"Some of us have been saying for a long time that (Larry) Summers and (Timothy) Geithner come straight out of Wall Street, straight out of the trading side. They were very comfortable with taxpayer subsidized investment banks that got the upside, not the downside. I've never believed these guys were genuine capitalists. Somebody used the metaphor...they're like teenagers... the moment they're in trouble they come running to mommy and daddy. They scream when you impose limits on them. And they want you to believe that the rules don't apply to them. It simply isn't capitalism. They're socialists, not capitalists. Capitalists take real risk with their own money... they know how to win and lose and that's why me and many others have utter scorn for these guys." -- Eliot Spitzer on The Dylan Ratigan Show (5/24/10)
"Utter scorn"?!? Wow... that is harsh! It's no secret that the Furriners offices are fans of Mr. Spitzer and we pay special attention to what he has to say.
Between this rant, a rather unsympathetic portrayal of Mr. Summers (in particular) in Simon Johnson's "13 Bankers" (regarding Mr. Summers lead role along with Robert Rubin in convincing President Clinton of the benefits of deregulation), and reports that Summers and Geithner are leading the executive branch opposition to tougher financial regulatory reform including the Brown-Kaufman Amendment, the derivatives language offered by Sen. Blanche Lincoln, and the Merkley-Levin Amendment (essentially the Volcker Rule) which didn't even get a vote! Well, let's just say I am frustrated by more than the mere presence of Joseph Lieberman in the Senate. I have about had it with these two guys.
The details of the vote for/against the Brown-Kaufman Amendment can be found here. This is the vote that I will not forget... you know how a lot of people are angry about TARP (particularly Tea Partiers and other conservative factions)? Well, this should be the mirrored image on the left... those who voted 'Nay' on Brown-Kaufman have, in my opinion, betrayed the values of the Democratic Party.
And another thing while I am worked up about this... where the fuck was Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow in getting the word out about Brown-Kaufman? That was the real chance to end "Too Big To Fail" and neither show was covering it? It is just a big, big letdown.
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