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Elizabeth Warren election night 2012.
The prospects for Elizabeth Warren nabbing a spot on the Senate Banking Committee brightened in recent days.
First, let’s take a look at the Banking Committee membership. With a 55-45 partisan split in the Senate rather than 53-47, I wouldn’t expect the partisan makeup on the committee to change all that much. Right now there are 22 members, 12 Democrats and 10 Republicans. Two members who currently serve on the Democratic side, Herb Kohl and Daniel Akaka, are moving on. So that opens up two spots for either freshman members or other members of the caucus who have seniority and longed for a Banking Committee spot.
You would think that Kirsten Gillibrand, representing New York, would be in the latter category, representing Wall Street and all. However, she officially declined the position, seemingly in favor of Warren, today.
A spokesman in Gillibrand’s office confirmed a report in Capitol New York on Monday that the junior senator from New York would not seek a spot on the committee. Multiple news outlets had previously speculated that Gillibrand could seek a spot on the panel, adding to the list of contenders Warren might have to face for a spot on the committee.
Chris Coons of the banking-friendly state of Delaware is another contender. But there are two open spots. And it’s really no contest between any of the incoming members and Warren as to who deserves the Banking Committee slot. Perhaps Chris Murphy, from another bank-friendly state, Connecticut, would be an option. But you have to think this is Warren’s slot if she wants it.
In addition, progressive groups are already mounting an effort to ensure Warren’s presence on the committee. Daily Kos and others have sent petitions to their lists urging Harry Reid, who ultimately holds the final decision, to put Warren on the committee.
Kitty Seeyle at the New York Times has a catty profile of Warren highlighting a post-Senate press conference where she was a little brusque. Expect lots and lots of ticky-tack stories like this against Warren, most of them planted by Wall Street. Hopefully she will get the committee assignment to make them squirm.
Photo by WBUR under Creative Commons license.
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Good test as to who owns the Administration and Congress, Wall Street or the People. My guess is Wall St..
Distrust and then verify. I’ll believe it when she is seated in January.
Nice.!!
I’ve already called Reid’s office to urge that Warren be appointed to the Banking Committee and encourage others to do likewise. Reid’s phone numbers (202) 224-3542 (Washington D.C.), (702) 388-5020 (Las Vegas), (775) 686-5750 (Reno), and (775) 882-7343 (Carson City).
Awww, did the new Senator hurt people’s feelings? Those clowns on Wall Street who got there with their brilliant business skills haven’t felt the lash of actual understanding. And Kitty Seeyle hasn’t ever been in the room with a really smart person who sees through the veil of ignorance behind which those brilliant business skills do their dirty.
Seriously… what can we expect even if she does get the seat?
At FDL, and throughout the left generally, pretty much everyone thinks it’s about people and personalities — “If we just had better people in existing positions of power,” this line of thinking goes, “then things would improve.”
The problem is it’s complete nonsense. The problem is the slots into which those people fit — the problem is the system itself. Dayen represents the best of people who can’t see the system.
Dayen is a machine. An excellent reporter who is sincere, honest, and tenacious. He is principled and talented. But he can’t see the system. If he could, he wouldn’t be at FDL. If he saw the system, he’d be replaced by someone who didn’t — because that’s how the system operates.
Chomsky once said about people who do commentary in mainstream media (and I’m paraphrasing here), “When they say no one tells them what to write, that’s true. If someone had to tell them, they wouldn’t be there in the first place. They’d be filtered out.”
Those filtering mechanisms work the same way on the left. But rather than look in the mirror and at the very least be honest with itself about this, the left instead focuses on Republicans and the New York Times (or whatever) because again, that’s the system.
While there may be plenty of reasons for U.S. elites to be irritated, they still face zero threat from the left. Literally, the only way to threaten elites is to threaten the system. But the left is part of the system; it still can’t even utter the words “capitalism” or “class” except in the most hushed tones.
And I actually like Dayen.
Oh, and fundamentally, its class analysis is still a two-class one: “99% and 1%” is just “owners and workers” — old wine in new bottles. It still can’t see the third class, the coordinator class, because the left is the coordinator class.
Seriously, enjoy the moment. A kick in the balls for Wall Street is a great opening. Hopefully, there’ll be more, but for now, enjoy. Seriously. How often do Progressives get to do that?
You must have FDL confused with some Veal Pen site.