That Sen. Chris Dodd would sacrifice tighter regulations on big banks in the name of bipartisanship is so insane—and bad politics, to boot—that his threats on the so-called Volcker rule have Joe Klein wondering if the Connecticut Democrat “just wants a nice, cushy bank job after he retires.” Snarls Klein for Time: “There is smart bipartisanship, but this isn’t it.”
It’s good law, Klein continues, that “banks shouldn’t be allowed to play private Ponzi games … with their depositors’ money.” And “the politics is also straight-forward: Anything that lashes the Republicans to their natural allies on Wall Street is good for the Democratic Party.” Dodd says he wants a bipartisan bill to cap his legacy, but Klein sees Wall Street between those lines.
(More Volcker rule stories.)