Current SEC chairman and former Orange County congressman Chris Cox “would be fired” by a “President” John McCain, the candidate said today as a remedy to the meltdown on Wall Street, and went so far as accusing Cosx of betraying the public trust. McCain is apparently suffering from amnesia over his own advocacy in deregulating Wall Street. Cox, as a congressman, was the most conservative member of the House and was very popular in Red County circles.
More after the jump:
From the story: McCain, who all but called for Cox’s ouster from the Bush administration, has been constantly labeled a reliable Bush helpmate by his Democratic opponents. Bush appointed Cox to lead the SEC in 2005. He had represented the House for 17 years and served on congressional committees overseeing investor protection and U.S. capital markets.
“The chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president and, in my view, has betrayed the public’s trust,” McCain told the crowd at a rally in this battleground state. “If I were president today, I would fire him.”
SEC spokesman John Heine said he had no immediate comment. Cox’s term ends in June 2009 although he could remain longer until a replacement is named.
Hmmmm……
Just wonder how McCain’s comments are going to go over in the OC which is a relaible ATM for GOP fundraising and where Cox is still popular and admired?
MxcCain should look in the mirrir and share soem of the blame; ABC News took him to task over this last night; here’s the transcript:
CHARLIE GIBSON: And with apologies for our technical difficulties, we’re going to turn back to the difficult economy, and the way the presidential candidates are dealing with it, particularly John McCain. Here’s David Wright.
DAVID WRIGHT: John McCain was against the government bailout of AIG, before he was reluctantly for it. Here he was yesterday on “Today.”
JOHN MCCAIN: We cannot bail AIG or anybody else. We have to work through it.
WRIGHT: Asked about the same topic today on “Good Morning America” –
MCCAIN: I don’t think anybody I know wanted to do that. But there are literally millions of people whose retirement, whose investments, whose insurance were at risk here. And they were going to have their lives destroyed.
WRIGHT: Senator McCain appears to have changed his tune on regulation in a fundamental way. Today on the stump, he’s a champion of reigning in Wall Street with tough regulations.
MCCAIN: We’re going to put an end to the reckless conduct, corruption and greed that have caused a crisis on Wall Street.
WRIGHT: But for more than 25 years in the Senate, McCain has fashioned himself as a champion of smaller government, less regulation.
MCCAIN: I am less government, less regulation, lower taxes, et cetera.
WRIGHT: In the mid 1990s, he supported a measure to ban all new government regulations. McCain supported legislation a decade ago that broke down the firewalls between commercial and investment banks and insurance companies — the very rules companies like AIG exploited to get in the current mess. And as recently as March of this year, after the collapse of Bear Stearns, McCain was all for deregulating Wall Street.
MCCAIN: Our financial market approach should include encouraging increased capital in financial institutions by removing regulatory, accounting and tax impediments to raising capital.
GEORGE WILL: When the deregulation was the wave through Washington, he surfed that wave. Now it’s not, and the populist inside John McCain is out.
WRIGHT: Today, the Wall Street Journal accused McCain of selling out his free market ideals. Said today’s top editorial — “denouncing greed and Wall Street, isn’t a growth agenda,”
GEORGE WILL: It’s a conversion of convenience, some will say.
Back in March, Cox was touted as a possible VP for McCain by www.DonkeyDish.com. Here’s what they had to say.
Chris Cox, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission
The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission made his name for 16 years (1989-2005, resigning to take the SEC appointment) as the smartest and perhaps the most unwavering Reagan-esque conservative in the U.S. House.
Representing the California 48th, Chris Cox built a reputation as both a thoughtful and reform-minded public official. He’s a staunch conservative (rated one of the most staunch, in fact) that no hard-liners would complain about.
Moreover, Chris Cox, a 55-year-old father of three, has an upbeat, friendly demeanor that would balance out an often intense and abrasive John McCain.
He grew up in Minnesota, where he could improve Republican odds, and even more importantly, remains popular in California. The Golden State suddenly being in play could doom the Democrats’ chances in November.
John McCain is an old meanie! Poor Chrissy Cox!
Chris Cox is a walking anachronism, a living relic from the good ‘ol days of the high-flying 80s when Ronnie was in the White House, the gays were in the closet, and Orange County Republicans and their developer friends were safely in charge. Look at that picture; even his suit and tie look retro.