Bankhugger Defined

Bankhugger – noun – a politician supporting the bailing out of banks, while indulging the same banks’ resistance to regulation and looking the other way while those same banks pay out lavish salaries and bonuses to executives. The phrase “bankhugger” is slang, derived from the label “treehugger” applied to environmentalists accused of sacrificing common sense and the common good to preserve the environment. E.g. “That bankhugger Geithner can’t stop doling out cash to undeserving financial institutions.” –adverb- bankhugging – engaging in the bailing out of banks, while indulging the same banks’ resistance to regulation and looking the other way while those same banks pay out lavish salaries and bonuses to executives. E.g. “If Obama doesn’t quit bankhugging, the Democrats will lose more than just Ted Kennedy’s seat.”