Lincoln Keeps Pressure on Banks
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on June 10th, 2010 4:40 am by HL
Lincoln Keeps Pressure on Banks
Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s (D-AR) “surprising victory in Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Arkansas appears to have hardened an anti-Wall Street bent in Congress’s financial-overhaul bill,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Lincoln wrote a controversial provision in the bill that could force banks to spin off their lucrative derivatives-trading operations. Bankers and many lawmakers assumed the provision would wither once Ms. Lincoln lost her primary — or even if she won, given the diminished political imperative to look tough on Wall Street. But her victory appeared to have the opposite effect, with Democrats saying her standing is now strengthened, particularly as it appears the populist provision resonated with voters.”
Said Lincoln: “We’re going to work hard to keep it in.”
Blumenthal Still Holds Sizable Lead
A new Quinnipiac poll in Connecticut finds Richard Blumenthal (D) leading Linda McMahon (R) in the U.S. Senate race by 20 points, 55% to 35%.
Late last month, Blumenthal held a 25 point lead.
Said pollster Douglas Schwartz: “Three weeks after the Vietnam flap, Blumenthal has lost a little more ground to McMahon, but he still has a comfortable lead. Prior to the Vietnam controversy, Blumenthal led by 33 points. A week after the controversy, his lead was 25 points. Now it’s down to 20 points.”