Did Hillary Force #DebtTrapDebbie And Patrick Murphy To Stop Backing The Koch Brothers Payday Lenders Bill?

#DebtTrapDebbie Wasserman Schultz doesn't want to be called #DebtTrapDebbie any more. She may have realized it's been hurting her chances for winning reelection in her formerly impregnable South Florida redoubt. So in the last couple of days, she and the corrupt pipsqueak that started all this trouble-- Patrick Murphy, the Democratic lead sponsor of the pay day lenders bill-- withdrew their support for a bill they've both been trying to talk other Democrats into voting for. Keep in mind that so far this year, the pay day lenders have given $40,900 to Murphy's campaign-- the most for anyone running for the Senate other than Alabama Republican Richard Shelby, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over legislation about payday lenders. And this cycle, only 2 House Members have gotten more in bribes from the payday lenders than Murphy-- fellow crooked Florida Democrat, Alcee Hastings ($41,500) and Republican ex-banking lobbyist Steve Stivers ($41,000). Wassermann Schultz only took $5,1000 from the payday lenders this cycle, although they've been bribing her for years and she's gobbled up $68,100 from them since she was first elected-- and the fifth most of any Democrat in Congress.

The CFPB pay day lending reforms that have been opposed by Wasserman Schultz, Patrick Murphy and the Koch Bros would cap the highest interest rates between 28% 36%-- still very high but down from the astronomical 390% interest rates payday loans presently balloon to and which Murphy has steadfastly insisted, until he saw some polling on the issue last week-- is fair. Meanwhile, the Koch brothers have mounted a vile attack against CFPB head Rob Cordray and individual Senate Democrats in red states.

Alex Leary, the Tampa Bay Times DC Bureau Chief remarked that Wasserman Schultz's "support of a bill to delay the new regulations was a source of controversy, drawing TV ads from a liberal group that called her 'Debt Trap Debbie.' It also put her opposite President Obama, Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton and other advocates of a crackdown on the lenders. The proposed rules were published Thursday. Rep. Patrick Murphy, a candidate for U.S. Senate, also retreated from the House bill, which held up Florida regulations as a model.

Wasserman Schultz's flip-flop on the issue did't surprise Tim Canova, the progressive reformer running for the seat she occupies. "Debbie Wasserman Schultz has stood shoulder to shoulder with shady payday lenders for years, taking their money and carrying their water. Now that she's being forced to say why she stands with payday lenders instead of hardworking Floridians, suddenly, she sees the light."

Although she disregarded what President Obama and Elizabeth Warren have said about the evils of payday lenders, perhaps what finally changed Wasserman Schultz's mind was a long over-due statement from Hillary Clinton on Thursday: "Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau-- a government watchdog dedicated solely to protecting working Americans from unfair and deceptive financial practices-- is putting forward an important proposal to crack down on abusive payday lending, and I stand with them in that effort," adding that Trump "wants to strip the U.S. government's power to apply rules to payday lenders, abolish this critical consumer watchdog, and roll back the other Wall Street reforms that we put in place after the financial crisis. Working families deserve a president who will look out for them-- not payday lenders and special interests on Wall Street." That way well have been enough to send even the worst bribe-takers like Patrick Murphy and #DebtTrapDebbie scurrying for the hills. Murphy, especially, doesn't want voters reminded that his company is a partner with Trump on his shoddy Florida construction projects, almost all of which have resulted in long, tangled lawsuits. Both he and Wasserman Schultz can be defeated in the August 30 primary by helping elect Alan Grayson to the Senate and Tim Canova to the FL-23 congressional seat. Just tap the thermometer on the right.

Predatory payday lenders drain over $8.7 billion from low-income families every year. The new rule has several dangerous loopholes being pushed by payday lenders and their sleazy allies.This is a video the CFPB put out to help shed light on the whole issue of payday lenders. The video frightened Murphy and Wasserman Schultz and finally made them surrender and announce that they will stop pushing the Koch brothers' debt trap agenda. Their criminal-minded allies like Alcee Hastings and Greg Meeks are sticking with the payday lenders and the GOP though.