‘Senator Clinton, Will You Restore It…?’

It was a mere five words, almost inaudible, even in the video, then drowned out by intentional applauding by the crowd, yet history has been changed as a result. “Senator Clinton, will you restore Glass-Steagall?” was the call from LaRouche PAC activist Daniel Burke, made repeatedly from the back of the room, as Clinton was ending her “economic policy” speech—a speech entirely devoid of any content—at the New School in New York City yesterday morning. There were to be no questions allowed. While Burke was quickly escorted out, and Clinton thus saved by the orchestrated crowd noise, the news had already begun to circulate around the globe.

The first coverage appeared within minutes, on the website Business Insider, which interviewed Burke immediately after his expulsion from the hall. It reported his affiliation with LaRouchePAC and Lyndon LaRouche, what the Glass-Steagall Act is, and that Burke was supporting the action, “by a bipartisan group of Senators including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to restore Glass-Steagall.” He said this is particularly important because the situation in Greece could fuel another crisis. “It should be passed immediately, preferably in the next two weeks,” Business Insider reported him saying. “We really do not know what will come of the potential for an immediate financial crash on the basis of the Greek trigger.”

In its coverage, American Banker succinctly noted,

By his own count, as a result of his intervention, Burke had been interviewed by at least nine news venues, within minutes of his ejection from the event, including the Wall Street Journal, French TV, Politico, Newsday Britain’s London Independent, with additional outlets taking photos or printed material for further reference.

Thus forced to respond, Clinton issued one of the few declarative policy statements of her campaign, so far. “You’re not going to see Glass-Steagall” from Hillary, was the curt statement to Reuters of Alan Blinder, one of a stable of ten “economic advisors” recently hired by her campaign. The Hill led the U.S. coverage of this “no” from Clinton, with the New York City and Los Angeles press, among others, reporting that Hillary was isolated among other candidates who support Glass-Steagall. On Facebook and Twitter, this was galvanizing supporters of those other candidates and undecided Democrats; one New York teacher activist, for example, slammed his union leadership for prematurely endorsing Hillary, while publicly supporting Senator Warren’s Glass-Steagall bill S 1709!

In his first reaction to the events, Lyndon LaRouche declared, “If she’s not willing to defend Glass-Steagall, then she’s definitely not qualified to be a candidate.” Mr. LaRouche elaborated his view of the matter further, on yesterday’s LaRouchePAC Policy Committee.