Warren doing what she knows best:
Nearly two years after Wall Street waged a successful campaign to keep consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren from running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the incoming senator will be tapped to serve on the Banking Committee, according to four sources familiar with the situation. It’s a victory for progressives who battled to win her a seat on the panel that oversees the implementation of Dodd-Frank and other banking regulations.
Warren knocked out Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts in the most expensive Senate contest of 2012, with Wall Street spending heavily to beat Warren, a former Harvard law professor.
Sources also told HuffPost that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) will be named to the panel.
The banksters spent millions trying to defeat Warren and Obama, there was a huge lobbying effort to keep her off this committee, but she was appointed anyway. And maybe she can pull Manchin back to the left a little since he doesn’t have to run again for six years.
Ted & Hellen
This is a good thing.
IowaOldLady
Ha! Ha!, I say. And again Ha!
Maybe you should have let her head the Consumer Protection Agency, hmmm?
Ted & Hellen
She’s my senator, you know.
I voted for her.
PeakVT
Have They Lost Their MoJo?
Maybe, a little. But it’s certainly not time to relax our guard.
Xecky Gilchrist
Inb4 pie –
drat, Ted & Hellen beat me here.
Face
One token DINO. Didn’t he refuse to support Obama in this election, or was that a different assclown?
ruemara
I’ve been cackling with glee since I heard that this morn.
Ted & Hellen
@IowaOldLady:
If you recall, PBO couldn’t be bothered to nominate her because he was afraid of the Republicans.
As a junior senator on this committee, it’s unlikely she’ll have much influence for a while.
Davis X. Machina
That’s Joe “Nighthorse” Manchin… He’s a Democrat only because the Senate didn’t flip.
scav
snickers are sweet.
scav
snickers are sweet.
eta: and mr pad needs haptic feedback. but I’m happy enough to let the duplication stand as it expresses reality.
The Moar You Know
They keep trying, Obama keeps winning.
Dork
I surprised the Repubs didn’t filibuster her nomination to this committee, because they can SHUT UP THAT’S HOW.
MikeJ
It’s also very unusual for an incoming freshman senator to be named to such an important committee. The only reason she got it is because Harry Reid wanted to give it to her. She deserves it, and is one of the most qualified to be on the committee, but make no mistake, Reid passed over people to get to Warren, and did it to make a point to the bankers.
nellcote
You funny, JC
General Stuck
If you can’t beat em. Join em, then beat them.
KG
@MikeJ: I know this runs against everything that Congress stands for, but shouldn’t committee seats go to the most qualified members? Like, if you believe the Earth was created in six days about 3,000 years ago (or that it’s turtles all the way down!), you probably shouldn’t be on the committee dealing with science. Or if you’ve never driven a car, transportation might not be your best location?
Jim C.
This smells like a deal was done. “We’ll let that Warren woman on the panel if you give us Manchin so he can rubber stamp everything the banksters want like the good little blue dog corporate shill he is.”
David in NY
@KG: “Or if you’ve never
driven a cartaken a train, transportation might not be your best location?”Judas Escargot, Bringer of Loaves and Fish Sandwiches
@IowaOldLady:
Scott Brown was (I think the only) Republican vote to send her there.
Can’t imagine why.
shortstop
@Davis X. Machina: Every time you say that, I wonder whatever happened to Ben, and vow to look it up. Then I forget. I’m going to do it right now.
ETA: I did: lobbyist and jewelry designer! Bwa!
Just Some Fuckhead
Warren’s not going to be able to make a bit of difference because the Senate is broken. She will eventually become a heavy drinker and begin tweeting pictures of her vagina. Happens to the best of them.
David in NY
OT.
Pelosi filed the motion to discharge the middle-class tax-cut bill. Where’s the post telling us to badger our congresspeople to support it?
Bulworth
You know what else? Obama shouldn’t have Warren speak at the DNC because she’s so divisive and extreme and that could hurt PBO’s re-election chances. /
Warren Terra
Manchin is a blue dog corporate-friendly DINO clown, but he’s also from a poor state that I don’t think houses the headquarters of many big banks or hedge funds. Maybe we can at least fantasize hell play a bit populist on the banks.
gene108
@MikeJ:
I always thought committee assignments were partly based on a Senator’s area of expertise or his/her state’s area of interest and not just a function of seniority.
Putting Warren on banking makes sense because Boston has a significant financial sector and she has expertise in the area.
For example, you have Senators from farm states on the Agriculture committee and Senators with large military presence in their states on the Armed Services committee.
I don’t think she really jumped over anyone to get on the Banking Committee.
Yutsano
Ohh the beautiful Harry Reid remains pissed off. No wonder Grandpa Walnuts is having hemorrhoid flare-ups. All those durn new kids are getting the primo assignments!
A bankruptcy attorney on the Banking committee. This could get good!
shortstop
@Just Some Fuckhead: Some of them do it sober. Things are just that bad.
me
OT: What a bunch of assholes. The Republicans give the finger to Bob Dole who was there in a fucking wheelchair.
Zifnab25
@Ted & Hellen: Bwhahaha! You sir, are hilarious. Keep it coming.
Linda Featheringill
@Ted & Hellen: #8
She may be limited in actual power but will probably be long on influence. Her expertise in that field will make her to go-to person. When she talks, the rest of the committee will listen.
And it will be very hard to lie to her.
Just Some Fuckhead
@gene108: Shouldn’t Warren have been placed on Indian Affairs?
Alex S.
West Virginia is only republican because of coal, gays, guns and blacks, do I get this right? They’re not really free market apostles, or are they?
The Moar You Know
I know this runs against everything that Congress stands for, but shouldn’t committee seats go to the most qualified members?
@KG: hahahahahahahahaha
Name ten members of Congress that are “qualified” to determine national policy on anything aside from tax dodging and theft.
Warren is one. You’ve got nine left. Go!
Linda Featheringill
I propose a toast to the efficacy of signing petitions and calling Harry Reid’s office.
[happy dance]
Tom Q
@Just Some Fuckhead: Wingnuts roar with laughter. The rest of the population stares in bewilderment.
WaterGirl
@ruemara: OT, but…
Do I recall correctly that you were in the market for a VCR? I got a free blu-ray player several months ago, and I am tired of looking at my VCR sitting on the table, waiting for me to figure out what to do with it. I would happily ship it to you if you wanted it.
trollhattan
@Warren Terra:
He needs to be moved over to the “Committee to Fight the Woah on Coal.”
Napoleon
@Warren Terra:
Good point. Perhaps it is where he logically will do the most good/least damage.
Tom Q
@Alex S.: This is the issue I have with alot of blue dogs. The reason voters in their states vote GOP presidentially is all tied up in those tribal issues. You’d think some of these Congressfolk, after reassuring people on thier god/gays/guns bona fides, would take positions that advance their middle-class-or-poorer interests (like, “having health care would be good for you”). Instead, they cower in fear that the Republican attack machine will come after them, and cave on issues that you would think their voters would understand are not in their interest, most especially protecting big banks.
The Ancient Randonneur
Chuck Shumer is on the committee as well and he isn’t known for being particularly tough on the Wall Street gang either.
trollhattan
@Linda Featheringill:
Good point. When they have yet another of those banker beauty pageants where the bankers coo their sweet chocolate-and-Cognac lies while sporting seven-thousand-dollar suits, Warren can provide the stiletto amuse bouche.
PurpleGirl
@David in NY: You beat me to it.
If you don’t use public transportation or use long-distance trains, you shouldn’t be making decisions that will affect those sectors and the people who travel other than with a personal car.
Just Some Fuckhead
@shortstop: Hopefully, she can at least maintain her dignity enough not to become an AIPAC stooge.
Ash Can
@Just Some Fuckhead: I don’t know if I should encourage you or not, but this cracked me the hell up.
David in NY
@PurpleGirl: Um, that was what I meant to be saying (by modifying the prior comment).
gelfling545
@IowaOldLady: I think the day will soon come when they will really, really wish they had.
shortstop
@Ash Can: Well, it was extremely funny.
@Just Some Fuckhead: She won’t. She’s a very freaky girl, the kind you don’t bring home to Bibi.
shortstop
Have been really busy with other things and not thinking about the election much. Every once in a while I stop and remember that Barack Obama is the president for four more years and Elizabeth Warren will soon be in the Senate, and a gentle warm glow suffuses me.
ET
I wonder how big Warren would have won if Wall Street hadn’t been so intent on keeping her out. One one hand some may have voted against here because she is kiss Wall Streets boots and can be seen as an ally of the president (despite their history) on the other that very thing may have driven some people to actually vote for her.
ericblair
@Just Some Fuckhead:
I kind of suspect it will run more to a glass of wine with dinner and cute cat photos, but I’m pretty damn sure she’ll be voting for some defense appropriation bills that the progressives aren’t going to like and they’ll need to be prepared for that. Or not.
Anyways, good on her, good on Reid, and I just love irony.
Felonius Monk
And while we were enjoying our lunch today:
PurpleGirl
@David in NY: Um, I didn’t mean to step on your comment — that’s why I added the “You beat me to it.” But I still wanted to put it on record.
efroh
Sweet Jesus, yes! Popping popcorn in anticipation for the hearings right now.
Just Some Fuckhead
@shortstop:
I lol’ed.
Alex S.
@Tom Q:
Yes, it must be a law that, once you decide you’re conservative on something, you have to take the whole conservative package as well.
lacp
@Felonius Monk: Wonder if that’s wishful thinking on his part?
ericblair
@lacp:
It looks like NancySmash and the rest of the leadership are still solid. Fuck Hoyer, we don’t need a fucking Blue Dog in a leadership spot.
handsmile
It occurs to me that if John Kerry is appointed as Secretary of State or Defense in the next Congressional term, Elizabeth Warren will become the senior senator from Massachusetts! That’s what I call fast-track.
And as far as her status as a junior Senator on the Banking Committee, Warren has a national reputation and credibility (as well as a wee bit of expertise) on many of the areas of its oversight that far surpasses her more senior colleagues.
http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=CommitteeInformation.Membership
With her profile, Warren could arguably become the committee’s most prominent member. Of course, if so that would not sit well with fellow Democrat Chuck Schumer; as The Ancient Randonneur (#41) suggests above, theirs could be an interesting tussle.
joes527
The Fuck You that Warren’s presence in the Senate sends to all the people most in need of Fuck You-ing isn’t the most important part of her being in the Senate.
But it is the sweetest.
shortstop
@handsmile: Oh, please, no. State law requires a special election to fill that seat. No offense, MA folks here, but Scott Brown will run again and you know your fellow Bay Staters will elect him.
AxelFoley
@Ted & Hellen:
Yeah, so afraid of them, he let them kick his ass in two elections and didn’t get anything done in his first term.
Oh, wait…you’re just being a fucking idiot as usual.
Triassic Sands
Warren on the Banking Committee — there is a Santa Claus.
I feel really sorry for all the patriotic job creators who donated so generously to the Brown campaign and I wouldn’t blame them at all if they decided to “go Galt” and just leave the US. In fact, I would almost encourage them to do that. The only thing that makes me reluctant is the guilt I would feel in having created these monsters and then inflicting them on some other innocent, unsuspecting people.
Anyway, congratulations to Warren.
Kos says: “she’s in the Senate, and she’s going to be in a position of real power over them [them being Wall Street].”
That probably overstates the case. She’ll be a freshman on the committee and freshman don’t run the show. The Banking Committee is definitely where she belongs, but it will take some time before she becomes institutionally powerful. In the meantime, maybe her example can help stiffen the spines of some Democrats, although I doubt if Manchin will be one. We’ll see.
David in NY
@handsmile: Seems to me Schumer has moderated his totally pro-Wall Street stance a bit since the Big Crash. I think he’s now in favor of doing away with the carried interest scam (sorry Burns), a change he previously spiked when there was some chance of dealing with it.
Felonius Monk
@lacp: @ericblair: That headline sounds a lot stronger than what it says in the article — which seems to be just his opinion. I’ll reserve judgement on Steny until I see where this goes. Perhaps it’s just a little PR move on the Dems part or not.
dmsilev
Off-topic, but hilarious. Via Kevin Drum, it seems that Republican voters have lost what little grasp they once had on reality:
Edit: Also, too, from the same link:
Oh so very close to the Magic 27%. Within the margin of error though.
the Conster
@shortstop:
I’m from MA, and I’m not so sure that he’d run, or be elected. He lost by 8%. Those debates were devastating to him, and there’s no forgetting that he’s not a cute nice guy like everyone thought in his first rodeo – he’s a belligerent condescending meathead – the worst kind of meathead. We like our meatheads to be charming, thankyouverymuch. I also heard on local media somewhere that his wife would be opposed to going through it all again. She may want to get back on local TV. If Kerry gets picked, I heard that Ed Markey is interested. He’s a real Dem with a longtime Mass. presence, and knows how to campaign.
Ted & Hellen
@AxelFoley:
And yet, despite all his vast accomplishments which surely speak for themselves with the shear brilliance of their magnificence, you are extremely defensive on his behalf.
Interesting.
Stooleo
Little O.T. Mister Burns explains the fiscal cliff.
shortstop
@the Conster: Okay, cool. I withdraw my ignorant opinion!
Tarka
“If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.” — Elizabeth Warren. Or somebody else. Whatever.
But as MikeJ says, this feels like a deliberate statement; my understanding is that freshman senators are expected to sit quietly at the back and wait their turn.
Xenos
@the Conster: Whatever happened to Capuano?
Did losing to the person who lost to Scott Brown scar him for life?
Omnes Omnibus
@Tarka: Like, for example, Clinton and Obama? Junior senators sit quietly if they weren’t stars when before they came in. See also the Kennedy boys.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@AxelFoley: We have our zombie lies on the left as well. T&H is just a living embodiment.
Punchy
@me: WHOA. Has LGF been BJ’d? I thought the site was still a RW echo chamber but the comments from that link show that plenty of GOP Haters are in full force.
Anyone know if Chuckie J has gone full Cole with his politics?
Chyron HR
@Ted & Hellen:
Hey, Tim, how come you’re calling your husband “Hellen”, anyway? Is this some bizarre passive-aggressive punishment against him for being one of the 65 million “Obotomized Obots” in the “BJ Kool Kids Klub”?
the Conster
@Xenos:
He’s really a local guy – not sure what he’s up to. I think he’s awesome, but he’s been out of the spotlight for a while. He’s very low key, but he can be fierce, but I’m not sure he’s got enough personality wattage to run against Brown and win. The Dem really needs to be “someone” worthy of all the attention they’re going to get – if Joe Kennedy III had been around longer, he’d be perfect.
Johnny Coelacanth
@Chyron HR: “Ted & Hellen” are his dogs, apparently. This humanizes him for me and makes me glad that, if he owns dogs, at least he knows somebody who likes him.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Punchy:
Only like forever ago.
Ted & Hellen
@Chyron HR:
Hey, what makes you think I have a husband? Or that I’m not Hellen to begin with? Or that I don’t switch back and forth depending on my gender mood? Or that Ted and Hellen aren’t just two of my seventy six personalities?
Them’s a lot of assumptions there, Compadre. :D
Either way, I don’t think I’ve heard that “obotomized” term before. Thanks! I will remember to use it here.
Ted & Hellen
@Johnny Coelacanth:
Actually, they lurv me with all their furry little hearts.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Ted & Hellen: Even Hitler had the love of a dog.
Eva Braun.
*rimshot*
Thank you, thank you. I’ll be here all week!
handsmile
@David in NY:
You may well be right (and I certainly hope you are) about our senior Senator, but I’ve come to discount Schumer’s public rhetoric until I see his actual legislative votes. On the specific issue of Warren’s selection to the Banking Committee, I was disappointed by the lukewarm response of a staff member in Schumer’s DC office when I called to urge for his support several weeks ago.
But my comment had as much to do with his reluctance to cede the media spotlight to Warren on banking and financial issues.
@the Conster:
Appreciate your local perspective on this matter. I was unaware of speculation that Ed Markey might be interested in seeking a vacant Senate post. Given his long-time service in the House, I think he would be a strongly competitive candidate. Also his legislative record and actions suggest he would be among the liberal bloc of the Senate.
Ted & Hellen
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Fuckhead.
aimai
Capuano was my congressman, though I think we got redistricted into someone else’s district. He’s a really, really, good guy. Progressive and all that. I think he ran a terrible campaign in the primary against what’s her name but I always have a ton of opinons about things like that. I personally think he would have given brown a run for his money because he could have run on old fashioned, gritty, bare knuckle congressional wheeling and dealing as opposed to the then quite clubby atmosphere of the Senate. I would have shown him only sitting down at his desk, with his sleeves rolled up, looking rumpled as hell–he used to be Mayor of Somerville and he has a whole “da mayor” thing going. And his slogan should have been “The Senate is not a private club anymore.” or something along those lines. He could have made Scott Brown look like a perfumed prince (I think).
But this time round I think the MA populace is ready for someone with some more star wattage–Warren raised the bar a lot for personability and for national standing and a lot of people liked casting their vote for someone who already was someone on the national scene.
I can’t think who that would be at this point. Deval Patrick is dull, his voice is high pitched, and he’s short. I think he could take the seat if he goes for it but that’s because he’s already got massive name recognition, not because I think he would be particularly good. I do think that little Scotty has shown that he can’t handle uppity minorities and women, so there’s that.
aimai
liberal
@Just Some Fuckhead:
LOL
liberal
@Just Some Fuckhead:
What was the tipping point? IIRC for JC it was the Terry Schiavo crazy.
Just Some Fuckhead
@liberal: The anti-muslim stuff from Pamela Geller and the Danish blogger and all that nonsense. I think Charles Johnson prolly secretly liked Obama for being such a great conservative President and manufactured the reason for flipping.
Humble Lurker
@Ted & Hellen:
If one person says ‘2 + 2 = 5’ and a second person corrects them, would you say the second person was being defensive?
ruemara
@AxelFoley: Bait. Stop taking it.
Ted & Hellen
@ruemara:
Mind your own business, phewschmeara.
Triassic Sands
@dmsilev:
I’ll join you OT by adding that the PPP article is worth reading and sadly, tragically funny (in a horrifying way).
I was wondering how the opinions fell on the Badenov/Fatale proposal, which is more serious than any GOP proposal so far.
Jason
Small victory indeed. The lesson is, if you’re even slightly a progressive, you’ll incur the wrath of the entire Wall Street system and have to work 100 times as hard and be 100 times as lucky as if you just roll over and join the system. Which is why Democratic “progressives” like Warren and Pelosi still spend huge amounts of time with corporate lobbyists and introducing bills for corporate special interests. Why do genuine progressives fall for this crap?
I hate to go all firebagger but I’m seriously depressed that every year the grassroots grabs some highly privileged multimillionare to its bosom as a “true progressive.” Warren had her own Mitt Romney moment this year when she denied being wealthy (she’s worth millions) and the netroots gave her a free pass on it. Pelosi is one of the wealthiest politicians out there. John Edwards was a criminal huckster, and Kerry a careerist oligarch. This cheerleading of the slightly lesser evil is unbecoming of a serious progressive.