Poll: Lawmakers who weaken FinReg could be vulnerable

Could lawmakers who support loopholes that weaken financial regulatory reform be putting themselves at greater risk this fall?

According to a new poll commissioned from a Dem firm by a coalition of groups advocating for meaningful financial reform, the answer is Yes. And a new national poll also finds that FinReg could be an electoral issue.

The most visible example of a FinReg loophole is the one that Scott Brown is fighting for in the so-called Volcker rule, which would limit or prohibit the ability of financial firms to make speculative bets with their capital.

Brown appears to be on the verge of persuading Senate Dem leaders to include a carve-out that would allow banks to invest some profits in hedge funds and private equity funds in exchange for being the 60th vote. Reform groups are fighting this kind of loophole.

A new poll to be released this morning by Dem pollster Celinda Lake suggests those who support such loopholes could be at some risk. The poll, which was commissioned by Americans for Financial Reform, finds that an overwhelming majority would be less likely to reelect their member of Congress if they weaken FinReg:

When asked if they would be more or less likely to re-elect their member of Congress if he or she "voted for loopholes that would make it easier for Wall Street and the big banks to keep doing business as usual," fully 78% of voters said they would be less likely to re-elect their member of Congress, while 63% said they would be much less likely to re-elect him or her.

You may be tempted to dismiss this finding because it's a Dem firm. So check out the new NBC/WSJ poll.

It finds that 53 percent generally want their Congressional candidate to support reforming Wall Street, 25 percent enthusiastically so. Getting meaningful FinReg appears to be on the minds of Americans, and it could be a voting issue this fall.

