On the Bank Deregulation Bill

A few points:

• On the merits, the bill is awful. Warren’s arguments are unanswerable.
• The lesson is not “both sides are the same.” This is the kind of bill that a Democratic leadership can stop from reaching the floor, and of course most Senate Dems opposed it.
• But this is the case where Dems has the ability to stop something, and a substantial majority of their caucus didn’t although they should have, which is bad.
• I understand that marginal Dem votes sometimes need some leeway. I’m far from convinced that this is one of those issues. But I will say that the Dems facing re-election this November in states Trump carried big, while not without culpability, are the least culpable.
• There is no possible defense for the blue and purple state Dems — Bennet, Carper, Coons, Hassan, Kaine, King, Peters, Shaheen, Stabenow, and Warner — who voted for this. They acted disgracefully, period, and if they’re upset about Warren calling them out boo-hoo-hoo. And this is yet another reminder that Kaine was a bad VP pick. 
• Note that Booker was not one of the yea votes. He’s said some foolish things about Wall Street and I would rank him below Gillibrand, Warren and Harris as 2020 nominees, but he has a very sold liberal record and would also be infinitely preferable to someone like Biden or Kaine.