How Democrats Went To Bat For The Credit Industry

[Itsthetruth]

CounterPunch
Weekend Edition
April 16 / 17, 2005

How the Democrats Went to Bat for the Credit Industry
Debtors of the World Unite!
By YOSHIE FURUHASHI

The "bankruptcy reform" bill "passed the House on a 302-126 vote on Thursday, a month after the Senate voted 74-25. Techpolitics reports that not only did 73 House Democrats vote for the bill but those who voted for it "included 10 members of the Congressional Black Caucus, 13 members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, 2 Progressive Caucus members and all but 3 Blue Dogs" ("Bankruptcy Bill Vote: 109th Congress, 1st Session," April 14, 2005).

The most important vote, however, was taken on March 8, 2005, on the "Motion to Invoke Cloture on Bill S. 256," which passed 69-31. That was "the only vote that opponents of the bill had a chance of winning" in the words of Paul Krugman ("The $600 Billion Man," New York Times 15 Mar. 2005). Remember the 14 Democratic Senators who voted Yea, to cut off the debate on the bankruptcy bill and make it impossible to filibuster it:

Biden (D-DE)
Byrd (D-WV)
Carper (D-DE)
Conrad (D-ND)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Salazar (D-CO)
Stabenow (D-MI)

How the finance and credit industry bought the "bankruptcy reform" is one of the clearest proofs that America is a plutocracy, not a democracy. While it is important to attempt to replace the Democratic Senators and Representatives who voted for debt slavery by men and women who are actually committed to upholding the interests of the heavily indebted US working class, electoral politics alone will not break open the virtual debtors' prison that the "bankruptcy reform" will soon create.

Money wins elections, more than 90% of the time: "In 95 percent of House races and 91 percent of Senate races . . . , the candidate who spent the most money won, according to a post-election analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. . . . The biggest spender was victorious in 415 of 435 decided House races and 31 of 34 decided Senate races. On Election Day 2002, top spenders won 95 percent of House races and 76 percent of Senate races" (Opensecret.org, "2004 Election Outcome: Money Wins," 3 Nov, 2004).


http://www.counterpunch.org/furuhashi04162005.html

http://www.techpolitics.org/congress/1091vote108.php

[Hissyspit]

1. This whole thing is just disgusting. Thanks for the article. n/t

[Robert Oak]

2. don't forget the Repukes and the house

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll108.xml


http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll...ote=00044#state

Don't let this vote fade into the political dust.


It shows clearly that the corporate party is in both "Democrats"
and "Republicans" and we need representatives who start doing
their jobs...which supposedly is representing the people and not
credit card companies.

[Deja Q]

3. You'd be amazed who supports which bills...

And what happens to people when they speak up about it.