"In Washington, the view is that the banks are to be regulated, and my view is that Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks."Lucas,
Read the quote above again.
That's not some self-entitled Wall Street executive or the villain in a Hollywood political thriller. That's Republican Spencer Bachus, the incoming chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
The man who will be leading the congressional committee responsible for keeping the financial industry from repeating the recklessness that led to the Great Recession admits that he believes our government exists to serve Wall Street and the Big Banks.
Staggering.
While Bachus later tried to talk his way out of his ridiculous statement, you can be sure that it reflects how he really feels. And he is far from alone. In fact, he embodies the dominant mindset of the pro-corporate majority about to take power in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Spencer Bachus--who has accepted millions in campaign contributions from the financial services industry over the course of his career--believes it is his job as a key member of Congress to serve that industry.
So who serves you and the public interest?
The new Congress?
Speaker-elect John Boehner has received massive campaign contributions (plus rides on corporate jets and corporate-subsidized trips to luxury golf resorts) from giant corporations like MillerCoors, R.J. Reynolds and Citigroup. And incoming members of Congress are hiring corporate lobbyists by the dozens to provide legislative "expertise" and even to be their chiefs of staff.
The White House?
Corporate America's influence in the executive branch may be more subtle than in Congress, but it's still problematic. And just last week, President Obama sat down with the CEOs of 20 large corporations to talk about how he could help Big Business increase its profits--profits which are already on record pace even as millions of ordinary Americans have lost their jobs, their pensions, their health insurance, and their homes.
The courts?
The Supreme Court's disastrous decision to let corporations spend as much money as they want attacking politicians who oppose their agenda and promoting those who support it is the most widely known example of pro-corporate bias creeping into the judiciary. And new research shows that the court has recently been ruling the way the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants it to in a much higher percentage of cases than it used to.
Public Citizen! For four decades, Public Citizen has--with success after success--defended democracy and challenged corporate power. How? Because thousands upon thousands of people like you have stood with us, and together we are going to keep fighting the corporate domination of our democracy.
To hit the ground running when Spencer Bachus, John Boehner and their ilk return to Washington in January, we need to raise $150,000 by the end of this year.
That's why I'm urging you to rush a generous contribution of $10, $20 or $35 to Public Citizen today.
Public Citizen is only as strong as you make it. We take no corporate or government funding. We depend on the financial support that comes from the generosity of citizens like you.
And we need your help right now so that we can continue to be the vital voice you expect us to be in all three branches of our government come the new year.
Please contribute right now and help us raise the $150,000 we need to answer the bell when corporate interests come to tighten their grip on Washington in January.
Our task may seem daunting, but we've been here before. For almost 40 years, we've fought for the public interest, we've taken on corporate power and we've won. Together we will prevail again.
Thank you for standing with Public Citizen for progress and democracy.
Robert Weissman, President
P.S. Don't forget--contribute $100 or more and get a DVD as our thanks!