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Jon Stewart took the members of the United States Senate Banking Committee to task after their disgusting display this week where they were fawning all over JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon. Not surprising, as Stewart pointed out, given Dimon is one of their largest campaign donors. As Stewart concluded after going through the list of reforms that these Republicans have opposed in regulating the banks:

STEWART: Must be nice to be a Republican Senator sometimes, because you get the fun of breaking sh*t and the joy of complaining the sh*t you just broke doesn’t work.

Here's more from TPM on this week's hearing: Senators Fawn Over JPMorgan CEO After Massive Trading Debacle:

The long-shot big hope for Wall Street reformers Wednesday was that JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon would trip up before the Senate Banking Committee and expose the need for tighter rules governing big banks. His firm, after all, recently lost billions making risky bets with depositor funds on the line.

Instead, with some notable exceptions, the senators themselves turned the cross-examination into a coronation, and exposed the extent to which elected officials still feel compelled to genuflect to powerful financial interests.

“You’re obviously renowned, rightfully so I think, as being one of the most, you know, one of the best CEOs in the country for financial institutions,” crooned Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). “You missed this, it’s a blip on the radar screen.”

Most of the fawning came from GOP senators who in addition to relying on Wall Street largesse remain engaged in a political campaign against President Obama’s 2010 financial reform law. But some Democrats also treated Dimon if not quite like royalty then perhaps as a trusted confidant. [...]

His exchanges with GOP senators were even more saccharine. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) — a tea party hero — gave Dimon a full pardon. “I really appreciate you voluntarily coming in to talk with us,” he said. “It is important that we talk about things happening in the industry. It helps us as we look forward and, hopefully, it will contribute to best practice scenarios in industry. I appreciate your emphasis on continuous quality improvement. We can hardly sit in judgment of your losing $2 billion. We lose twice that every day in Washington.”

Stewart went after DeMint for that ridiculous remark, asking if he thought spending money was the same as losing money.

From Democracy Now, if anyone was wondering what's keeping the Newt Gingrich campaign afloat after it looked like it was going to implode earlier this year, we can thank our Supreme Court and that Citizens United ruling -- Newt Gingrich’s Campaign Resurgence Funded by Secretive Coterie of Super PACs, Wealthy Backers:

With the Iowa caucus less than two weeks away and the Republican presidential race still up for grabs, we take in an in-depth look at the state of politics and money and how last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission has altered campaign fundraising since it opened the floodgates for unlimited corporate spending on election campaigns.

Several recent exposes reveal how Newt Gingrich has skirted campaign finance rules to raise millions of dollars in unlimited donations from billionaire backers and big industry. McClatchy Newspapers recently reported Gingrich helped bankroll his resurrection as a candidate by exploiting a gap in federal campaign finance laws to create a political money machine that raised $54 million over five years.

Meanwhile the Center For Public Integrity has published new details on how Gingrich has the backing of two so-called super PACs that raise unlimited donations, but legally must operate independently of the campaign. We speak with Peter Stone, a reporter with Center for Public Integrity who has covered lobbying and campaign finance issues for the past two decades, and McClatchy investigative reporter Greg Gordon.

You can read Greg Gordon's report from McClatchy here:

Did Gingrich bend campaign laws with his 'independent' committee?

And here are Peter Stone's articles from the Center for Public Integrity:

Odd couples: Gingrich casts wide net to evangelicals, Tea Party and K Street lobbyists

Billionaire backer may open wallet for Gingrich but bring unwanted baggage

Tyler joins Gingrich PAC, big ad buy imminent

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Sen. Bernie Sanders on CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer talking about his proposed constitutional amendment that would overturn the Supreme Court decision in a case called Citizens United vs. FEC.

Blitzer asked Sanders about the time he "worked with" former Speaker of the House and now presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich and I love his response here. They served together in the House at the same time, but never "worked together" as Blitzer described it and Sanders was didn't pull any punches with calling Gingrich out for what he is, which is a right-wing ideologue who doesn't have the interests of the working class at heart.

Sanders also noted that he wasn't a fan of the payroll tax holiday because of what that might mean for the solvency of Social Security, which I agree with, but was sure to point out that what he did support was giving some tax relief to the working class and making sure the rich start to pay their fair share in taxes.

Bernie then moved on to his petition and just how dangerous the Citizens United decision was to our democracy in the United States with the rich being allowed to essentially buy off our politicians.

You can sign Bernie's petition here -- A Petition to Support the Saving American Democracy Amendment.

Transcript via CNN below the fold.

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As Lawrence O'Donnell noted during his "Rewrite" segment during Wednesday night's Last Word, everyone was wondering what Stephen Colbert would do once he launched his new super PAC. Well, this week we got our answer with the first ad from the PAC, asking Iowa voters to support Rick "Parry" in the Ames Straw Poll.

Here's more from The Hill -- VIDEO: Colbert launches first super PAC ad:

Comedian Stephen Colbert's super PAC released its first ad, "Episode IV: A New Hope" paid for by Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow.

The video takes aim at the money being spend to promote candiates before the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa.

Rather than support any of the declared Republican candidates -- or Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is expected to join the field -- Colbert asks voters to write-in Rick Parry. That's with an "A" for America and Iowa, the ad says.

Colbert lampooned the Citizens United v. FEC decision on his show since the Supreme Court struck down campaign finance laws and allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on behalf of candidates.

Colbert's joke to form his own super PAC became a decision with real-life implications for campaign finance.

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The Democrats need to use this footage for some campaign ads this year. Rachel Maddow lays out how the Republicans have continually flip-flopped on their own campaign issues once Democrats decide to embrace them whether it be health care reform, campaign finance reform, aid to small businesses or cap and trade. As she said in the clip of this rank hypocrisy, they're just not embarrassed. But then since the media largely gives them a pass on this kind of stuff, why should they be?

And now for your listening pleasure it's time for your weekly Driftglass and Bluegal podcast. Have a nice weekend everybody.

You can listen to past editions here and at http://dgbgpodcast.blogspot.com/, and the podcast is also available on i-Tunes. If you enjoy these as much as I do, donations are greatly appreciated. Please consider throwing five bucks in the hat.

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From John Nichols at The Nation -- Mourn Granny D.; Then Organize for Clean Politics:

Doris "Granny D" Haddock, whose 3,200-mile walk across the United States at the age of 90 drew thousands of activists into the movement for political reform, has died Tuesday evening at the age of 100.

The Dublin, New Hampshire, grandmother's death came ten years and ten days after she finished the remarkable two-year walk, which she undertook to promote the passage of campaign finance reform legislation (in particular the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform law). Read on...

I made a mash up from the HBO documentary Run Granny Run back in November of 2007 which we posted at C&L. I thought I'd share it again today. R.I.P. Granny D. You'll be sorely missed.

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Sen. John Cornyn wants everyone to calm down about a Supreme Court decision that would allow corporation to pour an unlimited amount of cash into campaign advertisements. Cornyn believes the effect of the decision has been "overstated."

"I think [the impact has] been overstated," Cornyn told Fox News' Chris Wallace.

Apparently Cornyn thinks that contribution to campaigns by individual donors is more of a threat than unchecked money from large corporations. "Frankly, there has been an explosion of money in to federal races for public office since, well, in the last ten years since campaign finance reform. It hasn't done anything to stop the flow of money in," he said.

"President Obama spent more money in his campaign in 2008 than Senator Kerry and President Bush did in 2004 combined," Cornyn continued.

"What we need is transparency. We need contemporaneous reporting on the internet. That's the kind of accountability we need," concluded Cornyn.

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Rachel Maddow wins my semi-famous "Don't Sugarcoat It" award for her talented muckraking in this segment. It's becoming abundantly clear to everyone in the left-wing activist community that without loophole-free campaign finance reform we are unlikely to change anything in Washington lobby/legislator love-fest. With an assist from blogger David Sirota, Maddow exposes the business lobby that would attempt to hide their desire to continue to import products made from child, slave, and prison labor. Given the American public's unending appetite for cheap plastic junk, it's easy to see why those profiting from that hunger would want their gravy train to continue. Sadly, Maddow must remind us, all of us, that, um, slavery is wrong, even when it occurs across the oceans.

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