It’s clear who has driven the process of more discretion for the regulators, less hard constraints on the banks and the elimination of anything that would actually alter the way Wall Street does business — the White House and the Treasury Department.

Blue Dog Caucus founder and former Oklahoma Congressman Bill Brewster’s firm Capitol Hill Consulting Group was hired to lobby lawmakers by Transocean, owner of the failed Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.

Behold our logic-resistant, industry-captured Congress. Basically, Republicans – and Democrats like Mary Landrieu don’t want an energy bill without offshore drilling. After this disaster, you won’t be able to pass anything with expanded drilling without losing several votes from coastal Democratic Senators. Therefore, you can’t get to 60, and no deal.

As you’ve no doubt heard, BP’s own liability for the damages the Deepwater Horizon spill will cause may be limited to $75 million (though it will have to pay for cleanup). Next time some DC politico gets $5000 from BP, I hope they reflect on the fact that that’s all BP wants to pay for putting a family’s entire livelihood on the line.

The U.S. government thought ahead; it expected a certain amount of spills and cleanups where oil is involved. So they created a tax on oil to create a trust to use in the event of a disaster, not unlike what we’re seeing now in the Gulf of Mexico. But the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund may work for a floating oil slick the size of Duluth, not Puerto Rico.

Reuters reports that WellPoint is under federal investigation for singling out breast cancer patients and dropping their coverage “based on either erroneous or flimsy information.” They also report that language in the House bill would have protected these women, but it was removed in the Senate version of the bill because “lobbyists for WellPoint and other top insurance companies successfully fought proposed provisions of the legislation.”

“It’s a lasting scar mainly for its combination of stupidity, insensitivity and ignorance about the civil war,” said one senior [GOP] party strategist granted anonymity to speak candidly. The source did add, however, that McDonnell “has a lot of time to make amends and put it behind him.” Unless Sheriff Haley Barbour talks about it some more, and makes unwanted headlines for you, Bob McDonnell.

We all have to appreciate honesty and transparency in this age of misdirection, obfuscation, and triangulation. So, let me rise and extend my compliments to Senator Max Sieben Baucus (D-MT), who, in the midst of a dewy-eyed tribute on the Senate floor, said just about all you need to know about the new health care reform law, and the 14-month fight to shape it.

The Sunlight Foundation has a superb report of the way in which Bill Tauzin, whom Obama attacked during his campaign for his slimy deal-making, pushed through a deal with the Obama White House that limited savings from the pharmaceutical companies in the health care bill to $80 billion.

Student loan reform, which would cut out middle-men pariahs like Sallie Mae and save $87 billion over the next 10 years which could go directly to students instead, is now in danger — thanks to the efforts of Jamie Gorelick.