Whenever I hear people complain about the Democrats' soft-on-banks policies -- and they are, in general, too soft for my liking -- I always think of the alternative:In discussions with Wall Street executives, Republicans are striving to make the case that they are banks' best hope of preventing President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats from cracking down on Wall Street.GOP strategists hope to benefit from the reaction to the White House's populist rhetoric and proposals, which range from sharp critiques of bonuses to a tax on big Wall Street banks, caps on executive pay and curbs on business practices deemed too risky.
... Last week, House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio made a pitch to Democratic contributor James Dimon, the chairman and chief executive of J.P. Morgan, over drinks at a Capitol Hill restaurant, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Boehner told Mr. Dimon congressional Republicans had stood up to Mr. Obama's efforts to curb pay and impose new regulations.
This shouldn't surprise anyone familiar with Republican efforts to obstruct financial reform. What's really absurd about this whole scenario is that the Democrats can't seem to get any political points off of this, or the fact that Rep. Paul Ryan's alternate GOP budget demolishes Medicare and Social Security in an effort to balance the budget.
-- Tim Fernholz
