The Ghost of Joseph Welch
Posted by JimAs the Goldman Sachs drama unwinds it brings to mind another famous Senate hearing, the Army-McCarthy hearings that were held in 1954. In a single moment, Senator McCarthy was destroyed politically along with his political movement. For those not familar with the Senator from Wisconsin, he was the political leader in the fight to root out domestic communists and their sympathizers. In taking on the Army and its chief counsel, Joseph Welch, he unwittingly set the table for his own demise. (You can view this electric exchange on this link: YouTube)
I think the Goldman Sachs hearings, while lacking the one dramatic exchange, will have the same political impact. I believe these executives perfectly laid the ground work for a meaningful financial reform bill. I thought after the bruising health care debate there would be little stomach on the Hill for the President’s proposals. But the Goldman boys tilted the playing field. You can see this as the GOP is in full retreat on this issue. I am sure the calls and emails to their offices have been clear and concise. The public relations ineptness of this group of highly-paid executives is astounding. They provided a plethora of juicy sound bites that I am sure we will see in a few political ads this fall.
