Massachusetts Senate Candidate Elizabeth Warren took her time at the DNC podium Wednesday night to slam Wall Street and to tear down CEOs.
"Wall Street CEOs — the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs — still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them. Anyone here have a problem with that? Well I do," she said.
What Warren failed to mention is President Obama's record of receiving more money from Wall Street than any other president in the past 20 years during the 2008 election.
Despite his rhetorical attacks on Wall Street, a study by the Sunlight Foundation’s Influence Project shows that President Barack Obama has received more money from Wall Street than any other politician over the past 20 years, including former President George W. Bush.
In 2008, Wall Street’s largesse accounted for 20 percent of Obama’s total take, according to Reuters. …
By the end of Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, executives and others connected with Wall Street firms, such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, UBS AG, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley, poured nearly $15.8 million into his coffers.
Goldman Sachs contributed slightly over $1 million to Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, compared with a little over $394,600 to the 2004 Bush campaign. Citigroup gave $736,771 to Obama in 2008, compared with $320,820 to Bush in 2004. Executives and others connected with the Swiss bank UBS AG donated $539,424 to Obama’s 2008 campaign, compared with $416,950 to Bush in 2004. And JP Morgan Chase gave Obama’s campaign $808,799 in 2008, but did not show up among Bush’s top donors in 2004, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Warren also failed to mention her own record of raking in Wall Street cash.
Elizabeth Warren — who hauled in an eye-popping $5.7 million the last three months of 2011 — refused to swear off Wall Street money yesterday, instead claiming that any money she gets from deep-pocketed financiers is coming from those who “want reform.”
“There are people on Wall Street who actually believe we need better rules, fairer rules,” Warren said last night as she toured small businesses in Davis Square in Somerville.
“That’s what I stand for. I’ve gone toe-to-toe with these financial institutions. A lot of people understand if you don’t have tough rules and a tough cop on the beat, the whole system is going to come down around us.”
Warren, who has portrayed herself as a Wall Street opponent and a pioneer of the Occupy movement, has acknowledged receiving donations from Wall Street financiers. Last night, she refused to reveal how much of her massive campaign cash haul came from financial execs and instead accused Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown of being Wall Street’s candidate.
“The Wall Street guys have been meeting aggressively to say, ‘How many different ways can we fund Scott Brown to make sure Elizabeth Warren does not go to the United States Senate?’” she said.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member