They Did It

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By a vote of 59-39, the Senate gave final passage to the financial reform bill this evening. Brian Beutler has the details.

Not voting were Democratic Sens. Robert Byrd and Arlen Specter. Bucking their parties with yes votes were Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Charles Grassley, and Scott Brown; and with no votes were Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell and Russ Feingold.

Historians will probably conclude that the package of reforms was surprisingly modest given the depth and severity of the 2008-09 financial crisis. A harsher historical judgment might find that the political and economic power wielded by the financial industry in the late 20th and early 21st centuries was so extensive that it could weather a near total collapse of the system without having to yield its power or privilege.

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