and its claim on available capital. So I hope very much that that will be part of our strategy in the future.

But today we prove that we could deal with the large issue facing our country and every other advanced economy in the world. If we keep dealing with it in other contexts, the future of our children will be very bright, indeed.

Thank you very much. I'd like to ask all the members of Congress to come up here while we sign the bill. Thank you. (Applause.)

President Clinton Signs Repeal

[burythehatchet]

13. if a plague could wipe out every bastard in that picture, I could die happy

[defendandprotect]

37. Thanks for the truth .... which is what Democrats . . .

hate Nader for --

I just noted that my Senator Lautenberg voted for this !

Don't know what Menendez did . . .

Because the repeated "failures" of capitalism also known as CRIME is

something we need to repeat --- !!!

And this info by another poster . . .

We can only imagine the level of machination exerted over those 30 years, but we do know this. Robert Rubin was Secretary of Treasury, which had oversight over Glass-Steagall regulation. Days before he resigned, Glass-Steagall was repealed. Just over a year later, he became chairman of the Citi executive committee, with an annual compensation of $40 million, a position he still holds, despite Citigroup's $24 billion in subprime-related losses.

Please read the entire article at:

http://consumerist.com/381032/blame-the-subprime-meltdo ...

[Le Taz Hot]

63. Oh, look!

Actual facts! Thank you Barbara Boxer for voting "no" and FUCK YOU Feinstein for helping to enable our downfall. And you just GOTTA love that picture of "The Big Dawg" signing the legislation that led to our ruin. Good going, Clintons!

[wroberts189]

11. I was nt knr

[Greyhound]

25. ?

[wroberts189]

62. question at last part of post ...

"Nader called it nine years ago. Was anyone listening?"

[Greyhound]

64. Gotcha, answer and two acronyms. n/t

[seabeyond]

16. ralph lost me. wont listen to him no more. what happens when he fucks people

over and shows his own lack of integrity....

done with the dude.

him and peta.

he may be smart. have something to say, he loses
peta may have a good cause, they lose

[defendandprotect]

38. Unfortunately . . .

you don't really know who's having their way with you ...


How many numbskulls still believe the Nader scapegoating . . . ???

Meanwhile, GORE won 2000 -- "no matter how you count it" --

INCLUDING FLORIDA -- !!!

*****************

PLUS 300,000 Democrats in Florida voted for Bush - !

600+ illegal military ballots were counted for Bush --

More than 3,000+ votes went to Buchanan on the Florida "Butterfly ballot"

approved by Democrats!

Third parties in Florida -- Libertarians/Socialists -- took more than 18,000+ votes.

The GOP sponsored fascist rally outside of Miami Dade Election HQs stopped the

vote counting mandated by the Florida Supreme Court -- and was not interferred with

by police enforcement!

Finally, the Gang of 5 on the Supreme Court put Bush into the Oval Office ---


....but somehow that was also Ralph Nader's fault . . . !!!



Oh, yeah -- and the really, really dangerous PETA!!

[seabeyond]

44. yes gore won

and i am not even blaming nader for that. i didnt like it, but i wasnt as bothered. hated that he took the votes though. thought it was stupid. it was 2004 that really turned me off the man.

kerry is no different than bush, ..... stick it up your ass nader, you are full of shit

and taking money from repugs to run his campaign

those two things did it for me

[Better Believe It]

50. Nader accepted campaign contributions from Republicans? So did President Obama!

So what's your point?

John Kerry and Barack Obama took millions from Republican donors for their campaigns.

You didn't have a problem with that?

I didn't.

[defendandprotect]

58. Well . . . .

on the other hand, there are probably some numbskulls not worth trying to wake up . . .!

[Romulox]

17. Being right is often the WORST crime someone can be guilty of...

People will hate Ralph more for being right than for any other reason.

[JackRiddler]

23. You know, it's true.

Let's say he had a role in giving 2000 to Bush - he didn't. You cannot blame a third-party for election fraud by mobsters. But let's say he did.

Why does he especially piss off those who buy all the Democratic rationalizations for Republican policies, more than any other figure? Because he's right. He's out there speaking truth and not apologizing for it, not compromising his perception of reality. People who have compromised their views and can't stand the dissonance project prodigious amounts of hatred on Ralph.

Note: I've compromised a lot of things. It just happens I can deal with it without looking for a scapegoat among the brave and lonely.

[defendandprotect]

41. Right . . . the Democratic Party isn't corporate and doesn't fail . . ..

especially to do anything about GOP vote steals --- !!!

What the Democrats hate most is Nader telling the truth about corporate-Democrats!


How many numbskulls still believe the Nader scapegoating . . . ???

Meanwhile, GORE won 2000 -- "no matter how you count it" --

INCLUDING FLORIDA -- !!!

*****************

PLUS 300,000 Democrats in Florida voted for Bush - !

600+ illegal military ballots were counted for Bush --

More than 3,000+ votes went to Buchanan on the Florida "Butterfly ballot"

approved by Democrats!

Third parties in Florida -- Libertarians/Socialists -- took more than 18,000+ votes.

The GOP sponsored fascist rally outside of Miami Dade Election HQs stopped the

vote counting mandated by the Florida Supreme Court -- and was not interferred with

by police enforcement!

Finally, the Gang of 5 on the Supreme Court put Bush into the Oval Office ---


....but somehow that was also Ralph Nader's fault . . . !!!

[noiretextatique]

27. nader was right about what it would take

for a majority of americans to wake up from the republican version of reality. it took them losing their homes and jobs to see that republicans don't give a damn about common people.

[bvar22]

20. Everybody should listen to Nader.

No one should vote for him.
He has been proved right on most issues.
It doesn't matter if you like him or not....his message IS important.

Why is this so hard for some to understand?

[malaise]

22. He was right.

I know economists who also called it right.
Why Americans didn't study the impact of deregulation on other countries, I don't know.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

24. The OTHER person who said almost exactly the same thing at the same time and was overruled

was


PAUL VOLKER

[defendandprotect]

28. Nader can't be admired for his work . . !!! Dems need him to take the blame for 2000!!

And Democrats have still done nothing to stop the steals ---

We were lucky in 2008 -- overwhelming turnouts --


How many numbskulls still believe the Nader scapegoating . . . ???


Meanwhile, GORE won 2000 -- "no matter how you count it" --

INCLUDING FLORIDA -- !!!

*****************

PLUS 300,000 Democrats in Florida voted for Bush - !

600+ illegal military ballots were counted for Bush --

More than 3,000+ votes went to Buchanan on the Florida "Butterfly ballot"

approved by Democrats!

Third parties in Florida -- Libertarians/Socialists -- took more than 18,000+ votes.

The GOP sponsored fascist rally outside of Miami Dade Election HQs stopped the

vote counting mandated by the Florida Supreme Court -- and was not interferred with

by police enforcement!

Finally, the Gang of 5 on the Supreme Court put Bush into the Oval Office ---


....but somehow that was also Ralph Nader's fault . . . !!!

[depakid]

30. Yet look who's running Obama's economic team!

Some things never change-

FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
June 21, 2000
LS-722

TREASURY SECRETARY LAWRENCE H. SUMMERS
TESTIMONY BEFORE THE JOINT SENATE COMMITTEES ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY AND
BANKING, HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS

Chairman Lugar, Chairman Gramm, Senator Harkin, Senator Sarbanes, Members of these Committees, thank you for giving me the opportunity to discuss the Commodity Futures Modernization Act with you today. This legislation represents an important step in the modernization of the regulatory structure for the U.S. derivatives market. Let me also take this opportunity to commend both Chairmen Gramm and Lugar for the leadership and interest you have shown in this area.

The over-the-counter derivatives market is an important component of the American capital markets and a powerful symbol of the kind of innovation and technology that has made the American financial system as strong as it is today. Operating within a proper and appropriate framework of legal certainty, we believe that the benefits to the U.S. economy of OTC derivatives would continue to grow.

MUCH more from the horse's mouth (or the horse's ass- as the case may be):

http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/ls722.htm

[defendandprotect]

43. Well, wasn't fair to criticize it at the time those ....

F-U'd decisions were made . . . remember ????

As those those appointments were going to go away when Obama actually took office!!!

Talk about DU'ers deluding themselves!!!

Wow!!

[benld74]

35. THIS BILL WAS INSERTED INTO MASSIVE SPENDING BILL,,,

at the last minute by REPUB PHIL GRAMM! Nobody realized it UNTIL it was passed!
Good ole Phil, the ole 'Americans are whiners', the ole buddy of USB banking giant etc etc ect

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

47. And therein lies the CENTRAL problem of our country

How pathetic is that? Is that supposed to be the OFFICIAL excuse? Someone slid it in and no one else realized it?

What if Phil Gramm had slid in a proviso that everybody had to pay Enron each time they flushed a toilet? Gee, but nobody realized it and now it's THE LAW!!!!

[Better Believe It]

52. No it wasn't! They read the bill and voted on it. Check out post #10 for the facts

Another separate piece of legislation called the Commodity Futures Modernization Act was approved by Congress without anyone even demanding a vote! The legislation was discussed before committees in the House and Senate. Everyone knew about it. It had the stamp of approval from the Clinton administration's top financial people.

President Clinton supported it. That's why he signed it.

So why did Congress decide to include this Act within a larger spending bill rather than having and up and down vote on it? That should be rather obvious. That method was used so that supporter of the legislation could avoid taking responsibility for their votes if things turned ugly .... as they have.

However, if a vote had been taken we have every reason to believe that a big majority of Democrats would have voted for it in both houses of Congress just as they voted for the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act in November 1999.

[JackRiddler]

53. This is an excuse? Rubin (Goldman, Citigroup) was for the repeal - so was Clinton.

[slipslidingaway]

54. Link to bill S. 900, introduced 4/99, signed into law 11/99

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s106-900

"May 6, 1999: This bill passed in the Senate by roll call vote. The totals were 54 Ayes, 44 Nays, 2 Present/Not Voting.
View Votes (Senate roll no. 105)

Jul 20, 1999: This bill passed in the House of Representatives without objection. A record of each representative's position was not kept.

Nov 4, 1999: After passing both the Senate and House, a conference committee is created to work out differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill. A conference report resolving those differences passed in the Senate, paving the way for enactment of the bill, by roll call vote. The totals were 90 Ayes, 8 Nays, 2 Present/Not Voting.
View Votes (Senate roll no. 354)

Nov 4, 1999: After passing both the Senate and House, a conference committee is created to work out differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill. A conference report resolving those differences passed in the House of Representatives, paving the way for enactment of the bill, by roll call vote. The totals were 362 Ayes, 57 Nays, 15 Present/Not Voting.
View Votes (House of Representatives roll no. 570)"

[Occam Bandage]

39. Also from nine years ago: there isn't a dime's worth of difference between Bush and Gore. nt

[defendandprotect]

45. You mean Gore who encouraged Clinton to overturn ....

60 years of Welfare Guarantees?

Gore who was backed during his career by an oil company --

Gore who forgot about Global Warming on DLC instructions while he ran for

president and never mentions nationalizing the oil industry or electric cars?

Gore who failed to contest the 2000 election --- ?

Gore who failed to take a stand in Congress to oppose the nomination of Bush?


Had 9/11 happened on Gore's watch there is no guarantee that Gore wouldn't have

responded militarily.


How many numbskulls still believe the Nader scapegoating . . . ???

Meanwhile, GORE won 2000 -- "no matter how you count it" --

INCLUDING FLORIDA -- !!!

*****************

PLUS 300,000 Democrats in Florida voted for Bush - !

600+ illegal military ballots were counted for Bush --

More than 3,000+ votes went to Buchanan on the Florida "Butterfly ballot"

approved by Democrats!

Third parties in Florida -- Libertarians/Socialists -- took more than 18,000+ votes.

The GOP sponsored fascist rally outside of Miami Dade Election HQs stopped the

vote counting mandated by the Florida Supreme Court -- and was not interferred with

by police enforcement!

Finally, the Gang of 5 on the Supreme Court put Bush into the Oval Office ---


....but somehow that was also Ralph Nader's fault . . . !!!

[Lyric]

42. If Nader weren't such a sanctimonious, self-obsessed turd

then people might listen to him more.

[defendandprotect]

46. I'd suggest that someone who doesn't listen to Nader . . ..

is probably a "sanctimonious, self-obsessed turd" --

cutting off their nose to spite their face -- !!!


How many numbskulls still believe the Nader scapegoating . . . ???


Meanwhile, GORE won 2000 -- "no matter how you count it" --

INCLUDING FLORIDA -- !!!

*****************

PLUS 300,000 Democrats in Florida voted for Bush - !

600+ illegal military ballots were counted for Bush --

More than 3,000+ votes went to Buchanan on the Florida "Butterfly ballot"

approved by Democrats!

Third parties in Florida -- Libertarians/Socialists -- took more than 18,000+ votes.

The GOP sponsored fascist rally outside of Miami Dade Election HQs stopped the

vote counting mandated by the Florida Supreme Court -- and was not interferred with

by police enforcement!

Finally, the Gang of 5 on the Supreme Court put Bush into the Oval Office ---


....but somehow that was also Ralph Nader's fault . . . !!!

[slipslidingaway]

49. The message was right, nobody wanted to believe the messenger

:(

[slipslidingaway]

51. Senator Byron Dorgan - 1999 and 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2nZbo8SKbg

"...I fervently believe, is that we are with this piece of legislation moving towards greater risk, we are almost certainly moving towards substantial new mergers and concentration in the financial services industry. That is almost certainly not in the interest of consumers, and we are deliberately and certainly moving toward inheriting much greater risk in our financial services industry. And so I come to the floor to say that I regret I cannot support this legislation. I think we will look back in ten years time and say we should not have done this..."

[MilesColtrane]

56. I happen to agree with Nader's general message.

But, I abhor his "we have to destroy the village, to save the village" tactics.

He's just like the cliched madman who plots to burn the world to the ground so that he can build his utopia upon the smoldering ashes.

[saltpoint]

60. I'm sorry, but I just don't do Ralph Nader.

Smart guy, but adrift. He's isolative, cantankerous, biased in his criticism against the Democratic Party while appearing to give the Pukes a free pass.

A joylessness pervades everything he says.

And he seems only very, very rarely to ever smile.

[truedelphi]

61. Some of us listened to him then.

But those in The Money Party did not.

Clinton signed onto this madness when he made the Bank Reform Bill of 1999 an official legally binding document. It was the beginning of us being screwn and screwn again.

And over the Bush years, things just got more de-regulated.