T-Paw ditches Romney to get rich lobbying for bank deregulation

T-Paw would love to stick to the bitter end to watch Mitt lose, but alas ... Not foreseeing a bright future in a'pause to guffaw'Romney administration, Tim "Kicking himself for dropping out so early" Pawlenty is ditching the sinking ship that is the Romney campaign for something far more noble:

One-time Republican presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty has been chosen as the new head of The Financial Services Roundtable, the lobbying group announced Thursday morning. The group lobbies on behalf of large banks, insurance companies and other major players in the world of finance. [...]

The Roundtable, like other banking groups, is seeking to recover ground the industry lost when Dodd-Frank was enacted.

Since Pawlenty couldn't be his party's nominee, wasn't picked to be Romney's running mate, and has probably looked at a poll or two showing just how doomed the Romney campaign is, now seems like a great time to secure a fat paycheck by using his, er, cache to pressure lawmakers into further deregulating the banking industry. Sure, he may have once dreamt of helping the rich get richer while screwing over everyone else from inside the White House, but hey, at least he's found some way to make his contribution.

As for Romney, he of course issued the obligatory faux statement of support:

'He's brought energy, intelligence and tireless dedication to every enterprise in which he's ever been engaged, and that certainly includes my presidential campaign,' Romney said. 'While I regret he cannot continue as co-chair of my campaign, his new position advancing the integrity of our financial system is vital to the future of our country.'

T-Paw may be the first rat to jump the rapidly sinking ship before it hits bottom on Nov. 6, but I'll bet you $10,000 he won't be the last.