Chris Dodd should not be the GOP's punching bag on AIG and the financial boondoggle

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by Chad Rubel

You may not be thinking about how the AIG scandal may bear out on the 2010 election. But trust me, the Republicans already are.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) is either a) the wrong person at the wrong time, b) the poster child for the Republicans to bash, c) guilty of a few things, or d) perhaps a combination of a few of those and others.

The latest blow for Dodd was admitting that was involved in key legislative changes that allowed the controversial AIG bonuses to go through. He had previously denied this was true.

Glenn Greenwald provides substantial evidence that Dodd has become the scapegoat for the Obama Administration, specifically Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and that Dodd was talked out of changes by the Treasury Department.

But part of why Dodd has become the focus stems from the recent past, including the revelation of receiving favorable treatment from Countrywide Financial.

The fear is that Dodd, along the lines of how Republicans talk about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac "causing the financial problems" in that completely deceptive and lying fashion, might be the sacrificial "blame" lamb.

Besides being the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Dodd also serves Connecticut, known unofficially as the "Insurance State" for his plethora of insurance companies. Those are two strikes against a politician in this climate.

Dodd's seat is up in 2010, and despite a potentially intriguing Senate run in 2012 when Joe Lieberman's seat is up, Republicans are smelling a potential shot at Dodd's seat. Moderate Republican and former congressman Rob Simmons has already announced he will run against Dodd, though Simmons, at 65, is one year older than Dodd. CNBC's Larry Kudlow, not learning the lesson of MSNBC's Chris Matthews, is mulling a run for Dodd's seat as well.

Republicans are going to be in bad shape trying to win back Senate seats in 2010. The open seats, plus exciting races with vulnerable incumbents (Arlen Specter, Jim Bunning), will use up scarce Republican resources. But a symbolic victory, especially in the Northeast, may be a prize the GOP thinks it can win.

Whatever sins Dodd may have committed, when he runs in 2010, his record should really reflect the realities of the candidate, and not some effort to represent something he isn't, especially to deflect the blame away from those that truly deserve it.

Sen. Dodd's Full Statement on AIG Bonuses

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