Conlin takes aim at Wall Street, Grassley
Roxanne Conlin blasted Wall Street early Thursday from Dubuque's Main Street.
Conlin, who hopes to unseat U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, spoke to a group of supporters at Cafe Manna Java about why she would vote for the financial reform package headed to the president's desk. The bill cleared Congress hours after her Dubuque speech.
Since jumping into the race last year, Conlin, a Democrat, has sided with popular opinion against the Wall Street bailout.
"As it was happening, I was shouting from the rooftops, 'No! Don't do that. What in the world makes you think they'll do something good with 700 billion dollars? Pay attention, these people are not reliable,'" she said.
Conlin, a private-practice lawyer and former U.S. attorney, said the "landmark" legislation would help prevent another massive government bailout, should the country sink into another recession. She denounced firms for handing out bonuses while the rest of the country suffered unemployment.
"Wall Street is doing very well with our money. There are a lot of people getting a whole lot richer, while almost 10 percent of people
are unemployed," Conlin said.
Grassley initially voted for the financial reform bill, but announced Wednesday that he wouldn't vote for the version passed by a conference committee because it "waters down" reforms.
U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who also voted against the bill, said that Washington "caved" to Wall Street to produce a bill that fails to protect the public.
Grassley echoed the sentiment.
"It's a bill that most of Wall Street wants passed," he said in a statement. "And that's the last thing Iowans expect in any real reform bill."
While Conlin criticizes the use of bailouts and Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds, Grassley said he opposes the new financial reform package because it uses TARP funds to pay for itself.
"TARP dollars should be returned to the taxpayers and used for deficit reduction, as was promised from the start," the senator said. "I voted for the Senate version of the banking bill to protect taxpayers from another government bailout of
Wall Street, not to put taxpayers on the hook by spending more money through TARP."
But Conlin's campaign fired back at Grassley by focusing on contributions he receives from Wall Street firms and political action committees.
"He's just made up a reason to justify the unjustifiable," Conlin said.
Source: Dubuque Telegraph Herald
