The bank lobby is making another attempt to unseat Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., the maverick House Republican who consistently supported greater oversight of the finance industry, and is the last remaining member of the GOP caucus to have voted in favor of the Dodd-Frank reform law.
The American Bankers Association, a lobby group for the banking industry, this week used a subsidiary called the Fund for Economic Growth to pour $50,000 into campaign advertisements in support of Taylor Griffin, a candidate seeking to unseat Jones in the Republican primary on June 7.
This is the second attempt by Griffin. In 2014, Griffin left a position with Hamilton Place Strategies, a consultancy that helps Wall Street firms with political strategy, to challenge Jones. Griffin’s bid was backed by a Super PAC funded by hedge-fund manager Paul Singer, as well as funds from many major corporate political action committees, particularly from big banks such as Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan Chase.
Despite well-heeled support from the establishment, Griffin lost.
Campaign finance records show that banks are again fueling his primary challenge this year. PACs controlled by J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Wells Fargo have contributed to Griffin’s campaign, according to Federal Election Commission disclosures. So, too, has the American Bankers Association’s PAC, which provided the maximum donation of $5,000. Thanks to the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, however, the ABA is allowed to exceed the traditional campaign donation limit by using a corporate subsidiary to spend $50,000 in support of Griffin’s campaign as an independent expenditure.
“Griffin has the experience and expertise to advocate for pro-growth economic policies in Congress that will foster job creation,” says Elizabeth Colt, a spokesperson for the American Banking Association’s FEG. “He is a proven leader with principled values.”
Jones has bucked the demands of Wall Street by opposing a number of proposals to deregulate big banks, and was the only House Republican to reject an effort last year to delay the implementation of the Volcker Rule, which bans taxpayer-backed banks from speculative trading.
Ethics records show Griffin has taken up work as a consultant to the health insurance industry, providing public relations advice over the last year to Aetna, Amerihealth, Anthem, UnitedHealth Group, Centene Corp, and Wellcare Health Plans.
Jones has also earned the ire of powerful conservative and business interest groups for criticizing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for backing campaign finance reform, and for loudly condemning House Republican leadership for having cozy ties to lobbyists. Along with Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., Jones was among the very first members of Congress to call for the release of the 28 pages of the 9/11 Commission Report, the classified section that reportedly details Saudi Arabian support for the September 11 attack.
Top Photo: Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., center.
“Consumer-Voting” is the only voting that really counts. Spend your money on small businesses, environmentally friendly products, antibiotic-free food, USA made, etc.
Elections can be bought by the highest bidder, but you control how and where you spend your own dollars! It could take decades to reform our corrupt political and justice systems.
Here’s a link if anyone wants to donate to Jones to help defeat the Banksters. https://walterjonescommittee.nationbuilder.com/donate
Wouldn’t it freak them out if rank and file Democrats & Republicans banded together to block the banksters. I’d love it.
I really enjoy Lee Fang’s work and am a big fan of the Intercept, but this seems like a bit of a non-story/misleading headline. There were only 3 Republicans in the House to vote in favor of Dodd-Frank. Michael Castle (R-DE) lost to Christine O’Donnell (the anti-masturbation Tea Party crusader) in a primary, Anh Cao (R-LA) is seeking to fill David Vitter’s Senate seat, and now Walter Jones is facing a challenger. These three cases hardly constitute a grand conspiracy to oust Wall St. dissenters in the GOP ranks, rather it looks a lot like business as usual. If there had been 20 or so targeted politicians this would have really been a story.
This is what has happened to Brasil…the old name for it is a coup.
It should be noted that when the elites and their supporters from both parties speak of “job creation,” as the American Banking Association’s Elizabeth Colt did above, it’s job creation for their professional peers and fellow elites, not the working class, which their policies (guided by their superior ethics and values) have forced onto life support.
This was precisely their goal: Destruction and dismantling of that most dreaded of all creatures, the common person, by way of sending their livelihoods overseas to be performed by people who are afforded even less respect by their corporate abusers then their American counterparts.
While the financial matters of common people are intimidatingly scrutinized by a punitive IRS, the free-wheeling professionals of privilege get a pass by bankrolling the careers of politician-whores who guarantee no oversight or accountability from outside.
Ain’t America grand!
Until we inspire our citizenry to go all out to remove the combined oppressive yokes of corporate personhood and the corruption of campaign financing, which act as two huge boulders blocking the path to many other routes that lead to opportunity and happiness we are just leaving ourselves stuck outside in the chill of rain.
Those that are part this blog need no lesson on the harms of corporate personhood, but I will provide this source for those that may have someone in mind that may benefit from a clearer understanding of the ill.
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/331:unequal-protection-how-corporations-became-people-and-how-you-can-fight-back
The site allows you to read through Thom Hartman’s fine book Unequal Protection.
And of course there is always good old: https://movetoamend.org
Those that are part of this blog also need no lesson on the corrupting influence of campaign financing, but I will provide this source for those that have someone in mind that may benefit from a clearer understanding of the ill. http://www.rootstrikers.org
The organization is based on the fine book by Lawrence Lessig, Republic Lost
PACs controlled by J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Wells Fargo..
This is the resurrection of the golden calf. Soon, if not already, scouts will be going to law colleges and soliciting new graduates to be candidates for office. They will be “SUPER-PAC READY”. American will be the single largest whorehouse on the planet.
Don’t be surprised when the collection of wealth and power worshipping hors introduce legislation to change the Bill of Rights and the constitution. If you think it won’t happen, know this – it is a matter of acclamation over time, step by step, like mold, we mutate.
This is the resurrection of the Goldman Calf
that oughta stick!
I believe it to be the mask/cloak that has been taken off. The GC has always been there ruling under two legged soothsayers leading the sheep into constant straits. The same thing has just happened to Brasil via “coup” in a bold and underhanded move. One comment gave it away…[“But what caused me more indignation is in my pocket. This morning I received it by mail. This is an international fancy credit card.”]
Behind it all…http://www.wsj.com/articles/blackrocks-landers-sees-new-brazil-government-boosting-economy-1463175763
And involved with them…Wall Street, Democratic Party, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Jewish_Appeal
And that directs you straight to…yes, you guessed it…Israel
I’ve been thinking lately that maybe we are going about this the wrong way. Instead of waiting for Congress to mandate proper behavior from banks, why not start a movement of banks that voluntarily abide by Dodd-Frank or Glass-Steagall?
If people moved some their money to a “Honest Bank” it might be the best place to be in a financial crisis. I guess you could call it the Honest Bank movement. Banks that voluntarily adhere to a code of best practices. Maybe there could be some kind of certification process.
been tried. several years ago with regard to support very “local banking”. There was even a website for that. I believe that is the way to go. Of course, with traitorous persons like Diane Feinstein who wants to abort freedom of speech, it may get difficult to offer such opposition until persons in elected office are charged, tried and imprisoned. It is all a matter of who rules, all the people, or money people.
I’m from his district and I’m glad he’s finally getting some notoriety for his work. If only we could get rid of those scoundrel US Senators Burr and Tillis…
Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., seems like a very decent man who is a Republican. Must be the only way to win an election in N.C., be a Republican. The Bernie Democrats would welcome you to our party, Rep. Jones.
Welcome Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C.
fear not
we are America.
A little wider perspective reveals
that the republican Mr. Jones is under attack from
the same money-manipulators
who wants Hillary Clinton in the White House.
The alignment of the RNC and the DNC is the faking U$A.
Pro-growth means nothing at all, Griffin aims to make NC like Brownback Kansas! Shut off taxes and fire stations and all your property values dump, you can oly steal so much.
If you give them your money, they should be able to do with it what they want. Create jobs and all that. However if they lose it and can’t pay it back we should get to cut the nuts off the Sr. members making jillions.
I’m 60 yrs old and this is the first time in my life that i’ve read about a republican representative with a functioning brain.
Oh, don’t you remember the similar sort of Republican effort that got rid of Arlen Specter? Replaced him with a stuffed shirt named Toomey whose crowning achievement as he goes into re-election is proposing a law to make it illegal to set a mousetrap, let alone taking a video of it going off. (Here, read the text if you think I’m making this up: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr2293/text/ih )
FYI: I checked out your link, and it says that pest control is exempted. Hate to say it, but it sounds like a good anti-animal cruelty bill.
I read the text, and you seem to be going a bit off the deep end, don’t you think?