Chris Dodd's Personal Bailout
How Big Finance is trying to keep the Senate banking chairman's imperiled political career afloat.
As Senator Chris Dodd fights for his political career, the embattled chairman of the powerful Senate banking committee is receiving his own economic rescue package from the finance industry. According to the five-term senator's latest campaign disclosures, filed earlier this week, the financial sector is flooding Dodd's campaign war chest with donations in advance of what is expected to be a tough reelection bout.
Dodd, who's had a rough year, can certainly use all the support he can get. Last summer, the news broke that he had received two sweetheart loans through subprime lender Countrywide's "V.I.P." program. And in March, Dodd first denied and then later admitted that he had inserted language into the economic stimulus bill that would allow AIG executives to keep their bonuses. Amid accusations that he has grown too chummy with the industries he oversees as head of the banking committee, Dodd has seen challengers to his 2010 reelection crop up on his left and his right. Recent polls show him with a popularity rating of just 33 percent in Connecticut, losing in hypothetical matchups with three different Republicans. Political handicappers consider him the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in the Senate; the GOP is raring to pick him off.
Despite his waning appeal in Connecticut, Dodd's fundraising effort picked up steam in the first three months of 2009. He raised just more than $1 million during the quarter, according to federal campaign disclosure records. Almost a third of that money—at least $299,000—came from banking and investment executives, financial industry trade groups, and finance-oriented political action committees (PACs). An additional $68,000 came from lobbyists, many with clients on Wall Street. And that doesn't count the formidable financial support Dodd has received from insurance and health care interests.
It's not unusual for the chairman of an influential committee to haul in loads of campaign cash from the businesses that are within his committee's jurisdiction. But with his future in the Senate in jeopardy, Dodd truly has to rely on his supporters in the industries he oversees, all while presiding over key components of the various financial bailouts currently under way. That is, he's pushing the envelope when it comes to Washington's pay-to-play routine.
Financial industry PACs were particularly generous to Dodd. PACs controlled by UBS and Ernst & Young each chipped in $5,000. The Mortgage Bankers Association added $4,500. H&R Block gave $3,000. Goldman Sachs, Vanguard, Charles Schwab, and US Bank kicked in $2,000 each. And the Futures Industry Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America donated $1,000 a piece.
Among Dodd's donors is a who's who of finance industry heavy hitters. They include Leon Black ($2,400), the billionaire founder of private equity firm Apollo Management; Mark Fetting ($2,000), the chairman and CEO of asset management firm Legg Mason; Alan Leventhal ($1,500), chairman and CEO of Beacon Capital Partners; and Rodger Lawson ($2,300), the president of mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments. (Along with Lawson, at least a dozen other high-level Fidelity employees donated $1,000 or more to Dodd, and the company's PAC gave $5,000.) Also appearing on Dodd's donor list are dozens of top executives at various firms including Citigroup, Citizens Financial Group, and D.E. Shaw & Company, the New York-based hedge fund.
After his industry backers, one of Dodd's largest donor constituencies is Washington lobbyists. Ogilvy lobbyist (and one-time chief of staff to Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri) Julie Dammann, whose finance industry clients have included the private equity firm Blackstone Group, AIG, Visa, and Fannie Mae, contributed $1,000. So did lobbyists Thomas Quinn and Jeffrey Kurzweil, who are both on the payroll of Beacon Capital Partners. (In 2008, Quinn also lobbied for Bear Stearns, the National Association of Credit Unions, and State Street Corporation, among other finance sector clients.) Former Dick Gephardt aide Steve Elmendorf, whose firm has recently lobbied for Citigroup, Ernst & Young, the Managed Funds Association, and other financial clients, donated $2,400.
Dodd, who in 2007 blasted the "predatory, abusive, and irresponsible" practices of subprime lenders, also received campaign money from one of the subprime industry's chief lobbyists, Wright Andrews ($1,000). Andrews has run several cleverly named industry-backed trade groups, including the Coalition for Fair and Affordable Lending and the Responsible Mortgage Lending Coalition. Along with his wife, Lisa, once a chief in-house lobbyist for Ameriquest Mortgage, which shut down in 2007, Andrews "coordinated" the subprime industry's lobbying campaign to blunt state efforts to crack down on risky lending, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Asked about Dodd's extensive contributions from Big Finance, Bryan DeAngelis, the senator's press secretary, insisted Dodd was not in Wall Street's pocket. "Campaign contributions do not and never have influenced Senator Dodd's agenda and priorities," DeAngelis wrote in a statement to Mother Jones. "As his record reflects—from working to stop abusive credit card practices and predatory lending to opposing industry-friendly bankruptcy reform and tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas—Chris Dodd's priorities are not determined by the financial industry. His work is always and has always been about representing the interest of the people of Connecticut." But it's not clear that the people of Connecticut want Dodd around any longer. Big Finance execs and lobbyists, on the other hand, obviously believe it is very much in their interest to keep Dodd where he is.
Additional reporting by Nick Baumann and Steve Aquino.
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Gosh, you'd think people
Gosh, you'd think people would be out in the streets in protest over this sort of thing ...
Money, money, money, got to have it......
Over 50, Caucasian, I guess...I don't match anything white....
Cried the night this country found out we would have a, "President Obama."
Still feel it, BUT...Dodd and anyone in one place overseeing the same industry can become extremely vulnerable and blind to what should be...Justice always!
If Dodd did wrong, time for Dodd to move on. Innocent, until proven guilty, but draw back the curtain to reveal what is real. Keep it real, keep it honest and
keep on keeping on. "We are all in this together."
Take the money out of
campaigning. Do we hear a call for public campaign financing?
Politicians for sale
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Voting a republican in certainly won't fix anything , what's desperately needed is serious campaign finance reform . End the buying and bribbing of politicians , that said , I won't be holding my breath .
A big dissapointment
Dodd used to be a hero of the Trolls. As their leader, I regret to inform everyone that such confidence in him was misplaced and a big mistake. The problem at this point is: what will be accomplished by replacing him with a Republican, who will do as much damage (or more) only (in contrast to Dodd) will be only too proud to have accepted millions in donations from the economically powerful (???).
Meanwhile . . . .
In New Jersey, Gov. Corzine is being challanged by former US Atty. Chris Christy. Polls show Christy up considerably in the polls. Of course, this uphoria will subside and is primarally the result of familiarity breeding contempt. Christy is running on a clean-the-streets platform, boasting of his many convictions of NJ politicians for bribery. What he fails to mention is that of his approx. 150 convictions, zero (repeat ZERO) were lawyers or judges. So, as Christy incarcerated a variety of local town council members--for accepting as little as $1,500.00, numerous large law firms (who rake in tens of millions by peddling unlawful courtroom influence) went unmolested. Same questions applies: What good is to be done by replacing Corzine, who is at best a hack in the same tradition as Dodd, with a less compassionate Republican hack?
Respectfully submitted~
Trollstein! What I think I
Trollstein!
What I think I hear you saying is, "Sure, Dodd and Corzine are hacks, but they are our compassionate hacks and the alternative would be worse." See if this sounds familiar: "Sure, (pick one: Marcos, Somoza, Batista, Shah Palavi, Pinochet, etc) is a brutal thug, but he's our brutal thug, and the alternative would be worse." So how does it feel to think like a pragmatic Republican?
You asked a couple of questions, or the same question twice (and I thought I heard an echo of it from Wendy): what good would it do to vote them out? At the very least, it would suggest to incumbents everywhere that we are really, really sick and tired of hacks, especially experienced, compassionate ones who ought to know better.
"Dodd first denied and then
"Dodd first denied and then later admitted that he had inserted language into the economic stimulus bill that would allow AIG executives to keep their bonuses."
aiding and abedding theft, let the republicans pick this dirtbag off!
"As his record reflects—from working to stop abusive credit card practices and predatory lending to opposing industry-friendly bankruptcy reform and tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas—Chris Dodd's priorities are not determined by the financial industry"
Yet he has never actually stopped any of the credit card practices he so abhors...because then he wouldn't get paid by wall street. Obviously predatory lending got past him too somehow...and all those jobs here in the states going unfilled...the man never misses!
Who are you,
and what have you done with Mother Jones? It is impressive that MJ would provide critical if not timely reporting covering this issue.
Excellent article -
Excellent article - excellent journalism. Keep up the good work.
As a foreigner, maybe I´m
As a foreigner, maybe I´m not quite familiar with the complexities of your election process.
But I understand that ousting this fellow out (whose face, by the way, screams "I AM a crook"), doesn´t necessarily implies that a Republican will take his place.
I understand, maybe wrongly, that Connecticut´s people will vote for a Senator, not for a Chairman of Finance/Banking Affairs.
Certainly it´s a pity for yor destituted masses that Joe "I coined the term Drug Czar" Biden has left the Senate to work side by side with your clean and articulate President. There´s no doubt he could have taken that chairmainship on behalf of the common man.
Being argentinean, I feel proud that your country has managed to get a real Peronist government.
Greeting from the far, far south.
Very Good!
I was about to bring up that very point. I don't think it would be a good thing to loose the Senate seat to a Republican, but I think it highly unlikely that a newly elected Senator of either party would/could chair a committee
k.b.
Dodd
All of Dodd's donors are the reason we want him out of office. He has made it very obvious that he represents them, not us, and despite how much money he raises, he is finished. In fact, I believe that the more money he raises, the more the people will resent him and elect him out of office. He has benefitted enough financially from his lobbyists and special interest groups. It's time for him to share the wealth. Isn't that the Obama doctrine???
dodd's performance bonus
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Let me see if I understand. This guy has been feeding at the public trough for 30 years or so, was in the Senate at the time of the S&L debacle and the Enron scandal, watched Franklin Raines collect $20 million or so to misstate Fannie's books by $9 Billion, has been chair of the Banking committee for about four years while derivatives and credit default swaps juiced up the financial markets like truckers on uppers, took camapaign contributions from the Masters of the Universe while they collected annual salaries in the tens of millions year after year, helped himself to VIP treatment from Countrywide whilst decrying predatory lending, misplayed the AIG bailout and then lied about it and got caught. Have I got all that right, mostly? Recently there has been much said about the outrageousness of paying bonuses to bankers even when they did a crappy job, insisting that payment should be for performance. I think Senator Dodd has done a very crappy job indeed; even if he was angelic otherwise, my short list alone is quite a resume and should demonstrate that at best he has been sound asleep for most of his "service" to the nation. Should he be entitlted to a bonus, like a SIXTH term? I think not. Please throw him and every other incumbent out every chance you get, every one, every time you vote, and tell your friends to do the same. If you want change you can believe in, start by changing out some of these old corrupt frauds for new corrupt frauds. There are about 200,000,000 Americans old enough to serve in Congress; surely we can find 535 who are better than what we have now.
Dodds
I remember Dodds for his work on Family Leave and other important pieces of legislation which helped those in the workforce most vulnerable to losing their jobs when family needs and work demands came into conflict. I remember his courtesies to those powerless folk who came to Washington to ask for help against the powerful and his forthright and commonsense approaches on issues.
People on the banking committee learn and become knowledgeable on the issues and the industries which are subject to the bills sent to their committee. And yes, they get more donations from those industries and those who are interested in the issues likely to come before their committee...especially if the committee members seem like they listen, think , and are knowledgeable even if they are independent and are not always on the same side. Replacing Dodds with a newbie Republican gains nothing.
Dodd & funds
these funds are small to what it takes to buy a office. most all these companys give to both sides even to keep a good guy in place.
The selling of Congress and representative government.
It is clear that Sen. Dodd and others in Congress have sold out and turned our government over to the banking interests. The banking interests, special interests and corporate interests now own our government through their political contributions, candidate grooming and lobbying. Like a Nascar stockcar race, they might as well display the logos of their sponsors on the roof of the Capital Building so that we know which CEOs to email our concerns to. Now that as taxpayers we are part of one of the largest bank holding companies in the US, maybe our proxies will carry more weight than our ballot did.
On June 23, 1967, Senator
On June 23, 1967, Senator Thomas J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, was censured by the United States Senate for diverting $116,000 in campaign funds for his personal use. The vote was 92 to 5.
I wonder what the discussions at the Dodd's dinner table were about. The really comical thing reported by the NYT was that Christopher Dodd was on a quest to clear his old man's name......How do you think he's doing, lol. Must be a congenital thing...the family business turns out to be the sleaziest, dirty money, organized crime called...politics.
Dodd
As a gay man, I voted for Obama because I feared another republican in the white house and joyously voted for Obama and donated to his election, yet I am so distgusted by Senator Dodd that I would be happy if a republican replaced him. Hopefully a Democrat (who isn't the Financial Service Industry's bitch) will run and win in the Democratic Primary.
On June 23, 1967, Senator
On June 23, 1967, Senator Thomas J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, was censured by the United States Senate for diverting $116,000 in campaign funds for his personal use. The vote was 92 to 5.
I wonder what the discussions at the Dodd's dinner table were about. The really comical thing reported by the NYT was that Christopher Dodd was on a quest to clear his old man's name......How do you think he's doing, lol. Must be a congenital thing...the family business turns out to be the sleaziest, dirty money, organized crime called...politics.
Another Dodd Lie
Let it not be forgotten that, in order to run in the Iowa primary
for the Dem Pres nomination, Dodd needed a LOT of money and
his only source of that kind of money was the big warchest he
was accumulating for his Senate re-election run in 2010.
So.....what to do......
He lied to the Federal Election Commission by telling them that
he would not run for Senate re-election in 2010, a lie which
made it legal for him to spend his re-election warchest for
pursuading the folks in Iowa that he was presidential material.
Except......all they saw was another egomaniac preening for
the cameras and rewarded him with a whopping 1% of the vote.
Now, having spent his bundle of cash ($10M) in Iowa, he's gotta
raise another big bankroll and where else to turn but the fatcats
who have kept him in office all these years.
Criminal Background Check
But after these efforts Mortgage sector is suffering.
Dodd's legislative record: Clearly Not "in Wall Street's pocket"
Alan P.
The senator's press secretary is right. Any fair examination of Dodd's legislative record makes the implication that he's "in Wall Street's pocket" patently ludicrous.
"Dodd has also involved himself in children’s and family issues, founding the first Senate Children’s Caucus[8] and authoring the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA),[9] which guarantees employees unpaid leave in the event of illness, a sick family member, or the birth or adoption of a child. To date, more than 50 million employees have taken advantage of FMLA protections. He is currently working to support a bill that would provide paid family and medical leave. For his work on behalf of children and families, the National Head Start association named him “Senator of the Decade” in 1990." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Dodd)
"Voted YES on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore. (Mar 2005)
Voted NO on reforming bankruptcy to include means-testing & restrictions. (Mar 2005)
Voted NO on restricting rules on personal bankruptcy. (Jul 2001)
Rated 32% by the US COC, indicating an anti-business voting record. (Dec 2003)
Voted NO on free trade agreement with Oman. (Jun 2006)
Voted NO on implementing CAFTA for Central America free-trade. (Jul 2005)
Voted NO on establishing free trade between US & Singapore. (Jul 2003)
Voted NO on establishing free trade between the US and Chile. (Jul 2003)
Voted NO on extending free trade to Andean nations. (May 2002)
Voted YES on granting normal trade relations status to Vietnam. (Oct 2001)
Voted YES on removing common goods from national security export rules. (Sep 2001)
Voted YES on permanent normal trade relations with China. (Sep 2000)
Voted YES on expanding trade to the third world. (May 2000)
Voted YES on renewing 'fast track' presidential trade authority. (Nov 1997)
Voted YES on imposing trade sanctions on Japan for closed market. (May 1995)
Rated 17% by CATO, indicating a pro-fair trade voting record. (Dec 2002)
Voted YES on banning campaign donations from unions & corporations. (Apr 2001)
Voted YES on funding for National Endowment for the Arts. (Aug 1999)
Voted YES on favoring 1997 McCain-Feingold overhaul of campaign finance. (Oct 1997)
Voted NO on Approving the presidential line-item veto. (Mar 1996)
Voted YES on banning more types of Congressional gifts. (Jul 1995)
Voted YES on restricting employer interference in union organizing. (Jun 2007)
Voted YES on increasing minimum wage to $7.25. (Feb 2007)
Voted YES on raising the minimum wage to $7.25 rather than $6.25. (Mar 2005)
Voted NO on repealing Clinton's ergonomic rules on repetitive stress. (Mar 2001)
Voted NO on killing an increase in the minimum wage. (Nov 1999)
Voted NO on allowing workers to choose between overtime & comp-time. (May 1997)
Voted NO on replacing farm price supports. (Feb 1996)
Rated 100% by the AFL-CIO, indicating a pro-union voting record. (Dec 2003)
Voted YES on increasing tax rate for people earning over $1 million. (Mar 2008)
Voted NO on allowing AMT reduction without budget offset. (Mar 2008)
Voted NO on raising the Death Tax exemption to $5M from $1M. (Feb 2008)
Voted NO on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax. (Mar 2007)
Voted NO on supporting permanence of estate tax cuts. (Aug 2006)
Voted NO on permanently repealing the `death tax`. (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on $47B for military by repealing capital gains tax cut. (Feb 2006)
Voted NO on retaining reduced taxes on capital gains & dividends. (Feb 2006)
Voted NO on extending the tax cuts on capital gains and dividends. (Nov 2005)
Voted NO on $350 billion in tax breaks over 11 years. (May 2003)
Voted YES on reducing marriage penalty instead of cutting top tax rates. (May 2001)
Voted YES on increasing tax deductions for college tuition. (May 2001)
Voted NO on eliminating the 'marriage penalty'. (Jul 2000)
Voted NO on across-the-board spending cut. (Oct 1999)
Voted NO on requiring super-majority for raising taxes. (Apr 1998)
Rated 15% by NTU, indicating a "Big Spender" on tax votes. (Dec 2003)
Rated 100% by the CTJ, indicating support of progressive taxation. (Dec 2006)"
(http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Chris_Dodd.htm)
Law makers who hold powerful positions like Chairman of the Banking Committee frequently are given large campaign contributions by special interests hoping for special treatment. Not only isn't that proof that they got special treatment, it isn't even evidence.
Rare journalism
I congratulate you on your journalism, with the regret that my comment is necessary only because journalism (as opposed to propaganda) is so rare these days.
Having exposed Dodd, perhaps you will turn your journalistic spotlight on the other criminal politician complicit in causing the current economic crisis and the corruption in Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac-- Barney Frank.
So felka......does all that
So felka......does all that make it ok that he's a crook? The people in this country are getting worn out by partisan talking heads be it Hannity or Olbermann or felka. Politician's and their panting groupies care only about left and right and thats why this country is spiraling down.
That anybody in this country could support and rally for ANY current politician is a tragedy. Washington is overflowing with idiots and buffoons trying to pass themselves off as some peculiar hybrid of a statesmen. There are no statesmen in government today just pipsqueak politicians. As with cockroaches the Capitol is regularly sprayed for character and integrity, to prevent interest in them from taking hold. Congress unquestionably fall under the RICO ACT (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) and it should be raided and the political vermin rounded up, they are a disgrace.
psst......felka.....its not
psst......felka.....its not left or right that should drive conduct.....its right or wrong.
HE'S CORRUPT! Countrywide is all you need to know.
If there is even a shred of hope left in America, Dodd will be voted out.
He's corrupt. Guilty as the day is long. And as soon as he took that loan from Countrywide, all of the good work he did in the past was nullified. Wiped out. Doesn't matter. Gone. Like it never happened. Erased.
As with all of us, there are consequences for his actions. He needs to pay.
The real shame is that there isn't an ethics committee with some power that can pounce on the kind of corruption and ethics violations Dodd is guilty of. It should be automatic. The only reason he is still in office is that we have to wait for an election.
If his constituents are paying attention (and the polls say they are), he'll be gone. And the USA will be better for it.
Even if he raises a bunch of money and Obama helps him out (sickening), his constituents can still do the right thing. We can only hope.
DEMAND CONGRESSIONAL REFORM! AMERICA DESERVES IT!
Fiberglass pools
Yeah really a hope still left in America.
Surfers paradise
My approach is to look at all of them. It only takes a few minutes on OpenSecrets.org to know why Wall Street is controlling the US.
Insolvency Service
I'm sure it's popular among the paranoid to believe that every campaign contribution is somehow a form of corruption, and calling donations to Dodd a "bailout" is clearly an attempt to whip up this sort of impression.
Fibreglass Swimming Pools
Political handicappers consider him the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in the Senate; the GOP is raring to pick him off.
recalldodd.org
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check the page at http://recalldodd.org
just the facts...
Sydney Therapist & Counsellor
Dodd will be voted out.
Sydney Therapist & Counsellor
Dodd will be voted out.
Instant Background Check
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This guy is a total lamer.... He should be run through a shredder for his role in this mess.
Sen Chris Dodd
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Do those lobbyists live in CT and can they vote for him?
Stop the damn lobbying/conflicts of interest!
It's not unusual for the
It's not unusual for the chairman of an influential committee to haul in loads of campaign cash from the businesses that are within his committee's jurisdiction. It is a good topic for writing academic essays, term papers, research papers, dissertations and speeches for college and uni students.
thesis help | dissertation help | speech help
hm... there is almost
hm... there is almost nothing in this world money can't do...
Chris Dodd
He is the biggest crook in the senate the ethics committee that was assigned to the countrywide scandal was all his buddies watching out for him . Another thing his so called credit card reform has put so many people in poverty its ridiculous because the bank said ok im going to hike rates then (nice reform huh) and not to mention the irish cottage that cost him 127,000 dollars by countrywide is actually appraised today in this horrible market at 680,000 dollars how nice it must be huh MR DODD THERE SHOULD BE ANOTHER WORD FOR YOUR KIND DODD representing the people my ass..
