Just go to this link right here. It's The Wall Street Journal article from July of 2010. If you scroll down, you'll see Harry Reid with his arm around Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT). They are all smiles as they both walked to the floor of the US Senate right before voting on the Dodd-Frank financial regulations.

That's right, Dodd Frank- the very regulations that Tester himself now admits led to the shutdown of banks here on Main Street in Montana.

Just how many banks have been put out of business in Montana thanks to Tester and Dodd-Frank? After voting in support of a motion to rollback the Dodd-Frank regulations on Tuesday, Montana's Republican Senator Steve Daines sent out the below numbers:

"Since the passage of Dodd-Frank, the number of state chartered banks in Montana has fallen from 64 to 44 – over a 31 percent decline – largely due to consolidation as small community banks have not been able to keep pace with the demands of the Obama Administration’s regulations. The number of federally insured credit unions in Montana has also fallen from 57 to 51 – an over 10 percent decline."

In a statement sent to the media following his vote, Daines added:

“Dodd-Frank regulations are suffocating Montana’s rural banks and credit unions and ultimately are hitting their customers the hardest. This bill takes a long overdue step in the right direction and begins to give local community banks and credit unions the relief they need to stay in business.”

More From KBUL NEWS TALK 970 AM & 103.3 FM