Big Banks Banking On McCain

Employees of many of the major banks and other financial institutions that will benefit the most from the $700 billion dollar bailout package that John McCain voted for are also among his biggest campaign contributors by far according to FEC records. And even though the U.S. Justice Department has opened an investigation into any possible financial fraud that may have caused at least part of the huge financial crisis, major banks and other big money Wall Street contributors may be counting on a weaker Justice Department under McCain rule to go easy on any wrongdoing investigations by investing millions of dollars in his campaign.

So far employees at Merrill Lynch & Co., Citigroup, Inc., Morgan Stanley, J.P., Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Chase & Co., have consistently been among the top fives groups of donors to the McCain Campaign according to FEC records. These same five large financial groups are also five of the largest firms to benefit the most from the $700 billion dollar bailout package that John McCain voted for.

While John McCain and his running mate continue to claim to be "reformers" or "mavericks" to crowds along the campaign trail, the fact of the matter is that these campaign appearances are largely funded with campaign donations from many of the same Wall Street firms that will most benefit from McCain's vote on the bailout bill. Rather than being a "reformer" in any real sense of the word, McCain is simply just another example of a long-time, 26 year Washington insider politician who is kept in office by large donors who also stand to benefit the most from his continued support and votes in Washington.

McCain's involvement with convicted racketeer Charles Keating and the $126 billion dollar savings and loan crisis during the 1980's where McCain and his wife accepted many jet trips to a resort built by Keating from stolen bank funds as gifts, and then approached federal banking regulators to go easy on any investigation of banking fraud of Keating seems to have an eerie similarity to McCain's current bankrolling by some big Wall Street donors who might find themselves subjects of federal Justice Department investigations that McCain might also be able to calm down as president by appointments of Justice officials who will ignore major examples of wrongdoing. It is just another example of appointing the fox to guard the hen house.

The reality is that it will take a microscope to find any real evidence of John McCain as any type of meaningful "reformer" of any real substance. All signs are that the big donors who benefit the most from John McCain's support in Washington donate the most to his campaign efforts, and any firms that could potentially be the subject of any Justice Department investigations may also benefit the most by electing a McCain government which could tone down or circumvent any investigations into financial wrongdoing investigations. For McCain, it's simply business as usual back in Washington. And for any average citizen who votes for McCain, well they get to pay the $700 billion dollar bill to bail out his big donor pals on Wall Street.