Freedom's Just Another Word For Nothing Left To Lose

Chris Dodd is apparently going to enjoy his final days as a Senator:

The bill would effect an overhaul of government far exceeding the reforms proposed by the Obama administration this summer or those under consideration by the House. It would bulldoze the existing regulatory establishment, stripping power from agencies including the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and erect in its place a triumvirate of new regulators with sweeping, unprecedented powers.

Administration officials and House leaders have described some parts of the plan as untenable. Industry groups, Republicans and regulators have attacked much larger portions as unnecessary or irresponsible. Dodd said Tuesday that the bill is a draft, intended to start conversation, but that he believes the proposed reforms are necessary.

"I could have tried to draft something that was, sort of, already a compromise of ideas here," Dodd said. "But I think you make a huge mistake by doing that. You're given very few moments in history to make this kind of a difference, and we're trying to do that."

I'm quite sure, if Dodd thought he had a better chance of getting re-elected in 2010, he'd be pulling his punches. But if this is going to be his last hurrah as a legislator, he's apparently determined to go down swinging.

Which officially makes him my new favorite Senator.

Anything that prompts statements like this:

"To some degree, it looks like they're just blowing up everything for the sake of change," said Ed Yingling, president of the American Bankers Association. "If this were to happen, the regulatory system would be in chaos for years. You have to look at the real-world impact of this."

...can only be a good thing. Real-world impact, Ed? You really want to go down the path of looking at the real-world impact of the regulatory system? How's your 401K doing, you thundering jackass?

Ahem.

The potential irony, of course, is that if Dodd legislates like it's 1999 and manages to get a new regulatory system through Congress, one that might have a chance of reining in the greedy asswipes who got us into this financial mess in the first place, he'll probably stand a better chance of keeping his job.