Consumers lose as GOP moves against nominee for new consumer bureau – David Lazarus (LA Times)

December 09, 2011

“It’s their party, and they’ll cry if they want to. As expected, Republican senators blocked a vote Thursday on whether to approve President Obama’s nominee to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It’s not that the GOP lawmakers have it out for former Ohio Atty. Gen. Richard Cordray. They say they actually like the guy. No, the Republicans insist they won’t approve him — or anyone — until they get Democrats and the president to rewrite the law that created the watchdog agency. They want its leadership made weaker and thus more susceptible to industry lobbying. They also want more control over the agency’s purse strings. … A July poll sponsored by AARP, Americans for Financial Reform and the Center for Responsible Lending found that about 63% of Americans favored more government oversight of financial companies, and 74% favored having a single agency focus on protecting consumers from financial organizations. The conclusion is inescapable: Republican lawmakers, who are going into the 2012 election cycle as champions of rule-hating businesses and tax-disliking rich people, do not support consumer protection.” Click here for more.