Democrats Pass Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act-- While Every Single Republican Joins In Boehner's Efforts To Kill It With Parliamentarty Tricks

Republicans Want You To Grab For The Cheese

Even in the middle of what is turning out to be the worst financial crisis since anyone younger than John McCain was born, Republicans are still hell-bent on screwing over working families and serving their corporate masters. Yesterday the House overwhelmingly passed H R 5244, the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008, 312 to 112. Only one reactionary Democrat, a Blue Dog of course, Herseth Sandlin, voted with the Republican leadership. Meanwhile 84 Republicans fled in the other direction, joining the Democrats to pass a bill meant to protect consumers from predatory credit card companies.

If, by some miracle, McConnell and McCain can be overcome when they seek to use the filibuster to kill the bill in the Senate, and if, by another miracle, Bush signs it, the new legislation will protect consumers from unsuspecting interest rate hikes on credit cards. The opposition was led on behalf of the banks and credit card crooks by their pet hack, David Dreier (R-CA). Dreier has taken massive legalized bribes disguised as "contributions" -- $385,850 from commercial banks, $115,733 from Savings and Loans, $135,543 from assorted crooked lobbyists and another $156,299 from other financial corporations. The bill was proposed by House Financial Services Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY). The bill calls for major new regulations on credit card issuers that the banking lobby, with Dreier's help, has been beating back for years. Under the new law banks will have 45 days to notify consumers of any interest rate hikes and would ban "universal default," a practice in which a consumer's interest rate on one card increases if he or she misses a payment on another card or the credit score drops. It also ends "double-cycle billing," in which consumers are charged interest for the entire amount charged during the billing cycle unless the bill was paid in full.

Without shame, even in the current economic situation, Republicans are howling on behalf of their corporate paymasters. Far right extremist and one of the pillars of the GOP's Greed and Selfishness wing, John Campbell (R-CA) who is a member of the Financial Services Committee, insisted that the credit crisis means the bill is "the opposite of what we need right now."

The House Republican leadership, well aware that many of it's members are facing defeat in November for serving corporate interests instead of their constituents' interests, decided to attempt to kill the bill with a parliamentary maneuver, a motion to recommit, which is easier for sleazy Republicans (and Blue Dogs) to vote for than a bill that could easily make it into a 30 second TV ad and be devastating. Although the bill itself passed 312-112, with 84 Republicans joined the Democrats, the attempt to kill the bill was much closer, 219-198, with not a single Republican voting against the maneuver. Nine nominal Democrats from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party-- regular suspects like Nick Lampson (D-TX), Heath Shuler (D-NC), Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), and Trent Childers (D-MS)-- joined with their ideological brothers to try to kill the bill.

Among the dishonest Republicans who voted to kill the bill and then, choking in fear of their November meeting with voters, actually went against their own anti-families instincts and against their bribers' wishers to vote with the Democrats were

Mary Bono Mack (R-CA)
Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
John Culberson (R-TX)
Charlie Dent (R-PA)
the notorious Diaz-Balart Brothers (R-FL)
Thelma Drake (D-VA)
Randy Forbes (R-VA)
Jim Gerlach (R-PA)
Virgil Goode (R-VA)
Sam Graves (R-MO)
Robin Hayes (R-NC)
Ric Keller (R-FL)
Joe Knollenberg (R-MI)
Michael McCaul (R-TX)
Dave Reichert (R-WA)
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
Chris Shays (R-CT)
Mike Turner (R-OH)
Fred Upton (R-MI)
Frank Wolf (R-VA)
Don Young (R-AK)

That list is basically the 22 Republicans most likely to lose in November and willing to sell out their own beliefs in fear. Below are another 13 Republicans in serious jeopardy of losing their seats but who are more afraid of their bankster campaign donors than of the voters.

Brian Bilbray (R-CA)
Steve Chabot (R-OH)
David Dreier (R-CA)
Scott Garrett (R-NJ)
Jon Kline (R-MN)
Randy Kuhl (R-NY)
Patrick McHenry (R-NC)
Steve Pearce (R-NM)
Mike Pence (R-IN)
Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)
Mean Jean Schmidt (R-OH)
John Shadegg (R-AZ)
Tim Walberg (R-MI)

Watch Carolyn Maloney, the principal sponsor of the bill, explaining what it's all about on the floor of the House yesterday: