Roemer Backs OWS - hurry up, bury this story!

The day before the national, rigged Republican Presidential candidate debate on Oct. 11, excluding him, Buddy Roemer granted an interview to Salon.com, in which he put Glass-Steagall, and the mass mobilization for a policy-shift up front. Roemer, Republican from Louisiana, was elected governor there in 1987, and before that, served four terms in Congress. Salon interviewer Steve Kornacki wrote in his introduction, that Roemer is "so interesting" in contrast to the Republicans you hear in the debates. "Roemer has loudly endorsed the demonstrations... In so doing, he has provided a strong case for a debate invitation [which doesn't come]: The stage may be packed, but there's no one on it now who wants Glass-Steagall reimplemented. Roemer does, and he says it's part of a broader debate the GOP needs to have." Excerpts from two exchanges in the Salon.com interview (Oct.11): Salon.com: So now you're distinguishing yourself as basically the only Republican I can think of who's had someething nice to say about Occupy Wall Street... Roemer: Yeah, one of the Republican candidates called them un-American. Salon.com: ...where does your perspective on this come from? Roemer: It comes from being 68 years old and loving America. It comes from a guy who all of his life has read about economic history and fair play. It comes from a guy who watched a different generation of young people stand up to a war in Vietnam that was not right and got us out of there. It comes from watching young people who haven't matured in all of their thoughts, who can change their mind, but who ask questions about the status quo. And I live in an America where these questions need to be asked. When I see CEOs of banks get a thousand times the pay of their average employee; when I see the top 19 banks in America on Wall Street be propped up by the taxpayers and then treat them like dirt; when I see more homeowners going to prison than I do corrupt banking officials; when I see the President of the United States sign a banking reform act that doesn't reform a damn thing, and then he goes to Wall Street two weeks later for a fundraiser at $35,000 a ticket hosted by Goldman Sachs; when I see a nation where 9 percent of the people are unemployed, 3 percent of the people have quit looking, and another 10 percent of the people are working only part-time and can't sustain themselves; then I applaud young people, middle-class people, senior citizens who stand up with signs and say, 'Why, America? What are we going to do different?' That's why I applaud the Wall Street demonstrators. Not because they're perfect, not because they've got pretty hair; not because they dress like Wall Street bankers, but because they stand for American values -- and that is, questioning the status quo. Salon.com: What would you like to see done? You talk about the stranglehold of Wall Street. What would you like to see done on a policy basis to address that? Roemer: I would re-establish Glass-Steagall. I would separate investment from commercial banking. I would require megabanks to have more capital ratios than smaller banks. I would do away with Too Big to Fail. I would make banks compete. I would get the regulators out of bed with the bankers. I would treat Wall Street bankers like profitable institutions, but with clear expectations. And finally, I would separate the money from the politics. I would limit campaign contributions... I happen to be a banker. My bank is two-thirds of a billion dollars. It's profitable. We take no bailout money. I mean, it can be done. This is not magic time..."