Rep. Bean - One of "The Goldman 6"
Bill Scheurer
MoveOn sent this to me about Rep. Bean’s symbiotic relationship with the big banks that are pillaging our economy.
It’s even more interesting in light of the fact that MoveOn ran backroom calling operations in 2006 in support of Rep. Bean.
The patience of many progressives is wearing thin. Maybe people want to help us run a real campaign in 2010 this time?
From: Daniel Mintz,
MoveOn.org Political Action [mailto:moveo...@list.moveon.org]
Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 03:25 PM
To: Bill Scheurer
Subject: The Goldman 6
|
Dear MoveOn member,
Do you ever wonder who Rep. Bean listens to when staking out her positions? Well, last week, reports surfaced that she and five other Democrats traveled to New York to meet with executives from Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan and raise funds from them in October.1
This may seem like business-as-usual, but this visit was different. Because at the exact same time, these six Democrats were working to water down financial reform legislation that these banks hate. We're calling Rep. Bean and these other Democrats the "Goldman 6."
Rep. Bean has received a lot of campaign cash from the big banks—more than $1.1 million over her career.2 And she hasn't disappointed her contributors—protecting Wall Street's interests, even when that meant working against her district's.
She needs to hear that her constituents know exactly where she was, and that they won't stand for her continued defense of the Wall Street bankers who wrecked our economy.
Can you call Rep. Bean now and tell her to stop protecting Wall Street?
Representative
Melissa Bean
Phone: 202-225-3711
Then, please report your call by clicking here:
Big Wall Street banks have been strenuously opposing even minor attempts to rein in the outrageous behavior that led to the current crisis. And apparently, wrecking the global economy wasn't enough to diminish their credibility in Washington—at least not when they gave more than a half-billion dollars in campaign contributions since 2007.3
In particular, Wall Street has relied on the members of the New Democrat Coalition to carry its water in Washington. Rep. Bean led the efforts to water down the Consumer Financial Protection Agency in the bill that just passed the House.4 And she and the other Goldman 6 all voted against rules that would have better regulated the derivatives that helped imperil the financial system.5
If we're going to lay down new rules of the road for Wall Street, we have to do it while regular Americans are still outraged. But as long as representatives like Melissa Bean can take Wall Street's money and do its bidding without facing any consequences, we won't be able to make any progress.
Can you call Rep. Bean now and tell her that she needs to stop taking Wall Street's money and start looking out for regular folks in Illinois?
Representative
Melissa Bean
Phone: 202-225-3711
Then, please report your call by clicking here:
Thanks for all you do.
–Daniel, Lenore, Kat, Stephen, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "New
Dems Met With Wall St. Execs While Pushing to Weaken Financial Reform," Talking
Points Memo, January 6, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=86004&id=18566-2001891-AV7vR.x&t=6
2.
"Melissa Bean: Campaign Finance/Money," OpenSecrets, January
13, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=86005&id=18566-2001891-AV7vR.x&t=7
3.
"Finance/Insurance/Real Estate: Long-Term Contribution Trends," OpenSecrets,
January 13, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=86006&id=18566-2001891-AV7vR.x&t=8
4.
"Dems, Wall Street water down financial reform," BusinessWeek.com,
January 4, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=86007&id=18566-2001891-AV7vR.x&t=9
5.
"Final Vote Results for Roll Call 959," Clerk of the House of
Representatives, December 10, 2009
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll959.xml
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PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to Bill Scheurer on January 13, 2010.