Why Dems won't push real financial reform

Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs gave the party a 3-2 money raising edge in 2008 elections.

So, behind the faux populism of the current financial reform bill in the Senate is more business as usual.

Real populism would include public financing of Congressional campaigns.

Short of that, though, Simon Johnson says Dems could do more now.

"Show people, in gruesome detail, the money being spent by this part of big finance," he wrote Wednesday on his blog, Baselinescenario.com. "Go to the nonfinancial sector, to other parts of the financial system, and directly to individuals -- asking most clearly for contributions that would replace what the banks have withdrawn and offset what the banks are spending to defeat the president's reform agenda."

Don't hold your breath on that, either.