I'm well aware Bill Clinton signed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 into law and as the video I posted below shows, he said it was a mistake.
We also know, Bill Clinton isn't running for President. Obvious, but posting just in case folks feel the need to link Hillary and Bill as one and the same person. More on that in a moment.
In 1999 Sanders was on the house floor condemning Congress for attempting to repeal Glass-Steagal. A year later he voted YES, to deregulate the financial market. Most experts agree the passing of this bill accelerated the financial crisis in 2008.
Robert Scheer, in an article defending Sanders vote, wanted to blame his yes vote on an “old Clintonite hustle”. Yet in the same article, he mentions 4 members that "had the guts to cast a nay vote", in the same paragraph, Sanders was blackmailed into voting for it.
www.commondreams.org/...
Sanders, like the rest of Congress, was blackmailed into voting for the bill because it was tucked into omnibus legislation needed to keep the government operating. Only libertarian Ron Paul and three other House members had the guts to cast a nay vote.
Of course, the article ends saying it's just so shameful Hillary brought this up in the debate, because we all know by extension Hillary is Bill. Have you heard that argument before?
Casting aside that the author can conveniently blame others for Sanders yes vote, where was that legendary Sanders conviction to vote no against any and all Wall Street giveaways? He could have easily been vote 5 who wasn't blackmailed, but he wasn't.
As Matt Bai pointed out, Sanders principle and convictions are the entire rationale of his campaign. He’s the real deal, right?
www.yahoo.com/...
His entire rationale as a candidate is that he alone chooses principle over polls, that he votes his convictions and can’t be corrupted by powerful interests or his own ambition.
So while Sanders takes it to Wall Street with a furious vengeance today and as we are told his convictions are beyond reproach, he did vote YES to give Wall Street a gift in 2000. He still hasn't explained why he voted for the bill and if he expresses any regret for his vote.
We know Bill Clinton regretted signing this disaster into law and even some of the other culprits have shown regret as well. How about Bernie? Any regrets, excuses? Any blame? Anything at all?
www.cbsnews.com/...
Sanders, then a member of the House, voted in favor of the bill - along with 376 other members of the House. When the legislation was amended with even more provisions to guarantee the government could not regulate over-the-counter derivatives, it was added to a must-pass government funding bill. Sanders voted in favor of that too.
www.huffingtonpost.com/…
Ultimately, while the unregulated market in derivatives and swaps did not cause the economic downturn itself, it was a propellant of the crisis, accelerating the collapses of major financial companies across the globe. As of June 30, 2008, the global derivatives market had exploded to $530 trillion, while credit default swaps had grown from mere insignificance to $55 billion. When the credit crisis and the mortgage meltdown began to take hold, major firms found out the swaps made their investments far riskier than they could handle.
Consensus is nearly universal that the failure to regulate financial derivatives trading and the subsequent explosion of credit default swaps, by passing the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, was a mistake. Deregulation supporter Chris Cox, a former SEC chairman under President George W. Bush and congressman from California, called the swaps "the fuel for what has become a global credit crisis." According to Bloomberg, Alan Greenspan "acknowledges he'd been 'partially' wrong to oppose regulation of such instruments." Former SEC chairman Levitt stated that if given the chance for a do-over he "would have pushed for some way to give greater transparency to products which turned out to be injurious to our markets."
www.cnn.com/…
Sanders has not explained his rationale for the 2000 vote, but only four House members lined up against the bill even as a standalone -- and he was not among them.
CFMA Standalone Roll Coll Vote: clerk.house.gov/...
CFMA 2000 Roll Call Vote: www.govtrack.us/…
President Clinton admitting he made a mistake signing this bill into law.