I sat down with Jake Blumgart of Campus Progress to talk about covering Washington DC. Here’s a excerpt of our discussion of legislative battles over the future of the financial industry, which seems particularly germane in light of today’s White House announcement of its new regulatory initiative:

It does seem to be harder to rally people around something like temporarily nationalizing the banks. Massive pro-gay rights demonstrations, for example, are couched in terms of human rights, which everyone gets. But banking…

That is why they win these battles. There is no mass constituency for re-regulating the banks. It doesn’t get people in the [thumps finger on chest]. There are certain political arguments that make your cheeks warm. Those are the things that win elections. It is hard to marshal intensity around systemic risk regulations or temporarily nationalizing the banks. So without a mass constituency it is left to insiders in D.C. That battle isn’t even between David and Goliath. It is between Goliath and David’s poodle’s infant puppy.