And now, in news that should surprise precisely no one:
Some of the biggest Wall Street firms are back in the political-spending game after hunkering down while they were getting government bailout funds.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley and other large financial-services firms stepped up their political donations in September to members of Congress, for many the first time this year they have joined the fray.
….The renewed assault on Washington comes as the Capitol Hill debate begins on a broad overhaul of financial-services regulations that is strongly backed by President Barack Obama and opposed by large swaths of the finance industry. The spending could also heighten tensions with Mr. Obama, who as recently as Tuesday called on Wall Street to stop lobbying against the proposed regulations.
The battle to pass financial regulatory reform is going to be like trench warfare: a grinding, bloody struggle that’s won a single subparagraph at a time against a relentless barrage of money, lawyers, and lunches at Tosca. And that’s the optimistic view. Strap on your flak jackets, folks.
