Diatribune

I've heard a lot about how the Democratic presidential candidates stand on the Iraq war and other subjects, but I wonder how two of the candidates failed to vote for consumers' interests and against one of the most anti-consumer pieces of legislation passed by the GOP Congress-- the 2005 bankruptcy bill.

The bill makes it harder for those who wind up in financial hardship to declare bankruptcy without walking through a series of hoops and (perhaps) paying lots of money still. While bill supporters claim that it makes it harder for those who have money to dodge their debts, the reality is that the bill hurts those who really need the protection-- those who run into unexpected medical expenses and those forced into hardship through lost of employment or other factors.

While Sen. Barack Obama opposed the bill, another Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Joe Biden, supported it while a third such hopeful, Sen. Hillary Clinton, did not vote.

Biden may have scored his points during last week's presidential debate, but I sure hope he gets challenged on why he turned his back on average consumers in 2005 while supporting the interests of big credit card companies through his vote.

As for Hillary, why DIDN'T she take a stand? Was she so bent on not offending folks that she felt the safest course of action was not to vite at all?

One additional thing. To its credit, the House Judiciary Committee led by a true champion of Americans, Rep. John Conyers, will begin looking into the effects of the legislation starting on May 1. I sure hopes this is the start of a strong effort to undo the damage caused to average Americans who find themselves in unexpected financial hardship.

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