• About
  • The Poetry of Protest

Show Me Progress

~ covering government and politics in Missouri – since 2007

Show Me Progress

Tag Archives: Ann Wagner

“Republicans in disarray”

04 Monday Jan 2021

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2nd Congressional District, Ann Wagner, electoral college, missouri, right wingnut

Today, from Rep. Anne Wagner (r):

WAGNER STATEMENT ON THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE CERTIFICATION VOTE
Jan 4, 2021
Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Ann Wagner (MO-02) released the following statement on the Electoral College Certification vote:

“On January 3, 2021, I took a solemn oath before God and Country to, ‘support and defend the Constitution of the United States.’ I have faith in our nation’s legal process, believe in the rule of law, and will always uphold that oath to support and defend the Constitution.

“Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment are clear. The power to elect the President of the United States lies with the States and the People, not Congress. Specifically each State ‘shall appoint, in such Manner as the (State) Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors’ and ‘the person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President.’ It is time for Congress to count the electoral votes from each State and fulfill our Constitutional duty.

“I cannot and will not unconstitutionally insert Congress into the Presidential election in this manner. This would amount to stealing power from the People and the States. It would, in effect, replace the Electoral College with Congress, and strengthen the efforts of those who are determined to eliminate it or render it irrelevant.

“At this point, all States have certified their election results and electors and alleged irregularities have been taken to State and Federal court over five dozen times and rejected, even by judges appointed by President Trump.

“I even signed on to an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States asking the Justices to examine the election changes made by several States and determine if they went beyond the scope of the Constitution’s State legislative requirements. The Supreme Court made a ruling and rejected the merits of our filing in an exceptionally expeditious manner.

“Although some States needlessly injected controversy into this year’s election by making last minute ballot changes and casting doubt over the management and integrity of their election process, that controversy must be decided either by the States themselves, or the Supreme Court. Both avenues have been tried, the legal process followed, and with that comes a finality that Congress and our nation must respect.

“While I may not like the outcome of the election, that does not mean I can, nor should I, try to usurp the powers of the individual States of our republic. To allow Congress to alter the decided outcome of the election would irreparably damage our system of government and defy the Constitution. It is for these reasons I will not support any objection to the certification of electoral college results.”

Apparently sedition is too much for some republican members of Congress.

Then again, right wingnuts on Twitter are another matter:

These irregularities have never been heard in our corrupt courts. They have merit but no standing means you have a case but we won’t hear it.

So it’s ok to tamper with voting? There needs to be someone to look out for us and if it’s not our elected representatives, who will?

Thank you for doing…your job?

RINOs like this only want to appease and fly under the radar. They think striking back at their party wins them favor with the so called moderate. It doesn’t. And she’s foolish.

good luck in your primary

Pass the popcorn.

Pass the popcorn.

Straddling the sedition fence.

I just read your statement on this Election Fraud.
Missourians hear you are OKAY with this Fraud.
The constituents who elected you, do not think this is OKAY & you need to follow @HawleyMO, do your Constitutional duty, & denounce this certification.
There is evidence of FRAUD.

You are a coward. This election was fraudulent and it’s your job to protect the process from fraud. This isn’t about inserting Congress into the process. This is about protecting the vote from fraud.

Buh-bye Ann!! You and many other weak politicians won’t EVER get my vote again!! The day calls for bravery and you clearly have none!!

You are aware the Constitution provides for this right? It’s called “checks and balances”. I hope you get primaried

Well, if you live in the district, go ahead, knock yourself out.

You’re on the wrong side of this fight.

Supporting the fraud makes you complicit and a traitor to those of us who elected you.

No, seriously, tell us how you really feel.

so fraud is ok with you ?

I read your statement. If you do not stand up against election fraud you are condemning the constitution not following it. Do you damn job and stop being a coward. You will be dealt with in the primaries if you shirk your constitutional duties you swore to uphold.

Sounds a mite bit touchy there.

You are a failure as a representative of the People. With so much event fraud and massive irregularities, you turn a blind eye the very system of law and the Constitution you allegedly support. You would allow the criminals of the Democratic Party steal what is rightfully ours.

Shame on you…you will be out of office soon…

Glad didn’t vote for you last time around. Coward.

Very disappointed in your stance. I live in Wildwood Mo and will actively help the republicans to primary you. You have done nothing the entire time you’ve been in public office. You could have when the country needed you.

Support the Constitution or get out. Who’s paying you? Who owns you? You are there to uphold the Constitution on behalf of others. Share your bribe, b!tch.

Baskets of deplorables.

Weak sauce Ann. I’ve supported you but felt you weren’t strong. I will no longer support you. If you cannot see with your own eyes the degree of election manipulation, that tells me you’re looking out for someone other than the people and our Republic. Very disappointed in you.

Bye bye. Enjoy your last term.

Hey rep Ann you know what irreparably damages our government? A stolen election. You are on the wrong side of history. Your time in congress will be short

[says the account with a troll avatar]

Shame on you. Enjoy your time in Congress because you will never get elected again. #WeWillNEVERForget

How is it possible for someone to be this stupid? I’m gobsmacked at your horrific stupidity. Objecting would cause irreparable damage? Are you f*cking joking?! And accepting criminal election fraud won’t?! You are yet ANOTHER obscenely corrupt 3rd world banana republic politician

Supporting and verifying criminal election fraud CAUSES IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO OUR COUNTRY. TO DEMOCRACY. TO OUR CONSTITUTION. TO OUR LAWS. Fighting against it is vital to protecting our country. How in the holy hell are you this f*cking stupid?

I can only conclude either you are horrifyingly stupid or you are owned. How much did Dominion pay you? How much did China pay you? I simply cannot believe someone can be so horrendously stupid as to think accepting criminal election fraud is good for the country

Your career is over.

How very disappointing to read this.
With this statement (and after just voting for you again, and many times before), there will be no “next time”. You’ve given up, and gave in. How can I stand for you, if you will not stand for our Constitution, and fair elections? I cannot.

NOT GOOD. The People will remember what a coward you are.

You are a psychological experiment at this point. I’m sincerely concerned for your mental health. One question – do you believe accepting criminal election fraud will sh*t rainbows and unicorns on this country?

Is that performance art?

Your complete trash. Most Missourians were so proud of Josh Hawley. We know who the real traitors are to our republic! You Anne, are one of them. You need to resign or go to prison.

Really, pass the popcorn.

The constitution allows exactly what will on the 6th. The people in this country know their votes were stolen. No court allowed the presentation of evidence. It will happen on the 6th. Those who do not represent the Trump voters are traitors and their political careers are over.

It’s a sad state of affairs when overwhelming evidence of electoral fraud is ignored by the very people we entrust to defend it. Seven states have submitted disputed electoral votes, because of this overwhelming evidence. You choose to kick the can down the road? ByeBye GOP.

I think you will be looking for a new job in 2 years, MS Wagner. I am not from Missouri; I think Josh Hawley has a great abundance of courage and doesn’t back down from what is right. You have watched President Trump badgered for the last 4 years and you don’t have the nerve.

Not from Missouri, eh?

You don’t even care what your voters think. Your a republican and most republicans believe there is Fraud. You are a FRAUD and will lose . You will go down in history as a LOSER/ your not alone on the soon to be island of forgotten traitors.

That’s right next door the Island of Never Learned Grammar.

Your analysis of the constitution and facts about the election are completely wrong. You have gone on record with your mistake and will not listen to further reason or evidence in chambers. Only one conclusion is left, you will be VOTED-OUT!

57% of Missouri voted for Trump!

There’s no accounting for taste.

Another RINO that chooses to not only accept a fraudulent election in those 6 states, but also doesn’t advocate for an audit commission to investigate the fraud that occurred in the Presidential election.

You will be primaried in 2022, Ms. Wagner.

I’m a Missourian and can’t wait to help end your career

Primary 2020

Uh, too late?

Did you read and listened to all of the evidence? There was MASSIVE FRAUD!!!!!!!!!

Where?

“Faux News channel, fascist groupies” – protest sign, circa 2003- 2004.

You can kiss your political career goodbye

It is also your duty to protect our votes. So even in the face of blatant voter fraud you are going to stand down. Then there is no reason to vote for you again if you believe it’s ok to let it be stolen away.

You may not like your when your term is done. Your term is complete it’s time for you to go. You going against what We The People want. This election was stolen

You’re traitor !!

Your political career is over soon.

You suck! Remember, your political career lies in OUR hands and without helping President Trump, you’ll be gone in a heartbeat.

Primary this swamp coward.

You helped build this, Ann.

Previously:

Fascist is as Fascist does (January 1, 2021)

Amicus this

11 Friday Dec 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in Missouri General Assembly

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Ann Wagner, Billy Long, Blaine Leutkemeyer, Donald Trump, election, Georgia, Jason Smith, Joe Biden, Josh Hawley, Michigan, missouri, Pennsylvania, Sam Graves, standing, Texas, U.S. Supreme Court, Vicky Hartzler, Wisconsin

Buh, bye. Loser.

Bad combover. Check. Too long red tie. Check. Orange spray tan. Check. Tiny hands. Check. Cluelessness. Check…

This evening, an order at the United States Supreme Court in the election case Texas filed against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The court denied the complaint for a lack of standing and “All other pending motions are dismissed as moot”:

7-2. Alito and Thomas. Go figure.

So much for pandering right wingnut “constitutional scholars”.

Vicky Hartzler (r) [2016 file photo].

Josh Hawley (r) [2016 file photo].

Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer (r) [2014 file photo].

Representative Billy Long (r) [2016 file photo].

Shit didn’t stick. Ignorant Fascist hacks.

Previously:

Uh, the job description says Missouri (December 9, 2020)

A party in disarray (December 10, 2020)

Right wingnuts throw shit against the wall to see if it sticks (December 10, 2020)

Right wingnuts throw shit against the wall to see if it sticks – Washington, D.C. edition (December 10, 2020)

Jill Schupp (D) in the 2nd Congressional District

26 Monday Oct 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2nd Congressional District, ad, Ann Wagner, Jill Schupp, missouri

Yep.

Jill Schupp (D) – a candidate in the 2nd Congressional District

03 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2nd Congressional District, Ann Wagner, Jill Schupp, missouri

Senator Jill Schupp (D) [2016 file photo].

State Senator Jill Schupp (D) announced today that she will be a candidate in the 2nd Congressional District – the seat currently held by Ann Wagner (r):

Jill Schupp @JillSchupp
People are tired of name-calling in DC. Since my school board days, people have elected me b/c they trust me to work on their behalf & find common ground to get things done.

I’m running for Congress in #MO02 to restore civility & trust in gov’t. Join us
[….]
5:20 PM · Dec 3, 2019

If anyone can, it’ll be Jill Schupp (D).

Previously:

Sen. Jill Schupp (D): What’s up? (November 26, 2019)

Sen. Jill Schupp (D): What’s up?

26 Tuesday Nov 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in campaign finance

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

24th Senate District, 2nd Congressional District, Ann Wagner, campaign finance, Jill Schupp, missouri, Missouri Ethics Commission

Senator Jill Schupp (D) [2016 file photo].

The past few days at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C000960 11/07/2019 Missouri Democratic State Committee Schupp for Senate 418 North Mosley Rd Creve Coeur MO 63141 11/5/2019 $10,000.00

C161387 11/23/2019 MAJORITY FORWARD Schupp for Senate 418 N. Mosley Rd. Creve Coeur MO 63141 11/23/2019 $30,000.00

C000960 11/25/2019 Missouri Democratic State Committee Schupp for Senate 418 North Mosley Rd Creve Coeur MO 63141 11/23/2019 $25,000.00

C171047 11/26/2019 House Victory Committee Schupp for Senate 418 Mosley Rd Creve Coeur MO 63141 11/24/2019 $15,000.00

[emphasis added]

And, from October:

Missouri Ethics Commission
REPORT SUMMARY

Committee To Elect Jill Schupp 10/14/2019

27. Money On Hand at the close of this reporting period $259,517.66

[emphasis added]

That’s quite a spend down, eh, Ann?

Who pulls Ann Wagner’s strings?

30 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by willykay in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Ann Wagner, campaign finance, corruption, Leadership Pacs

Who pulls Rep. Ann Wagner’s strings? Not the voters in Missouri’s 2nd district for sure, who have been complaining for some time that she’s missing in action. She’s held no town hall meetings with constituents apart from some hilariously stage-managed “telephone” events – characterized by pre-selected participants and questions – and appearances before employees at friendly business venues that often offer no chance for questions. In fact, she’s so allergic to demands for direct accountability that, according the St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Todd Robberson, she has “repeatedly” refused to meet with the paper’s editorial staff in order to secure its endorsement.

Rep. Wagner does frequently send out an email “newsletter’ filled with treacly PR, news about her photo-ops and questionable claims that conform to GOP talking points. Claims, for instance, that the GOP tax cut for the rich has actually benefited working-class Missourians, which she put forward in her email newsletter of Sept. 3, are debatable – although we’re not likely to get the chance to debate them with the congresswoman herself.

So if Rep. Wagner is more interested in constructing a smoke screen than in finding out how her constituents really think about what she is doing in Washington, they can’t be blamed for wondering for whom she’s actually working when she’s in D.C. And it’s not too hard to figure out.

We all know about her huge campaign war-chest, currently ca. $3 million, made up of cash donated by “private donors hoping to influence or advance the people who do the public’s business.” And the cash rewards are not limited to “getting the message out.” The Post-Dispatch reported recently that “members of Congress use ‘leadership PACs’ – separate campaign fundraising entities from their regular political committees – to buy everything from rounds of golf to trips to posh resorts to tickets to Broadway shows.” These so-called “life-style enhancements” are on the pricey side, as indicated by some of the particulars pertaining to Wagner:

Wagner’s “leadership PAC, Ann PAC, spent $21,831 from 2015 through 2017 for event expenses, lodging, catering, and travel at various locations in Las Vegas, including the Venetian/Palazzo Hotel and expenses from Tao Restaurant Vegas, an ‘unparalleled Asian-inspired restaurant’ that is the sister to the ‘trendsetting’ Tao in New York. The payments to the Venetian/Palazzo in 2015 correspond with the Republican Jewish Coalition Spring Leadership Meeting.” Spokespersons for Wagner did not respond to a request for comment.

Who pulls Rep. Wagner’s strings? Tell me who is it who keeps Wagner in D.C. and shows her a good time while she’s there and I’ll show you who has her ear.

Where’s Roy, Annie, Vicky and the rest of Missouri’s Washington GOP gang?

16 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by willykay in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Ann Wagner, Donald Trump, Roy Bunt, Treason, Trump-Putin press conference, Vladimir Putin

Today Donald Trump kissed up to Putin and sold out the United States. His performance was so horrifying that a former CIA director, John Brennan, characterized it as exceeding “the threshold of high crimes & misdemeanors. It was nothing short of treasonous.” Former National Intelligence Director James Clapper added that, “on the world’s stage, in front of the entire globe, the President of the United States essentially capitulated and seems intimidated by Vladimir Putin. So it was amazing and very, very disturbing.”

All of which tends to confirm what we’ve all known all along: our president owes Putin big-time and is running scared as the extent of the debt is close to being exposed by the special prosecutor.

Even a few Republicans were outraged by the Trump’s craven performance (see here and here). But not all. Not even very many.  As Paul Waldman noted in The Washington Post:

When it comes to Republicans, we’re faced with two related issues. First, there are members of their party who actively benefited from Russian manipulation of our election, and even sought out help that turned out to come from Russia, whether they fully understood it at the time. Second, much of the rest of their party is now arguing that it’s really no big deal if the Russians manipulate American elections, so long as the GOP is the one that benefits. […]

We all know how eager the Trump campaign was to work with the Russian government when the campaign believed the Russians had dirt on Clinton to share. But just as we’ve seen so many times before, Trump’s naked corruption is merely a more unapologetic version of what’s happening within the Republican Party. So the question now is: Is this still going on? Are any Republican candidates currently receiving information obtained through Russian hacking about their opponents?

Which leads me to ask: what does GOP Senator Roy Blunt have to say about how Donald Trump is putting the security of our country at risk? Or my 2nd district GOP representative, Ann Wagner? So far nothing but crickets. And that goes for the rest of the Missouri delegation.

But it’s early times yet – just a few hours after the press conference after all. I’ll be watching to see how our GOP delegation responds after they’ve  had a chance to test the direction of the wind in order to decide where their convictions lay.  Who knows, just because they didn’t condemn daddy right away doesn’t mean they won’t manage to summon up some mild distress as long as it doesn’t look like it’ll get the red-meat pitchfork brigade too fired up.

I’ll be getting back to you when/if I learn who has an incipient backbone and who doesn’t. It’s important. We’ve got vitally important midterms coming up – and Trump’s public stance, in terms of what he says and his policies amounts to a giant “so what?”. All of which leads one to really worry about what deals may have been made – or further elaborated – in the two hours when the dictator and the wannabe dictator conferred unattended.

Ann Wagner wants to let auto lenders discriminate against African-Americans

15 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by willykay in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Ann Wagner, Auto-lenders, CFPB, Consumer Financia Protection Bureau, Dodd-Framk, GOP racism, S.J. Res. 57

Got my latest email newsletter from my intrepid Washington Representative, Ann Wagner (R-2). It contained this rather extraordinary paragraph:

The Senate and House took action to roll back the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s backdoor regulating of the motor vehicle industry. In 2013, the CFPB relied on “junk science” when issuing their guidance on indirect auto lending. The Dodd-Frank Act explicitly states the Bureau has no jurisdiction supervising this industry, yet time and time again we see it is an agency willing to issue regulation by enforcement. Since 2013, the CFPB has issued over $200 million in out-of-court settlements to auto lenders based on guidance that was flawed from the start, ultimately harming the very consumers they intended to protect. Through S.J. Res. 57, Congress will bring accountability back to the CFPB and ensure this blatant over-regulation never happens again.

Bet using the phrase “junk science” gave Wagner a real thrill since she continually cites real junk science to justify her effort to deny women their right to abortion. Republicans in general like nothing better than fracturing logic in order to try to turn progressive rhetoric to their own use.

But the style of GOP duplicity in Wagner’s effort to mislead her constituents has to take backseat to its substance. What she’s referring to, the “problem” addressed by S.J. Res. 57, is an effort to address discriminatory auto lending practices via guidelines for indirect lenders rather than auto-dealers who were exempted from consumer protection oversight by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) established under Dodd-Frank. Specifically, the legislation Wagner touts attempts to nullify anti-discrimination provisions meant to protect minorities:

The fight centers on guidance issued by the CFPB in 2013 that took aim at a common industry practice in which auto dealers mark up interest rates offered by finance companies. Finance firms such as Ally, for example, set an interest rate based on objective criteria — including a borrower’s credit history and the size of the down payment. Auto dealers then are free to raise the interest rates within certain limits. The finance companies and the dealers split the extra profits.The CFPB argued that auto dealers were using that discretionary markup to charge black and Latino borrowers more than white ones, even if they had the same credit scores. Over several years, the agency fined numerous auto lenders millions of dollars for discriminating against minority borrowers.

What the “junk science” accusation in Wagner’s screed refers to is the CFPB’s use of  a study by the Center for Responsible Lending that applied statistical analysis to large data sets selected on the basis of last name and zip code. No one disputes that such analysis may not work on the individual level. In the absence of data indicating the race of borrowers,  however, far from being junk science, as Stuart Rossman, Director of Litigation at the National Consumer Law Center, puts it, “this analysis conducted on data from millions of auto finance transactions can find patterns that almost certainly reveal actual differences based on race.”

It also supplements numerous studies that have used other methodologies to show that lenders use the discretionary markup to disadvantage minority borrowers. Rossman, for instance, references more substantive data gleaned in the 1990s:

In fact, a few years ago, the National Consumer Law Center proved the same conclusion in courts of law based on data that did reveal the race of individual borrowers. In the late 1990s, we co-counseled class action lawsuits against all of the major auto finance companies challenging the use of discretionary dealer markups. In discovery, we obtained data on individual loans, and we hired an expert witness to match the loans to drivers’ license data in states that collected the drivers’ race. With millions of loans to analyze, we also could find the race of many borrowers who financed a car in a state that does not collect racial information but previously lived in a state that does. The results were overwhelming: Dealers were twice as likely to add a markup to the loans of African-Americans than to loans taken out by comparable white borrowers. Furthermore, when African-American and compatible white borrowers both were marked up, the African-American borrowers paid significantly more

That was 20 years ago you say – however a study earlier this year showed the same discriminatory lending patterns:

Discrimination in auto lending continues to be a very real problem. In early 2018, a study conducted by the National Fair Housing Alliance paired white and nonwhite testers to visit auto dealerships and shop for the same car within 24 hours of each other. The study found that, more often than not, the better qualified nonwhite applicant was offered more expensive pricing options than the less qualified white applicant. This resulted in those nonwhite borrowers paying on average $2,662 more than white borrowers over the life of the loan. Additionally, NFHA found that 75% of the time, white testers were offered more financing options than nonwhite testers. These statistics further prove the need for continued vigilant enforcement against violations of ECOA, as well as clear expectations for industry like the 2013 guidance provides.

So far no junk science, just many studies with diverse methodologies that point in the same direction. One that folks like Wagner don’t like to acknowledge straight-up. Because, hey, who wants to admit they support discrimination on the basis of race if it helps their banking cronies bottom line to deny it? Especially if the legislator in question has decided to cast her lot with the Idiot-in-Chief who’s helped her do lots of good for those in financial circles and who specializes in bringing the GOP’s racist dog whistles out of the shadows and into the light.

Getting ironical about Greitens

13 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by willykay in Uncategorized

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

Ann Wagner, Donald Trump, Doug Libla, Eic Greitens, Gary Romine, Rob Schaaf, Sex scandal

Are Republicans cynical, confused, or just outright hypocrites?

Cynical: The White House spokespeople, folks who work for Donald Trump, P****-grabber and sexual predator extraordinaire, who are claiming that they find the abuse allegations against the Missouri Governor, who is, compared to Trump, a junior-grade sexual predator, “very concerning.”

Confused: The three Missouri legislators, Republican Senators. Rob Schaaf, Doug Libla and Gary Romine, who are appealing to the same White House predator – who will never in a thousand years resign himself – to force Greitens to go gently into the looming political night. I guess our state-level pols just haven’t been paying attention. Read their letter – except for the parts that glorify Geitens’ Navy SEAL past, it could be describing the antics that have been imputed to the Orange Buffoon himself. Of course, the fool in the White House could end up doing just about anything, depending on the state of his “gut,” so maybe their gambit will pay off.

Outright hypocrite: Then, finally there’s the case of Rep. Ann Wagner (R-2). Wagner couldn’t wait to declare that when it comes to Greitens, she is “disgusted,” and asserts that he “is unfit to lead our state.” But I’m betting that a few of you remember when, in the wake of the Access Hollywood tape, she called on Trump to withdraw and labeled him “predatory and reprehensible.” Didn’t take her too long to reverse herself, though, when she realized which way the wind was blowing among the crazy reds in the Missouri GOP base. Nor is it surprising that she’s spent the last year kissing up to the Orange Buffoon who has showered her financial industry patrons with goodies. So much for her country-club rectitude.

Don’t ever doubt that our Annie will do whatever it takes when it comes to going along to get along. So we’ll wait and see if Greitens manages to hang on whether or not, in the end, all will be forgiven.

Has McCaskill chosen the wrong “bipartisan” issue?

11 Sunday Mar 2018

Posted by willykay in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Ann Wagner, Banks, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Claire McCaskill, Dodd-Frank, Fiduciary policy, Midterm election 2018

At this still, admittedly, early date, Claire McCaskill, Missouri’s Democratic Senate incumbent, is running eight points, 44-52, behind wet-behind-the-ears AG Josh Hawley, who is probably her best known challenger from among the GOP primary lineup. How can this be, you ask? McCaskill’s got the money, she’s been working hard to make sure that out-state Missourian’s know that she understands rural “Missouri values,” trekking from one town hall to another, tacking carefully and skillfully to the center in an effort to cultivate those famous moderates we keep hearing about – although we rarely seem to see them nowadays.

But recent events leave me wondering if McCaskill’s might have honed in on the wrong issue in order to prove her non-partisan bona fides. I’m referring to her support for a Republican bill that would once again deregulate banks. As Garry Rivlin and Susan Antilla of The Intercept describe it:

… the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, […] represents the greatest threat to the Dodd-Frank financial reform law since its passage in 2010. The bill would relieve all but the country’s largest dozen banks of increased scrutiny and ease mortgage rules imposed after the financial crisis. It would undermine fair lending rules designed to counteract race discrimination and weaken the Volcker rule, which limits a bank’s ability to make speculative trades with federally insured deposits. …

In spite of the fact that bank earnings have continuously surged since 2010, proponents speciously insist that, due to the act, banks “are suffering and so, by extension, are consumers, businesses, and the economy at large.” Part and parcel of the GOP belief, reinforced by the Liar-in-Chief in the White House, that if you say it, it will be so, reality be dammed.

Many of the red-state Democrats who support the bill, like McCaskill, purport to buy into the argument that Dodd-Frank needs to be revised to help suffering community banks that the law has, they assert, disadvantaged. However, as Rivlin and Antilla report, “A 2017 FDIC report shows that deposits in community banks have grown in each of the past six years. Another report showed that 96 percent of the country’s 5,294 community banks were profitable, as of the third quarter of 2017.” If you’re interested in learning more about the problems with this legislation, including the effect on community banks, noted economist Jared Bernstein spells some of them out here in greater – but not too lengthy or ponderous -detail.

The issue for McCaskill, though, could go beyond pandering through bad policy, and might actually cost her politically. Consider, for example, the speculation that banking champion GOP Rep. Ann Wagner may be vulnerable this time around. It’s true that there are several reasons other than her dedication to fighting for the banks that so generously fund her that might leave her in a little shakier position than in the past. Her district has changed somewhat, she plays shy with her constituents in an effort to avoid controversy – and dim any potential sunlight on her priorities. There is, of course, also some indication that the hard-core Trumpies may not totally buy her Trump-MAGA conversion and are likely put off by her coy country club Republican aura.

But it’s equally true that there’s somewhat louder discussion than in past years about Wagner’s single-minded efforts to gut the financial rules, the fiduciary rule that protected investors from dishonest financial advisors in particular. People aren’t always as stupid as politicians think they are, particularly when it involves financial survival issues. And don’t forget, lots of Trump’s so-called populist voters were motivated by anger at Wall-street and the big banks – and there are those among them who are feeling a bit disillusioned right now.

McCaskill should take care – linking herself with folks like Ann Wagner and Blaine Luetkemeyer, big-time Missouri shills for the banking industry, might just prove to be the proverbial millstone that could harm more than it helps with contrary voters. Oh, and there’s always the damage the actual policy may do to all of us. Don’t any of these Democratic fools playing the bipartisan game remember 2008?

ADDENDUM: Kevin Drum points out that the Dodd-Frank roll-back will also gut provisions that prevent racial redlining, voicing his – and my dismay – that any Democrats – are you listening Senator McCaskill – are supporting this piece of drek.

← Older posts

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007

Categories

  • campaign finance
  • Claire McCaskill
  • Democratic Party News
  • Healthcare
  • Hillary Clinton
  • Interview
  • Josh Hawley
  • media criticism
  • meta
  • Missouri General Assembly
  • Missouri Governor
  • Missouri House
  • Missouri Senate
  • Resist
  • Roy Blunt
  • social media
  • Standing Rock
  • Town Hall
  • Uncategorized
  • US Senate

Meta

  • Log in

Blogroll

  • Balloon Juice
  • Crooks and Liars
  • Digby
  • I Spy With My Little Eye
  • Lawyers, Guns, and Money
  • No More Mister Nice Blog
  • The Great Orange Satan
  • Washington Monthly
  • Yael Abouhalkah

Donate to Show Me Progress via PayPal

Your modest support helps keep the lights on. Click on the button:

Blog Stats

  • 392,434 hits

Powered by WordPress.com.