The term, Theodore Cohen writes in the Bucks County Courier Times, was “coined by Bart Chilton, soon-to-be-leaving member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to describe Wall Street’s four-pronged strategy to get its way in Washington. And as usual, with the strategy in play, Main Street hardly stands a chance to see its interests triumph over those of the Street.”

The article continues: “Speaking before the Americans for Financial Reform in Washington, D.C., almost 2 years ago, Chilton described DC Quadrakill as a little-articulated section of the Washington play book. While not particularly innovative, it is a tried and true strategy employed by the high-powered monied lobbyists who outnumber and outgun our lawmakers 10-1. Relentlessly these lobbyists ply the halls of Congress, doing Wall Street’s bidding and impacting legislation beyond anything Americans even can imagine. According to Chilton, here’s how DC Quadrakill works:

“‘First, if you don’t like a bill, amendment or provision thereof, you try to defeat it with a vote. Just say, then vote, no (or nay, or whatever). If that fails, go to stage two. You can try to defund it through the appropriations process. If that doesn’t work, there is stage three. This is where you can try to stop it, change it or delay it through the regulatory rule-making process. If all of those things fail, you can go to DEFCON four: litigation. That’s the D.C. Quadrakill: 1. kill bill; 2. defund it; 3. regulate it; and, 4. litigate it.’”