Inmates Running The Asylum
by digby
Apparently, the Madoff ponzi scheme is making even some Republicans question whether the SEC might not be doing its job:
As the list of victims continues to grow and investigators examine how Bernard Madoff allegedly ran his massive scam, some are questioning how Madoff avoided detection for so long. As a registered investment advisor since 2006, he was subject to scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission, yet he managed to maintain a clean record even after complaints from whistleblowers started nine years ago.
"The Securities and Exchange Commission is letting down the American people," Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) said of the SEC. "They failed. This person was registered as a broker dealer, they should have known what he was doing all the time, and particularly if you have whistleblowers."
Yes, it's shocking but it shouldn't surprising. This is from the February 2005 CPAC convention:
Vice President Dick Cheney, a regular CPAC speaker, gave the keynote address. California Rep. Chris Cox had the honor of introducing him, and he took the opportunity to mock the Democrats whose hatred of America led them to get Iraq so horribly wrong.
"America's Operation Iraqi Freedom is still producing shock and awe, this time among the blame-America-first crowd," he crowed. Then he said, "We continue to discover biological and chemical weapons and facilities to make them inside Iraq."
Again, that was 2005. And President Bush rewarded Chris Cox's serious, sober professional judgment with the SEC chairmanship a mere six months later.
Why would anyone have ever thought that someone who was that delusional and/or dishonest could possibly run Wall Street's watchdog agency with any integrity or competence?
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