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Financial Reform Battle Brings Big Wall Street Contributions To Republicans

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The battle over financial reform has been a boon — to the Republican party, which is seeing a big spurt in campaign donations from Wall Street:

Republicans may lose the fight over Wall Street regulations, but the fight has helped their campaign accounts.

For the first time since 2004, the biggest Wall Street firms are now giving most of their campaign donations to Republicans.

A Wall Street Journal analysis of 12 large financial services companies, including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. shows that they have collectively made $1.4 million in political donations, with 52% going to Republicans so far this year. That’s a reversal from last year, according to the most recent round of fund-raising reports covering January, February and March.

Last year, J.P. Morgan’s political action committee gave about 60% of its $100,000 in donations to Democratic candidates. But in the first three months of 2010, the company’s PAC has reversed that trend, sending about 60% of its donations to Republicans.

Morgan Stanley has also reversed course. Last year, the company’s PAC gave $77,500 to Democratic candidates and $63,500 to Republicans. Through the first months of this year, Republicans have received 80% of its $40,000 in donations, according to the analysis.

But campaign records show that even Goldman Sachs has given more – 52% — of its PAC donations to Republicans in the first three months of the year. Few companies have been more reliable supporters of the Democratic Party than Goldman Sachs. Since 1989, there has never been an election in which Goldman gave more to Republicans than Democrats, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. In fact, the company and its PAC were the No. 2 source of campaign cash for President Barack Obama, giving his 2008 presidential campaign nearly $1 million.

The Wall Street Journal piece notes that:

  • Wall Street firms now writing big checks to the Republican Party itself and largely putting the Democrats aside.
  • GOPers have been frustrated because the big companies and their employees had been giving money to the Dems, even though the GOP stood up for industry more.
  • Democrats received more campaign donations from Wall Street over the course of the entire 2009 and 2010 election cycle than Republicans.
  • The last time Wall Street contributed more money to Republicans: Democrats was during the 2004 presidential election cycle.

    • Given ideology, political considerations, differences in persepctive and the big bucks, is it a mystery why Republicans are not agreeing (yet) to financial reform — and only will do so after some “tweaks” (things that don’t make the final bill quite as hard on Wall Street)?