The GOP and Financial Reform

Over at the Guardian, I have a piece up on the prospect for bipartisan cooperation on financial reform:

Will the GOP block financial reform to extract revenge for healthcare? John McCain, grumpy on a good day, was outright cranky over the passage of healthcare reform, promising "no co-operation for the rest of the year" on any legislation.

But Democrats feel ready to tackle more big reform legislation:

After the near-death experience of healthcare reform, one might think that Democrats in Congress would be wary of taking on another large, complex bill that expands government involvement in the private sector. But instead of making things harder, Dodd said that the recent passage of healthcare reform "strengthened our hand" on financial reform.

And at least two of McCain's colleagues are interested in cooperating:

One Republican senator, Bob Corker of Tennessee, who has been talking with Dodd, thinks his party made a "major strategic error" by walking away from bipartisan negotiations on healthcare, giving Democrats a political advantage. Making things even more complicated for Republicans, another of their senators, Richard Shelby, has engaged in separate talks with Dodd. With the bankers being blamed for the current recession, it seems likely that several other Republican senators will be looking for ways to support financial reform rather than just dig in their heels.

Correction: Senator Corker's office has pointed out that his comment about a "strategic error" was in relation to the financial reform bill, not healthcare reform.
The Republicans will find their populist appeal will be tested when it comes to financial reform:

But it's hard to imagine the GOP stoking Tea Party populism by blocking regulation without being seen as siding with the banks. I don't think we will see angry voters shouting "Keep your hands off my hedge funds!" at town hall meetings this summer. Just saying no will not work for the Republicans on financial reform.