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Wall Street Throwing More Money at Republicans
By
Sabrina Jaszi
Published Feb 8, 2010
Modified Feb 8, 2010
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By
Sabrina Jaszi
Published Feb 8, 2010
Modified Feb 8, 2010
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Fed up with name-calling and increased restrictions from the Obama administration, bankers are shifting financial support to Democratic opponents in the Republican party. Bank officials say Wall Street is sending a message: “The expectation in Washington is that ‘We can kick you around, and you are still going to give us money,’ ” one top official at a major Wall Street firm tells the Times. “We are not going to play that game anymore.”
Just two years ago Obama got a record $89 million in contributions from Wall Street, but as financial regulations for the bankers tighten and Dems continue to decry the financial sector as greedy and arrogant (the term "fat-cat" has definitely been bandied about), banks are pulling their funds. “If the president doesn’t become a little more balanced and centrist in his approach, then he will likely lose that support,” says Kelly S. King, the chairman and chief executive of BB&T.
Meanwhile, Republicans are farming the "buyer's remorse" on Wall Street. JPMorgan Chase's chief executive and vice chairman are both Chicago pals of Obama, but the bank recently donated $30,000 to the Republican House and Senate campaign committees. Another Republican senator visits New York twice monthly to cash in on anti-Democratic sentiment. “I just don’t know how long you can expect people to contribute money to a political party whose main plank of their platform is to punish you,” observed Sen, John Cornyn of Texas.
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bank
campaign funding
contributions
donations
fat cat
finance regulations
jpmorgan
obama
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Sabrina Jaszi
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