The Fox in Charge of the Hen House (Washington Edition)

     They're at it again!  Our bloated bureaucracy in Washington is trying yet again--and failing yet again--to "reform" another part of the American economy.  Last month it was health care, this month it's the financial industry.  Today, a vote to open debate on the fatally flawed financial "reform" bill failed.  When senators voted today, it was a split partisan vote.  Democrats all voted for opening debate while Republican voted against opening debate on the bill.  I applaud Republicans for this move because this was a flawed bill that in fact did very little to reform Wall Street at all.  In fact, all it did was add more regulation on top of more regulation in an effort to choke the entrepreneurial spirit out of the American economy and give Washington even more power.  
     Just because today's vote failed doesn't mean that the Democrats are going to try this again.  Harry Reid voted "no" along with the Republicans because that means he can bring the bill back to the Senate floor as early as tomorrow according to Senate procedure.  After the vote, President Obama released a statement that hotly scolded Republicans, saying "Some of these senators may  believe that this obstruction is a good political strategy, and others may see this delay as an opportunity behind closed doors, where financial industry lobbyists can water down reform or kill it altogether.  But the American people cannot afford that".  This is so ironic considering the fact that Obama accepted close to a MILLION dollars from Goldman Sachs, one of the biggest financial firms, during the 2008 presidential campaign.  He also employs many former Goldman Sachs employees such as Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.  
     The Democrats are in a scramble to accomplish as much of their agenda as possible before the 2010 midterm elections because they know that they face a pretty good chance of getting slaughtered at the polls.  Many Democratic senators are either barely scraping ahead of their Republican challengers (such as Washington's Patty Murray and California's Barbara Boxer), or are polling behind their Republican challengers (such as Arkansas' Blanche Lincoln).  Washington at this point is full of no more than petty politicians who are only looking to make a buck for themselves and to steal a buck from you.  Trust no politician and use common sense when you vote this November.