The Financial Reform Report Card was put together by my colleague at the Mobilization for OUR Economy, www.forOUReconomy.org, David DeGraw of AmpedStatus.com. The report card lists senators and whether they are voting for the people’s interests, the banksters or their party. This report card is based on three critical votes concerning breaking up the big banks, a real audit of the Federal Reserve and a compromise, narrow, one-time audit of the Fed.

ForOUReconomy.org is bringing together people who want real financial reform in protests at big banks, crony capitalist Wall Streeters and others who are putting the interests of the economic elite ahead of the people. Sign up at www.ForOUReconomy.org. We are building a movement for an economy that shrinks the wealth divide, democratizes the economy and breaks-up the financial oligarchy.

Financial Reform Report Card: Banksters 37, People 10, Partisans 53

By David DeGraw, AmpedStatus.com

The financial reform process is providing definitive proof as to what the true priorities are for each Senator. The two most important amendments thus far have been the Brown-Kaufman (Democrat) amendment to break up the big banks (Voted down 61-33), and the Vitter (Republican) amendment to audit the Federal Reserve (Voted down 62-37). The Sanders amendment to "audit" the Federal Reserve was a positive step, but a very weak measure, hence its unanimous (96-0) passing.

The results thus far reveal that 10 Senators have emerged as American heroes, voting in favor of the American people and against the banks on both measures. Here are the Senators who deserve our support:

For the People (10)

Cantwell (D-WA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Ensign (R-NV)
Feingold (D-WI)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Sanders (I-VT)
Shelby (R-AL)**
Webb (D-VA)
Wyden (D-OR)

On the other side, 37 Senators have revealed themselves as puppets of the Financial Oligarchy. These Senators are paid-off shysters who should be protested against and voted out of office!

For the Banks (37)

Akaka (D-HI)
Alexander (R-TN)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennet (D-CO)
Bond (R-MO)
Brown (R-MA)
Carper (D-DE)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corker (R-TN)
Dodd (D-CT)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagan (D-NC)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Reed (D-RI)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-CO)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (D-VA)

The final group, which is the majority, represents partisan hacks who just followed the lead of their party and voted positively only on their party’s amendment. We’re not ready to dismiss all of these Senators, some of them could end up being swing votes down the line, but for the most part, they will just blindly follow their party leadership, which is

Party First (53)

Barrasso (R-WY)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennett (R-UT) *
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY) *
Burr (R-NC)
Burris (D-IL)
Byrd (D-WV) **
Cardin (D-MD)
Casey (D-PA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC) *
Durbin (D-IL)
Enzi (R-WY)
Franken (D-MN)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kaufman (D-DE)
Leahy (D-VT)
LeMieux (R-FL)
Levin (D-MI)
Lugar (R-IN) *
McCain (R-AZ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reid (D-NV)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sessions (R-AL)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (D-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Thune (R-SD)
Udall (D-NM)
Vitter (R-LA) *
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wicker (R-MS)

* did not vote on one amendment. Senator Byrd (D-WV) missed both votes.

** UPDATE: Zach Carter wrote in with very valid points concerning Senator Shelby (R-AL). Looks like we are down to 9. Zach’s note:

“I’d put some kind of disclaimer out there for Richard Shelby. He’s a total bankster, he just knows how to vote. He’s aggressively sabotaged measures to establish a resolution authority for megabanks, tried (and to a substantial degree, succeeded) in gutting the proposed CFPA, been instrumental in undercutting the Volcker rule and the derivatives reforms. He just does all of his dirty work in private negotiations with Dodd, so the public never sees him going to bat for the banks. At the last American Bankers Association “government relations” meeting, Ed Yingling gave a big speech about how playing for time strengthened Shelby’s hand in negotiations– the clear implication was that Shelby was the ABA’s main man in the Senate.”