It didn’t make the front pages, and it didn’t lead any nightly news broadcasts. But that doesn’t mean Senator Richard Shelby’s (R-AL) recent criticism of his colleagues on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs isn’t important.

On May 10, Shelby rose during a committee hearing to complain that the Senate’s efforts to reform the US financial system and prevent future meltdowns have been bungled by, in so many words, putting the cart before the horse.