Congress may pass tougher financial regulation

Or it may not. The bipartisan opposition 16 years ago to Ed Markey’s bill to regulate derivatives, after both Republicans and Democrats worshiped at the shrine of St. Alan of Greenspan, should make true progressives skeptical of stories like this.

Barney Frank, who, while not as at fault in the meltdown in the ways McCain claimed a couple of weeks ago, nonetheless isn’t Joe Six-Pack’s best friend vs. Wall Street, is talking about loosening mark-to-market rules, for example.

And, why does the House need a special committee? If this thinks outside narrow committee lines, surely there’s a way to hold either formal or informal joint committee meetings.