WSJ says this is big year for 'Little Guy'

WASHINGTON (5/6/08)--The weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal highlighted the Credit Union National Association's grassroots efforts, calling 2008 a "big year for the Little Guy."

The May 3-4 weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal noted the CUNA's grassroots clout and included an image of the Little Guy--CUNA's iconic character that represents the working men and women of America from all walks of life who are credit union members--the owners and focus of credit union service.

The story included a picture of CUNA's "The Little Guy."

The current economic climate and worries of working Americans have come to the forefront during this election year, according to the Journal. This has changed lobbying strategies for many groups in Washington.

"Folks beat money anytime in a political fight," House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was quoted in the story.

The current political and public backlash against "Big Banks, Big Oil, and Big Business," has resulted in many lobbying groups putting their "members and dependents out front—the more Main Street they are, the better," said the Journal.

For example, even the American Bankers Association has begun emphasizing its "local" roots by stressing it represents thousands of community banks that become members after the ABA merged with America's Community Banks, according to the report.

The story called CUNA "a mammoth of the grass roots," and noted CUNA President/CEO Dan Mica's heated reaction to the U.S. Treasury's plan to overhaul the financial regulatory structure. That plan would eliminate the credit union charter as well as the National Credit Union Administration.

Mica said any implementation of such a plan would result in the "nuclear option"--a request to all 85 million credit union members to "rally on Capitol Hill, jam lawmakers' phone lines and inboxes."

Resource Links

Changing the Conversation with The Little Guy

WSJ online: "Lobbyists Reach for Grass Roots"

CUs in the Media