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God a announced today
%uh the Senator from connecticut and again obviously the stepping down a
today
it's not to announce the beginning of the end of the campaign
united states senate
but rather to announce that after thirty five years
of representing the people of connecticut united states congress
I will not be a candidate for reelection this November
%uh huh
now %uh
this is big news in a lot of words
%uh but money coupled with dorgan as well a bind or and Senator democratic
Senator from north Dakota
also stepping out saying he will not run for reelection
%uh now how does this play a first of all a dorgan is a mixed bag he is what
they call a moderate democrat and he's earned that title
but by being strongly on both sides
on different issues
so dorgan has been absolutely hero and
financial reform
and he said back in nineteen ninety nine when they started doing the deregulation
is that terrible idea don't do it
it's going to lead the banks that are too big to fail
and they're gonna
of wind up using taxpayer money
it's that Iraqi was exactly right on
I do in a health care bill he fought
that the
drug importation
%uh from Canada into the country that would save us all
hundred billion dollars over ten years
the Obama administration killed
%uh and so he
the he was a great fighter on those fronts
on the other hand
in on global warming issues
not so good
okay
now that's because he has a lot of energy companies that are in his home
state anyone to protect those coal companies gas companies et cetera
those local interests and that's how politics gets play
I might add that lets while I'm I'm not less
because
it's one thing
to play politics and like what Ben Nelson did with guinea pigs and should
for Medicaid for the state of nebraska
that's as all this time
it's another
think the to sell up to corporate America
to get paid more
so that's the distinction I may
so the dornan was a good guy on those issues
but at least he had more legitimate political interest there
rather than just taking a lobbyist money
but he was not on the right side on that and he was on the right side on a number
of other issues as well day
so he was a true moderate it in the senate
I think losing him on the finance reforms is going to be tough so I think
it's over all bad news
plus in the the state of a north Dakota
it doesn't look good to have a they
governor there that is republican
holven that John holden
and he looks to be a pretty good shape there
they're couple people who might run on democratic side
including of representatives girl
polaroid
or maybe even former state attorney general tax commissioner
hi de hi camp
they get a decent shot at him
and then an interesting development today
talk show host that schultz apparently
approached by some democrats
the officially in the state of the %uh north Dakota
consider whether he might wrong
%uh for currency which would be a very interesting development right
so we have a real race on our hands in north Dakota
it is very possible that he goes to republicans
you lose a real fighter finance reform
and it might the same I go to a republican
but the overall lost in north Dakota
now when you died
well he put together great finance reform
that bill
and I say that
within the context of
currently politics
is it as hard as I would have gone not even
klaus right
but it was much harder then Obama administration was on ago
it was much tougher than the house version
now
that's how we started
now he's already compromised and negotiated brought in the republicans
and it's getting weaker and weaker weaker as a ghost
and he's the head of the banking committee that's the most important
committee
because the finance reform
and he had to prove himself that he was not sell out of the banks
is he was already of all the couple of
financial scandals including
getting a privilege mortgages
from our country wok right
now if he's not up for reelection he doesn't have the political pressure
anymore
he doesn't have to prove himself anymore
so
that's a big problem
because that was helping to push him laugh
those helping to push him towards real reform
that his other critical issue for died
but for door
you can go one of two ways
your
because they're retiring
they can say hey you know what
going to do the right thing here I don't care about
I collect the money anymore a lobbyist %uh I don't care about corporate America
anymore
I I would do that
Justice by that people who elected me
and I care about my legacy and coming to be remembered
that's possibility number one
possibly the number two is
hey you know what
now that I'm retiring
it's time
and how do you catch and
by becoming a lobbyist
so
this is the time
that they might want to do favors for corporate America
more than any other time
remember billy tauzin very influential member of the house
the republican
did the Medicare part B negotiations
in the house
and make sure
that the government could not negotiate with the drug companies
then immediately left got two million dollar contract
the drug company
so the fact that they're leaving the senate
might be disastrous
now we don't know which way I go door is sixty seven years old
you might think that you know what does time to get paid
but the either I don't know I hope he doesn't
and and honest I go off a lot of money from east when it's the company's in the
past
the real question is which way they're going to go on that and it's not clear
and one other downside to died leaving
that guy and next up his seniority is Tim Johnson
%uh it democratic Senator who it's got it
trouble track record on reform
he's the only democrat Al Gore to guess
that credit card reform
he's they got the letters in his home state those are the guys that right the
worst kind of rates
up to a thousand percent interest per year
if you total it up
and he protects those guys to protect the credit card companies
%uh he's not a big banker guy
but he protects every other side of the financial industry
so that that comes out of the banking committee that's another disaster
so when you total all this up
today's news of those guys stepping down
pretty bad news
we'll see how it develops well
and what comes next is very important