Shame On Us, Indeed

Ten years ago we failed to listen to Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota on Gramm-Leach-Bliley, and then promptly set up the financial situation that led directly to our current deep recession.

Now retiring, Dorgan leaves us with a final warning that the current financial regulatory fix bill will not solve any of our problems.


Dorgan, without an election to worry about, is free to make his views known.  And unless the regulations on the bill are tightened significantly, he will now filibuster the bill.

In the Senate Democratic Caucus meeting today, Dorgan and other progressive senators pressed the leadership to allow their amendments to strengthen the bill to come to a vote. According to Dorgan, the leadership relented and said his amendment would be one of the ones to come to a vote.

But tonight, as Brian Beutler reports, when the list of amendments to be voted on was released, Dorgan's was not among them. A frustrated Dorgan approached Dodd and Majority Leader Harry Reid on the floor this evening and told them he would filibuster financial reform if his amendment doesn't get a vote. "I understand everybody thinks their amendment's important, but the question of the unbelievable speculation in credit default swaps that have no insurable interest -- if we can't vote on something like that, given what we've seen in recent years, then it's not really financial reform," Dorgan told us.

In truth, most of the progressives' amendments stand little chance of passing. But they're staking their claim on at least getting a vote on them. Now Dorgan has upped the ante with a filibuster threat.

Good for him.  I hope he sticks with it.  Give his amendment a vote, guys.  Make this happen.