 L. Scott D’Amboise |
The Republican challenger to Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R.-Maine) joined a chorus of outrage Dec. 6 as Maine’s senior senator prepares to meet Richard Cordray, President Barack H. Obama Jr.’s nominee to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
“There is a good chance that Snowe supports Obama’s choice for CFPB. Her opposition of Cordray would be the right choice, but would be a departure from Snowe’s long history of supporting liberal nominees and legislation,” said L. Scott D’Amboise, who will challenge Snowe in the 2012 GOP primary.
Snowe is expected to meet with Cordray Dec. 7 to announce her support.
Snowe signed the May 5 letter along with 43 other Republican senators pledging to oppose the Cordray nomination until the President worked with them to reconfigure the extraordinarily independent bureau, so that it was accountable to congressional and presidential oversight.
There have been no changes to the bureau, since the letter was sent to Obama.
The CFPB, a major part of the Dodd-Frank financial regulation law, remains in an incubator stage inside the Treasury Department. Upon the confirmation of its first director, in this case Cordray, the bureau then becomes a part of the Federal Reserve, although the Fed has no authority over the Bureau.
D’Amboise said the CFPB is a monster that Obama and the Democrats cannot wait to unleash on the economy, and Snowe should be leading the charge against Cordray-he would be shocked if she did.
“Olympia Snowe has proven herself to be a reliable vote for President Obama and the Democrats in Congress,” said the resident of Lisbon Falls, where he owns an eye glass store and is a former selectman.
The senator supported both the TARP Wall Street bailout and the Cash for Clunkers program, he said.
“Snowe voted for Obama’s Supreme Court nominees, his stimulus and bailout plans, as well as ensuring the passage of ObamaCare with a single committee vote,” he said.
“It was her vote in committee that allowed Obama to claim he had a bipartisan healthcare reform bill,” he said.
“She is not conservative, in fact, she votes with the Democrats 81 percent of the time,” said the small businessman, who called himself, “A Republican candidate with Tea Party followers.”
