The tired, old Republican guard is trying to rehabilitate the campaign of 21-year incumbent Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT) as he seeks to retain the last Republican House seat in New England against strong Democratic challenger and Orange-to-Blue candidate Jim Himes in Connecticut's 4th Congressional district.
Newt Gingrich, now a FOX News contributor, best remembered for leading the ultra-partisan Republican gridlock in Congress that shutdown the government in 1995 and 1996, will be the featured guest at a fundraising breakfast for Rep. Christopher Shays on October 21st in Greenwich.
Here's the invitation to the Shays fundraiser, to be held at the home of West Coast real estate and casino developer Sheldon Gordon. Mr. Gordon relocated to Greenwich in 2001 from California, and his firm lists major clients like Mohegan Sun and Caesar's Palace.
John McCain, of course, has had a widely reported predilection for gambling. But a desire to privatize social security, and gamble retirement funds on the stock market, for the benefit of investment firms, is apparently something that Chris Shays shares with both McCain and Newt Gingrich.
It was Newt Gingrich who pushed privatizing social security in the 1990s as the stock market went up. Now, despite the market's precipitous fall, Gingrich and Chris Shays, along with the Republican ticket of McCain-Palin, continue to propose a privatized social security scheme that could further obliterate the savings of retirees and only benefit Wall Street investment firms.
Like John McCain and Newt Gingrich, Chris Shays was an early supporter of the deregulation of the financial sector when he voted for the Gramm-Leach-Bliley bill in 1999.
Since 2001, Shays has been a member of the House Financial Services Committee. For several years, we saw a boom in speculative financial instruments, thanks to the lax regulatory scheme imposed by McCain, Shays, Gingrich and their deregulation cronies in Washington. On the other hand, we've seen a decline in infrastructure improvements, investment in productive enterprises and in the real incomes of workers and middle class families.
Despite the fact that financial sector deregulation has been proven a chief cause of the current economic crisis, Chris Shays continues to hold to McCain's and Gingrich's tired, old policies:
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
One of the most important congressional accomplishments in recent years was the passage of legislation modernizing the financial services industry. This historic legislation was 20 years in the making.
I voted for the Financial Services Act, also known as Gramm-Leach-Bliley for its principal authors, because it will update our depression-era banking laws so they keep peace with an evolving market. In my remarks on the House floor, I stated:
The simple fact is, these banking reforms are long overdue. The anti-affiliation provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act are sorely outdated and have increasingly impeded the United States' ability to compete in the new world economy. Encouraging greater competition will lower prices for financial services and improve products, benefiting consumers and the economy.
The comprehensive financial reforms contained in the Financial Services Act will promote greater competition by allowing banks expanded activities such as securities and insurance. It also allows insurance agents and companies to offer financial services typically provided by banks, and to affiliate with financial institutions.
While I realize some will benefit from the changes more than others, fostering competition between financial institutions ultimately will ensure consumers have greater choices at lower cost.
I also believe any expansion of banking or insurance powers, must be functionally regulated. Banks that offer insurance should be regulated under the state insurance commission. Insurance companies that offer financial services should be governed by regulations that apply to banks. And the Securities and Exchange Commission should regulate securities activities. The Financial Services Act includes all these requirements.
Just like John McCain, Shays seems to be struggling to find a clear message on the economy. Recently his erratic statements seem to have echoed those of McCain. Not wanting to be left out of the conversation, apparently Newt Gingrich has rejoined the erratic fray, like McCain first opposing and then endorsing the financial bailout plan.
Shays now appears as tethered to the failed old guard of Republican partisans as he is to their failed policies.