Bad Credit

Thanks to the Sun Journal for having the most insightful coverage of the Bankruptcy bill. Today they published an editorial (registration required) that I believe is the first time during the discussion on this bill that the credit industry's massive contributions to our Senators have been mentioned in a major paper in Maine. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

In all, credit card companies have spent more than $40 million since 1989 on political contributions. This, in part, is their payback. Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe has received more than $316,000 from them in the last 16 years. Sen. Susan Collins, with a shorter tenure in Washington, has received more than $175,000. Both supported cloture and are likely to support final passage. [...]

So often, they are among a handful of senators who are able to craft meaningful compromise legislation between Democrats and Republicans. Snowe has been a consistent champion for the poor and women, and Collins was the primary motivator behind the massive reform of the intelligence community. They've tried to bring fiscal discipline back to Washington, and are stalwarts in the fight to protect the environment.

But on the bankruptcy legislation, they are wrong, and the people who will be hurt are the ones who often depend on them as the last line of defense.

The PPH mentions yesterday in an article on the bill that MBNA contributed to Bush, but doesn't mention that Snowe has received more money from the credit card industry than any other Senator.

Here's an interesting quote from that article:

"I support this bankruptcy legislation and hope it goes forward," Snowe said. "But it doesn't preclude me from voting on other issues that are equally relevant to the issue of bankruptcy reform."

If that's true, I'd like to hear her explanation for voting against bankruptcy protection for the elderly, the sick and injured, victims of identity theft, and our troops and veterans. And that's not some snarky statement either, I really would like to hear an explanation.

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