Going to be a busy week in politics, so here’s something uplifting to start the day. Warning, Politico link:
LOS ANGELES – Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka denounced the United States Supreme Court on Sunday as a right-wing panel that serves the interests of corporate America, previewing a theme that is likely to rise in prominence with the approach of the 2016 election.
On the opening day of the AFL-CIO’s convention, Warren – the highest-profile national Democrat to address the gathering here – warned attendees of a “corporate capture of the federal courts.”
In a speech that voiced a range of widely held frustrations on the left, Warren assailed the Court as an instrument of the wealthy that regularly sides with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She cited an academic study that called the current Supreme Court’s five conservative-leaning justices among the “top 10 most pro-corporate justices in half a century.”
“You follow this pro-corporate trend to its logical conclusion, and sooner or later you’ll end up with a Supreme Court that functions as a wholly owned subsidiary of big business,” Warren said, drawing murmurs from the crowd…
… Warren took aim at the financial services industry, touting the importance of the Dodd-Frank banking regulation law and calling for new separation between commercial and investment banking.
“The big banks and their army of lobbyists have fought every step of the way to delay, water down, block, or strike down regulations,” Warren said. “When a new approach is proposed – like my bill with John McCain, Angus King, and Maria Cantwell to bring back Glass-Steagall – you know what happens – they throw everything they’ve got against it.”
Departing from her prepared remarks, Warren alluded to the long-delayed confirmation of Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and told the crowd: “That’s your work.”
Warren drew some of the loudest applause of her precisely worded, sharply enunciated speech with a statement of skepticism about upcoming trade deals – debates that may pit big labor and liberal members of the Senate against the Obama administration.
“Wall Street, pharmaceuticals, telecom, big polluters and outsourcers are all salivating at the chance to rig upcoming trade deals in their favor,” Warren said. “I’ve heard people actually say that [trade deals] have to be secret because if the American people knew what was going on, they would be opposed.”
She continued: “I believe that if people would be opposed to a particular trade agreement, then that trade agreement should not happen.”…
Returning to the stage after Warren concluded, Trumka sighed into the microphone: “Ah, if we could only clone her.”
OzarkHillbilly
Amen to that.
Linda Featheringill
Isn’t she wonderful?
Interesting that the Supremes are being labeled upper class toadies. I love that this is being talked about openly.
Nemo_N
CNN’s John King is on TV comparing the huge support of the Iraq war back then and Syria now saying that public opposition is because Obama is not leading.
OzarkHillbilly
@Linda Featheringill:
It’s a sad day when the bald honest truth is labeled “interesting.” Wish it was otherwise.
Baud
Corporate Sellout. Everyone knows Dodd-Frank wasn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.
Or so I’ve read on some blog somewhere.
Baud
@Baud:
Snark aside, Warren’s the real deal. Good on you, Massachusetts.
WereBear
Geez, you don’t have to CLONE her. You just have to MULTIPLY her, by speaking out.
I swear, I say things we’ve been saying on blogs for years, and people’s eyes bug out and they are astonished and once in a while, they get with it.
NotMax
Ralph Nader without the weirdness.
Patricia Kayden
@Nemo_N: Or the American public is just sick and tired of wars, especially since it was lied into the one in Iraq.
HeartlandLiberal
Ah, if she would only run for president. I would not only donate again, I would work my tail off to help elect her.
WereBear
I think that’s the bottom line. Most people don’t actually weigh evidence or anything like that. They just do a pithed-frog version of reflex.
It wasn’t W’s charisma that led us into Iraq. It was the shock of 9/11, demanding a target. That isn’t operating, here.
NotMax
@HeartlandLiberal
On the contrary, she’s been in the Senate for only 8 months. Would much rather see her devoting time to turning other members away from the Dark Side and serving as a Congressional example that opposing corporate excesses is not an automatic road to political oblivion.
Marc
@Baud: This.
A friend of mine was ranting on FB the other day about how Obama was responsible for the “pussification” of Dodd-Frank. Displaying a keen grasp of both the legislative process and the female anatomy.
Kay
Our county job and family services workers unionized this year. It was a real shock to the county commissioners I think for two reasons; it’s a conservative county and they’re probably 99% women.
I was amused by the offended hurt feelings of one of the commissioners (they’re all Republicans, varying degrees of wingnuttiness) because I’ve never heard him complain about the fact that the police are union members. Police can make demands, but 25 year old social workers should submit polite requests.
SFAW
@Kay:
Well, sure, because
darkiesLatinoswomen should know their place.SFAW
@Marc:
You’re friends with Kim DuToit? My condolences. (You’ll notice that I resisted the urge – especially considering his comment – to misspell his name.)
SFAW
All snark aside: as the kids say, Senator Warren is some kind of awesome. Or all kinds of awesome.
Re: clone vs. multiply: I fall on the “clone” side of the equation, because I doubt others would attain the combination of intellect, judgment, and fortitude that she has in abundance.
Kay
@SFAW:
There was so much of that, the weird personalization of their work issues. All they had to do was come and talk to him!
Okay, dad.
It’s funny, because I suspect I know who the ringleader is over there and her entire family are cops; father, brothers, ex-husband.
gene108
In general, free trade and globalization (as a catch all term) have done more to reduce global poverty than anything else we’ve come up with as a global society, such as communism.
Free trade doesn’t have to be the race to the bottom that’s happened in the U.S. Our policy, for the past 30 year, has been overwhelmingly tilted towards capital. Having the minimum wage keep up with inflation, for example, could’ve taken some of the sting out of the changing economic landscape.
Opposing free trade, in a broad sense, because it is driving all the good jobs from the U.S. misses the point that the problem here has more to do with our piss poor labor policy than anything inherently bad in free trade.
There’s no inherent reason manufacturing jobs need to pay well*. Prior to the New Deal, those jobs sucked as bad as any other jobs, because capital made it a point to keep wages low and the government sided with the business owners. It’s only with the establishment of the NLRB and the legal recognition of labor unions, in the 1930’s, that we eventually had “good paying” manufacturing jobs.
*Irks me to no end to here Republicans talk about “good paying” manufacturing jobs, because they oppose everything that created those “good paying” manufacturing jobs.
Botsplainer
Fuck. Why do I look at Newser for anything? I took a gander at the story about the Virginia woman whose father ran Auschwitz, and then waded into comments.
I think there is just one Stormfronter on it, but even just one is depressing as hell.
Baud
@gene108:
I’ve generally become more liberal as I’ve grown older, and probably on trade issues most of all. I used to be fairly pro free trade when it was all the rage. I can’t say I’m full bore protectionist yet, but I’m a lot more skeptical now. I suppose I could still support a particular agreement if I thought it was fair, however.
Ash Can
I’d love to see Warren put on the Dem presidential ticket as the VP candidate in 2016, and successfully run for president after 8 years as VP. That might just be enough to get this nation turned around and put back on the right track. :)
Wag
@NotMax:
Or many of nader’s idiotic ideas.
cvstoner
We don’t have to. There’s hundreds of people just like her who just need some support to gain political traction. Just look around your local political scene, get off your ass, and help ’em out.
gene108
@Ash Can:
She’s in her mid-60’s now. In 2024, i.e. 8 years after the 2016 election, she’ll be well into her 70’s. Her age works against her, with regards to becoming President, unless she runs in 2016.
Kay
@gene108:
I agree with you generally, but I think it’s unfair to assume that people at this convention are opposing knee-jerk. The (activist) union members here really know trade legislation and agreements.
I would be careful about confusing advocacy with a recitation of facts. Advocates push before the new rules go in, in the hopes that they’ll get a better deal. That’s a legitimate role, but it isn’t a recitation or recounting of the actual merits of the trade deal. They can know the actual merits, the nuanced view, and still use broad doom and gloom rhetoric at this stage because they’re trying to push their agenda.
Again, there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s advocacy, it may or may not be where they are now or even where they expect to end up.
ericblair
@NotMax:
Yes. Can we leave here where she is to do good work? Congress matters, a lot, and it’s the sort of fixation on the executive as an elected king that has seriously fucked up political thought in the last few years.
Cassidy
Yeah, but she voted for something centrist/moderate/a compromise and lost her shiny purity ring. And NSA! DROONNNEEEZZZ! SYRIA IS JUST LIKE IRAQ AND VIETNAM AND THE DOMINION WAR!
Gin & Tonic
@gene108: She will be 75 in 2024; if elected then, that would make her by a substantial margin the oldest President ever.
lamh36
Ok I freely aadmit to not fully paying attention during bush years, young and stupid I guess, but did I miss the interviews with Saadam Hussein before either Desert Storm conflicts?
Are am I just wrong in being aggravated by this
So the choice for American people is to listen to thid President, or Assad. So Assad gets to start his “charm” offensive and Obama will have to follow with his.
cvstoner
@ericblair:
Exactly. However, I also generally believe that Federal politics is a diversion. The real change happens at the local level. If you focus your attention there, the Federal politics will take care of itself.
sparrow
@HeartlandLiberal: me too!!! Hilary leaves me cold, but Liz Warren for prez and I’d be out working my ass off. She’s for real.
sparrow
@Gin & Tonic: On the other hand, she seems in pretty good shape for her age. I wouldn’t peg her at being as old as she is if I just saw her speak. Also, with human lifespans getting longer, isn’t it kind of expected that possible presidential ages would get older?
The average woman is expected to now live to 81 years old. When Reagan was inaugurated in 1981, he was 69 and the mean lifetime for males was only 70. Of course he went on to live to 93.
Gin & Tonic
@sparrow: isn’t it kind of expected that possible presidential ages would get older?
I don’t know. I do know that three of the five youngest Presidents have been elected in my lifetime.
Ted & Hellen
MY SENATOR.
The only (fucking!) politician who has received my vote in the last nine years.
You’re welcome.
Ted & Hellen
@Nemo_N:
He’s trying to lead.
Wisely, however, most people don’t want to follow.
Perhaps if he had had the moral courage to pursue the war criminal former president in his own (fucking!) country, he might have the credibility to call out atrocities committed by the leaders of other countries.
But he didn’t so he doesn’t.
Ted & Hellen
@Ash Can:
BUT THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT HAVE NO POWER TO DO ANYTHING, I TELL YOU!
And the bully pulpits available to them are only useful when one wants to swing one’s war dick or war ovaries around. Then, apparently, they are very useful.
Gin & Tonic
@Ted & Hellen: The only (fucking!) politician who has received my vote in the last nine years.
But…but.. You didn’t vote for Jill Stein in 2012? Not even for governor in 2010? You didn’t vote for Nader in 2008? I am shocked, shocked at your lackadaisical approach to the franchise.
Ted & Hellen
@Gin & Tonic:
Well, that’s because you’re stupid, honey.
James E. Powell
Returning to the stage after Warren concluded, Trumka sighed into the microphone: “Ah, if we could only clone her.”
If only there were a national organization with money and people to help candidates like Warren get elected.
Mike G
“You follow this pro-corporate trend to its logical conclusion, and
sooner or later you’ll end up withwe already have a Supreme Court that functions as a wholly owned subsidiary of big business,” Warren said