Senator Charles Schumer has an op-ed in today's Post, explaining the financial reform bill in the Senate. This comes just two day after Post slammed him and other Congressional Democrats in an editorial, "What's the point of having a high muckety-muck like Chuck Schumer sitting in the US Senate if he refuses to fight for New York's best interests? And that goes double for his hapless little poodle, Kirsten Gillibrand. Congress is poised to rip the heart out of New York's economy -- i.e., Wall Street -- while Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand stand by dumb as fence posts."
Schumer, once known as Wall Street's "go-to guy," thanks to his past help saving companies billions in higher taxes and fees , writes today, "I firmly believe that a more strongly and smartly regulated Wall Street will be a healthier Wall Street. As Mayor Bloomberg has rightly pointed out, the financial-services industry is one of New York's most important employers. And the reforms we are proposing will serve to strengthen that," promising, "I will support and work for smart, strong and forward-thinking legislation that will make the financial system stronger and more resilient. But I will work just as hard to prevent vindictive and merely punitive responses that will hurt New York."
A lobbyist told the Washington Post, "Schumer is a bit of an anathema because sometimes he's with us and sometimes he's against us. The reality is the banking industry is easy to demagogue but there are local interests that they need to consider." Well, it's easy to be with someone when they are giving $7.7 million in campaign contributions.
