New Orleans When I get really depressed and imagine that somehow the Republicans could come surging back in the White House and the Capitol, because of the inability of the Democrats to really produce, I am reminded that despite their efforts to hijack the Tea Party movement and other initiatives, they still fundamentally don’t get the crises being faced by American families throughout the recession or the roots of their anger.  Case in point seems to be the way the elephant people in their lumbering way are now putting themselves outside of the ranks of any support for banking reform, which if anything is the one point in which there is virtual 100% in the country.

There can be quibbling and confusion around the role of the new, proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency, but the real truth is that agency is nothing more than a straw man for financial institution lobbyist to subvert and destroy reform legislation.  How can anyone believe that when you have a half-dozen financial cop agencies looking at different parts of the suspect, it’s easy to miss the mark.  When it had to do with the inability to coordinate around security, we finally “got it.”  What’s different about the need to coordinate when trying to stay even with, much less rein in, outfits worth more than $100 billion and moving gazillions through their accounts ever year?

The other day there was a similar note about “sudden” opposition to the end of the federal cash subsidy to lenders on student loans which is costing the tax payers several billion.  Once again the lobbyists are wooing the conservatives and this piece of senseless pork is now in danger of not being finally fried.

As long as the Republicans stand for banking abuse, Wall Street payoffs and subsidies, corporate power, and the rule by lobbyists, their shtick is not going to sell.

Of course that assumes that the Democrats stand for the opposite, and sometimes that’s a stretch to believe as well.

It makes it interesting to watch the Tea Party and any other new party effort to see if others might step up if these two continue to stumble.