Trump Wants To Break Up The Big Banks? Republicans In Congress Are Laughing

click on the image to understand who really wants to protect us from Wall Street

Yesterday, one of the Trump campaign murky higher-ups, Paul Manafort, claimed that the Republican platform will advocate bringing back Glass-Steagall, which will, he said, "create barriers between what the big banks can do and try and avoid some of the crisis that led to 2008." Although corrupt corporate Democrats-- primarily Bill Clinton and the New Dems-- have been complicit in repealing Glass-Steagall and preventing it from being re-introduced, killing it has always been and remains much more a Republican priority, a scheme first put forward by reactionary Texas Senator Phil Gramm (currently Washington's sleaziest and most corrupt bank lobbyist). Trump is going up against another Republican policy long supported by the party leadership including both Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan.

Trying to sound like a Berniecrat, Manafort told the media that the Trumpists "believe that the Obama-Clinton years have passed legislation that has been favorable to big banks, which is why you see all of the Wall Street money going to her. They know she’s their champion, and they’re supporting her fully. We are supporting small banks and Main Street."

I suspect most voters couldn't tell you what "Glass-Steagall" means but reinstating it has been one of the principles on which Bernie's campaign was based and on which the Elizabeth Warren wing of the Democratic Party is based. The law was repealed with a big bipartisan majority of Wall Street whores in 1999 to help pave the way for the formation of Citigroup Inc. by the $46 billion merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group. It tore down the wall that separated investment and consumer banking functions. In 1999 when progressives began demanding it be reinstated, even Steny Hoyer realized a colossal error has been made. The corrupt Maryland conservative told his colleagues that "as someone who voted to repeal Glass-Steagall, maybe that was a mistake." Among those voting against repeal back in 1999 were unwavering progressives in the House like Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), John Conyers (D-MI), John Lewis (D-GA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Maxine Waters (D-CA). Among today's luminaries who backed repeal are John Kasich (R-OH), Paul Ryan (R-WI), Fred Upton (R-MI), as well as then-House members whose Senate careers have been largely financed by Wall Street:

• Rob Portman (R-OH)- $8,499,386
• Robert Menendez (D-NJ)- $7,292,595
• Pat Toomey (R-PA)- $7,248,042
• Roy Blunt (R-MO)- $6,561,751
• John Thune (R-SD)- $5,788,111
• Richard Burr (R-NC)- $5,303,890
• Lindsey Graham (R-SC)- $5,101,404
• Susan Collins (R-ME)- $3,488,981
• Roger Wicker (R-MS)- $2,135,238

The House Financial Services Committee is chaired by corrupt Texas Wall Street puppet Jeb Hensarling. He wasn't a member of Congress in 1999 but he has been an unwavering supporter of the bankster agenda since getting elected in 2002. His overarching goal is to repeal Dodd-Frank and he is a top foe of reinstating Glass-Steagall. Wall Street has rewarded him with $7,006,460 in bribes/contributes since 2002. Aside from Hensarling the top 10 crooks on his committee in terms of bribes accepted from Wall Street are all opponents of reinstating Glass Steagall:

• Ed Royce (R-CA)- $6,435,648
• Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)- $5,284,230
• Jim Himes (New Dem-CT)- $5,179,427
• Scott Garrett (R-NJ)- $4,746,141
• Steve Stivers (R-OH)- $3,843,387
• Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)- $3,466,470
• Patrick McHenry (R-NC)- $3,443,436
• Patrick Murphy (New Dem-FL)- $3,443,436
• Gregory Meeks (New Dem-NY)- $2,928,688
• Peter King (R-NY)- $2,610,824

Thanks to Bernie and Elizabeth Warren, New Dem objections-- from Wall Street suck ups like Jim Himes (CT) and Ron Kind (WI)-- were overridden and Clinton finally agreed to a newer and even broader version of Glass-Steagall and her adoption of that is reflected in the Democratic Party platform. Interestingly, McConnell, Ryan, Hensarling and the rest of Wall Street's top congressional allies are all backing Trump and have figured out that it doesn't matter what he says because nothing he's ever said publicly was reflected in what he's then done; he'll say anything at all to accomplish his ends. None of them think Trump really wants to or intends to try to break up the big banks, which is exactly what Glass-Steagall would do. One Republican congressional staffer told me yesterday that no one on this side of the aisle thinks Trump even understands that simple concept and that he's just trolling for simple-minded Bernie supporters. Eric Levitz, reporting for New York, may have talked to the same guy I did:

It’s hard not to see the Trump campaign’s latest gesture to Sandersism as anything but a wholly cynical political ploy. The chances of a new Glass-Steagall passing a GOP Congress are exceptionally slim. And any legislation that broke up the big banks-- while repealing all of Dodd-Frank’s regulations-- would probably be a net win for Wall Street. Trump isn’t embracing Glass-Steagall out of ideological principle, but rather because the Democratic rank and file support it-- while Bill and Hillary Clinton do not.

Regardless, the fact that the Republican standard-bearer sees a political benefit in pretending to be to the left of Clinton on financial reform is noteworthy. In so many ways, this ain’t Mitt Romney’s party anymore.

UPDATE: Trump And The Banksters Would Do Just Fine Together

Trump is reportedly telling campaign donors that he's leaning toward appointing hedge fund criminal Steve Mnuchin, his campaign’s finance chairman, to be Treasury Secretary. For nearly 2 decades Mnuchin was a Goldman Sachs executive.