The GOP Candidates and Bank Regulation: Where They Stand
Published October 31, 2011 11:30 AM
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Updated October 31, 2011 12:10 PM
1 Min Read
Michele Bachmann
Conservative stalwarts in the Republican presidential race, including Michele Bachmann, are forcing other candidates to shift to the right on financial issues. Bachmann, a Minnesota congressman, voted against Tarp and later introduced a bill to repeal Dodd-Frank. Other candidates have scrambled to match her conservative positions. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, is also exerting a rightward pull on other GOP candidates. Gingrich has long been calling for the repeal of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which was passed on a bipartisan basis in 2002. Now other presidential contenders are following his lead. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Ron Paul
Ron Paul's views on monetary policy remain outside of the Republican Party mainstream. But on financial regulation and bailouts, he is perfectly in sync with the party's conservative base. Paul voted against Tarp and Dodd-Frank, and he was one of only three members of Congress to vote against Sarbanes-Oxley back in 2002. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Jon Huntsman
Jon Huntsman, a former Utah governor with a reputation as a moderate, supported Tarp in 2008. More recently, he has been speaking out against bailouts, and has called for the full repeal of Sarbanes-Oxley. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney also supported Tarp in its early days. More recently, he is tacking to the right on financial issues, but he is maintaining more moderate positions than some of his competitors. The former Massachusetts governor supports a partial repeal of Dodd-Frank — he favors the concept of higher capital standards in the 2010 reform law — as well as a partial repeal of Sarbanes-Oxley. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Rick Perry
Rick Perry is among the Republican candidates who have been hamstrung by their earlier positions on Tarp. The Texas governor has been accused of trying to have it both ways on Tarp, since he wrote a letter to congressional leaders urging them to take action shortly before the vote on Tarp, while at the same time he put out a press release decrying taxpayer bailouts. Perry maintains that he opposed Tarp from the beginning. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Herman Cain
Herman Cain is another candidate who's trying to avoid political damage as a result of his past support of Tarp. Cain said at a recent debate that he is owning up to his position back in 2008, and that the problem with Tarp had to do with how it was later implemented. (Image: Bloomberg News)
