Sahil Kapur: Can Clinton win the Democratic race for toughest Wall Street cop?

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Sahil Kapur: Can Clinton win the Democratic race for toughest Wall Street cop?

Reviews of the proposals by Clinton, who served as Obama's secretary of state and, before that, as a senator from New York, are mixed. "These are non-trivial improvements in Dodd-Frank-by closing Volcker Rule loopholes and by significantly boosting individual accountability," said Jared Bernstein, a former top economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden. "I think that has the potential to prevent the kind of excesses that got us into so much trouble." But Bernstein said Clinton's transaction tax is "far too narrow" as it only targets a manipulation tactic known as spoofing. "It doesn't go far enough," he said. "My view is that a small transaction tax with a much broader base would do much more."

Other skeptics raise questions about where Clinton's loyalties lie. She draws significant campaign support from Wall Street and, although Wall Street watchdog Gary Gensler is playing a key role in her campaign, other Clinton associates, such as financial industry veterans Robert Hormats and Thomas Nides, who worked with her at the State Department, have made liberals suspicious.

Sanders, whose populist platform is winning him surprising support in the Democratic presidential race, has made Wall Street reform a centerpiece of his campaign, proposing to deny "too big to fail" banks access to Federal Reserve's discount facilities or insured deposits, levy a broad financial transaction tax and prohibit bonuses for financial executives who accept senior-level government jobs.

"Given the image of big banks today, it is easy now to take on Wall Street," Sanders said in a statement after Clinton released her plan. "I was there when it was not so popular."

O'Malley, who has struggled to gain any traction in the primary, also views Wall Street reform as an issue where he can gain a leg-up. His deputy campaign manager, Lis Smith, criticized Clinton's plan as one that "falls short on what should be our ultimate goal: preventing reckless Wall Street speculators from backing up their bad bets with taxpayer money." She invoked reinstating Glass-Steagall, a provision in O'Malley's blueprint to take on Wall Street, in order to set up "a defined firewall between Wall Street and taxpayers."

Related:

The Atlantic: Hillary Clinton’s Weak Plans for Changing Wall Street

Paula Dwyer: Clinton's plan on Wall Street protects husband's legacy

Sirota and Perez: Hillary Clinton's Wall Street Policy Being Shaped By Two Bankers

Yahoo Politics: Hillary Clinton doesn’t support revival of Glass-Steagall Act

Democracy Now!: Robert Reich on Glass-Steagall and Bernie Sanders

Clinton: Cooperation, not speeches, is needed to regulate Wall Street