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Barack Obama Sided with Credit Card Loan Sharks While Hillary Clinton Stood Against Them
Obama's numerous corporate donors were pleased -- especially The Bond Market Association's legislative affairs guy Mike Williams. While Obama voted against the 2005 bankruptcy bill, he voted against "an important amendment, which was defeated, that would have capped credit-card interest rates at 30 percent."
"[Obama] studied the issue," Williams said. "Some assumed he would just go along with consumer advocates, but he voted with us on several points. He understood the issue. He wasn't closed-minded. A lot of people [especially those corporate lobbyists] found that very refreshing." -- "Barack Obama Inc.," Harper's
Sen. Hillary Clinton voted for the cap on predatory credit card interest rates.
The American economy is collapsing, middle class families are floundering, home foreclosures are spreading, housing prices are diving, unemployment is up (did you see the disturbing report yesterday?), oil is at $100 a barrel, and what can working families do to thank Barack Obama in this crisis? Obama made good on his rhetoric to work with Republicans -- by exploiting middle class and working people. (Dayton Amendment, U.S. Senate Roll Call Vote -- Obama Nay; Clinton Yea)
eRiposte at The Left Coaster has a very comprehensive analysis of where the various current and former Senator-candidates stood on various pieces of bankruptcy reform legislation. The post covers the 2000, 2002, and 2005 Bankruptcy Bills and compares Senators Dodd, Clinton, Edwards, Obama, and Biden -- with Senators Lieberman and Feingold included as well for comparison. The focus of eRiposte's analysis is on the 2001 and 2005 Bankruptcy Bills, which had the majority of this group of senators around to vote on it.
On the 2001 Bankruptcy Bill, eRiposte says this:
Sen. Dodd (and Sen. Feingold) had the best voting record on this version of the Bill. They voted the progressive position on almost every amendment, but more importantly, also voted against cloture (which has the effect of supporting a filibuster) and voted against the Bill at the end.
On the 2005 Bankruptcy Bill, eRiposte finds a similarly strong performance for Dodd ahead of the field:
Senator Dodd again had the best, and an essentially perfect, voting record on this Bill. He voted in favor of numerous progressive amendments, voted against invoking cloture and voted against the final Bill.
In conclusion, eRiposte finds Dodd to be the measuring stick for all other Democratic candidates when it comes to bankruptcy reform:
In this post, I compared the voting records of key Democratic Presidential candidates on the topic of the Bankruptcy Bill. I reviewed the final vote on the Bankruptcy Bill of 2000, and the final vote and amendments/motions associated with the 2001 and 2005 Bankruptcy bills. The main findings are as follows:
1. Senator Chris Dodd has the best, and a near-perfect, voting record on Bankruptcy legislation. He has been consistently and strongly progressive on the topic of Bankruptcy "reform" at least since 2000. [Emphasis in the original in all quoted passages]
Dodd's record is clear and it's also worth noting that earlier this month he committed to reversing the worst parts of the bankruptcy bill. He will be introducing a more comprehensive plan in the coming weeks.
Foreclosures in New Hampshire are up. Way up. From the UL:
Hundreds of New Hampshire homeowners are losing their homes to foreclosure, victims of a nationwide crisis within the "subprime" mortgage industry.
And experts say it's going to get worse before it gets better.
Of course, it's already pretty bad:
According to Real Data Corp., which publishes The Registry Review, there were 140 foreclosures recorded in New Hampshire in March alone, more than double the 67 recorded the previous March.
It's a disturbing trend. There were 157 foreclosures in January of this year (compared to 79 the previous January), and 130 in February (up from 41), according to Real Data Corp.
But for me, here's the damning line (and kudos to the UL for letting the expert state it simply and clearly):
