Friend —
President Obama has been saying for months he won’t wait around for Congress to get middle-class families and working Americans back on their feet. He’ll work with Congress when he can, but if they refuse to act — he will.
So today the President appointed former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. For months, Senate Republicans — with Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum right behind them — have fought this bureau every step of the way, and their latest strategy is to refuse to allow even an up-or-down vote on this nomination.
The issue isn’t his qualifications: Cordray has bipartisan support from elected officials across the country and a clear majority of the Senate behind him. They won’t allow a confirmation vote on any director — because they don’t want the agency to exist at all.
We can’t afford to continue allowing Wall Street to write its own rules. But today’s action by the President is already coming under partisan attack, which we expect to intensify in the days to come.
Say you stand with President Obama and Richard Cordray today.
Without a director, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is legally prevented from doing its job to protect millions of Americans — including those of us with credit cards, mortgages, student loans, or home equity lines. But with Mr. Cordray at the helm, the agency will make sure payday lenders, private student loan providers, debt collectors, and the like have to play by the rules.
That’s what this campaign is all about: electing a President who makes sure everyone plays by the same rules and gets a fair shake.
But Mitt Romney apparently doesn’t think consumers deserve any protection at all from predatory lenders and other bad actors. His plan to fix the economy is simply to deregulate it. His proposal for the housing market is to let it “hit the bottom” so that investors can come in and make a quick buck.
The President thinks we need a cop on the beat preventing the reckless behavior that helped cause the financial crisis and so many problems for middle-class families in the first place.
But if the past is any guide, the GOP and Romney are not going to let this happen without a fight. They’ll be doing everything they can to stand in Cordray’s way.
Tell President Obama and Richard Cordray that you’re standing with them:
http://my.barackobama.com/Cordray
Thanks,
James
James Kvaal
National Policy Director
Obama for America
