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Opinion: How Senate Republicans are seeking credit for financial reform

By Gaveliers, The Gavel Media Team, on April 29, 2010 12:20 AM

Dylan Roberts -

Why is there a different standard of debate for financial regulatory reform?

One of the most frequent criticisms from Congressional Republicans during the tumultuous health care reform debate of the past year was that President Barack Obama and the Democrats were engaged in “backroom deals.” They harkened back to a campaign promise of then-Sen. Obama stating that all health care negotiations would occur in front of C-Span cameras. Republicans did have a point. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid and several senators engaged in sheltered dealings, i.e. the “Cornhusker Kickback” and the “Louisiana Purchase.” Yet, Obama did hold a health care summit that was widely televised and involved all relevant parties.

So why, now, are Republicans blocking the negotiations of a financial regulatory reform bill from even coming to the floor of the US Senate, the so-called greatest deliberative body in the world? There is no policy argument that can be made for their actions of recent days; their refusal to allow debate to continue is unadulterated political gamesmanship.

Such action by Senate Republicans is not surprising. However, their motives may be different than those of previous debates during the Obama administration. Debate concerning most pieces of serious legislation during Obama’s first year, Republicans, for the most part, actually did want to kill or significantly alter the legislation. Whether it was the stimulus bill, the budget, or health care, Republicans opposed the measures based on definable policy and beliefs.

The same cannot be said about financial regulatory reform. Reforms are necessary to prevent another collapse similar to the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009, and Republicans know that. It is also tremendously politically perilous to be seen as blocking these reforms. So why is Mitch McConnell and his unified caucus of forty-one doing so?

This strategy has not been reported as true and is merely hypothetical. It does, however, make perfect sense leading into the 2010 elections in November: Congressional Republicans are positioning themselves to claim credit for financial regulatory reform when it passes. Not in the way that many GOP congressmen did with stimulus projects that they voted against but took credit for months later in their districts but they are actually posturing so they are able to claim that financial regulatory reform, something a large majority of Americans want, was their success.

The reasoning may seem backwards, but it is politically ‘clever.’ On Monday, the Senate voted 57 to 41 in favor of opening debate Sen. Chris Dodd’s reform bill – not to pass it or amend it, just to begin debate. However, due to the filibuster, 60 votes were needed so the motion failed. This relegates the bill back to the evil backrooms that Republicans criticized during health care. The bill cannot be debated in the Senate chamber until sixty votes in favor.

So how is this a win for Republicans who actually do have an interest in making this bill better – typically done through debate on the Senate floor through amendments – and expect to pass? First, they know it is going to pass once it does reach the floor. No moderate GOP senator will dare vote for Wall Street and against Main Street.

Therefore, Republicans are going to get their way on altering the bill before it goes to the floor. This will necessitate some changes that Republicans want like weakening the consumer protection panel or placing fewer restrictions on derivatives trading. Once Republicans force these concessions from Democrats, they will let debate begin on the bill. Suddenly - ta-da – the bill is now approved by Republicans!

This gives many GOP senators like Scott Brown, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, and potentially a considerable amount of others the green light to vote for passage. Essentially, it becomes the Republican’s bill, one that was constructed to meet their standards and brought to the floor by Republicans.

By blocking debate from beginning on a bill that everyone knows will eventually pass, the Republicans have wrestled control from the Democrats and have positioned themselves to champion financial regulatory. It does not even matter if they get the policy concessions they want during the backroom deals, Republicans now control when the bill passes. The headlines can be envisioned now: “Financial reform passes after GOP is allowed to make changes” or “GOP allows passage of Wall Street reform” but it will be no result of Republican policy but political maneuvering.

It is possible that this strategy is at the heart of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s motivation moving his caucus in lockstep until they get their say in the backrooms. As clever and politically beneficial as it may be for Republicans, it is hurtful to the American people. GOP senators are using arcane Senate procedure to block debate, make backroom deals, and come out as the saviors of Wall Street reform once they let it go to the chamber. Its great political strategy no matter how hypocritical it actually is. When this bill passes with 65 or 75, or even 85 votes, Republicans do not deserve the credit.