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I think we’re starting to see how progressive members of Congress will react to the Elizabeth Warren appointment today. They appreciate it, praise it, hail it, and then they ask for more. Here’s Sen. Al Franken (D-MN):
“The President’s appointment of Elizabeth Warren to oversee the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a victory for America’s consumers. Warren is one of the nation’s foremost experts on consumer protection and a fierce consumer advocate who will stand up to mortgage lenders, credit card companies and other financial institutions. This is big step forward, but the work is only beginning. We must ensure that the new Bureau is as strong as possible and that Warren receives a permanent appointment.”
That’s the stance of a pragmatic and also aggressive progressive. The appointment is on-balance a good thing. It wouldn’t have happened, I don’t believe, without mass support and mass pressure. That can and should continue. Franken, like Jeff Merkley before him, led the way.
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Have I mentioned yet this week how much I love my junior Senator?
PW,
I whole heartedly agree with your pride in Sen AF AND his urging to move forward another step and make it permanent!
Pragmatic maybe, but realistic no. Warren’s effectively hamstrung. Michael Barr will have the job within 18 months. Pencil it in.
She is so impressive. Love Al.
It has been obvious for sometime now that Obama is as comfortable with Elizabeth Warren as Tim Geithner and Chris Dodd are. I fully share Senator Franken’s desire to see Warren as being a permanent fixture, but it is never going to happen.
I predict Warren will resign in frustration long before 2012.
re: Elizabeth Warren and the excitement a lot of progressives are expressing about this appointment.
Am I missing something?
She has been appointed as an “advisor” to Tim Geithner on creating the CFPB.
Keep in mind that Geithner and Warren are polar opposites on the issue of consumer finance protection.
Recall that Geithner is part of the Rubin-Greenspan-laissez-faire school of “let Wall Street do whatever it wants.”
Recall the confrontations Geithner had with Warren at virtually every TARP oversight meeting.
Recall his opposition to naming Warren to head the CFPB.
If I remember correctly, he even opposed the creation of the CFPB itself.
Certainly, this administration doesn’t like the CFPB. It was created because, politically, the President had to have something labeled “consumer finance protection” in the financial bill. But they buried it in the Fed, effectively neutralizing it.
Elizabeth Warren will be only an advisor to Tim Geithner, who is unlikely to be receptive to her advice.
Q: Who will have the authority to make decisions about setting up the agency?
A: Tim Geithner.
Q: Who will have the authority to implement policy regarding the operation of the new agency?
A: Tim Geithner.
Q: What authority will Elizabeth Warren have to make decisions about the CFPB or to implement policies?
A: none.
Special Message from the White House to freaking retorts and professional leftists:
“Okay, you’ve got your Elizabeth Warren. Now sit down and shut up!”