This year’s crop of Democratic candidates can’t seem to stop talking about how they are going to fight Wall Street and help struggling Americans.
So we wondered just what those vying for president next year thought of the close ties between Wall Street and their party’s front-runner, Hillary Clinton, and her husband, Bill Clinton.
The former president earned millions of dollars in speaking fees and donations for his global charity from big banks, some that paid billions of dollars to resolve federal investigations, according to a McClatchy analysis. Hillary Clinton also accepted speaking fees from at least one bank.
What do Clinton’s opponents -- all of them way down in the polls -- say about that? Not a thing.
Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley: No comment. (“I don't think anyone knows where Secretary Clinton stands on Wall Street reform, so it's hard to comment,” spokeswoman Haley Morris said.)
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders: No comment.
Former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee, who’s throwing his hat into the ring later today: No comment.
It’s not too surprising that Chafee’s campaign declined to comment. His criticism of Clinton has been focused on her vote to invade Iraq.
But O’Malley and Sanders have made income equality a centerpiece of their campaigns.
Last week, Sanders said: “Wall Street cannot continue to be an island unto itself, gambling trillions in risky financial instruments while expecting the public to bail it out. If a bank is too big to fail it is too big to exist.”
This week, O’Malley said this on Good Morning America: “I believe that the presidency is a sacred trust and I believe that we are best served by giving the choice of who our president should be to the people of the United States and not to the big banks on Wall Street.”
We get it. They don’t like big banks. But when it comes to the Clintons and Wall Street, they are silent.
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