http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/house-republicans/van-hollen-dems-will-go-on-offense-pound-gop-over-derivatives-trading/Greg Sargent's blog
As you know, yesterday Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell finally revealed the GOP strategy on the financial regulation fight: Republicans will oppose reform legislation on the grounds that it will lead to endless bailouts — an effort to position Republicans as the populists in this battle.
That leaves Dems with a challenge: How can they create clear, revelatory moments that persuade voters that they, not Republicans, are really the ones on the people’s side?
In an interview, DCCC chief Chris Van Hollen told me Dems will mount a big push to make this case on a new front — derivatives trading — as they make a broad case that the GOP is the party of big banks. “This is a defining issue that tells people which side you’re on,” Van Hollen said.
(snip)
“This will be a very important issue in this fight,” Van Hollen said. “Derivatives and other exotic financial instruments are part of the story of what got us into this mess. It’s absolutely essential that we have transparency and accounability when it comes to the derivatives market. This is a defining issue.”
“The issue is, who pays when banks make a bad decision — the banks or the taxyapers?” Van Hollen continued. “Republicans want the taxpayers on the hook. They support business as usual on Wall Street, which means having taxpayers bail out the banks, rather than holding the banks accountable for their own mistakes.”