"A Home Run for Our Side!" Open Left's Mike Lux has positive take on Warren Appt.

[KoKo]

(Since Mike Lux is a Lobbyist for Progressives and was part of Obama/Biden Transition Team...I'll take him at his word that the Warren Compromise is a good thing. I was critical of the announcement since I thought it was "Window Dressing" and Warren would be under Geithner's thumb. Lux says it's not "window dressing" and he's been pretty good with his observations on progressive actions or non actions by this Admin., so far)

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A home run for our side
by: Mike Lux
Thu Sep 16, 2010 at 10:31

I have beaten up on the Obama White House enough that I'm no longer very welcome by many of the top staffers there, and on no issue have I been tougher on them than on their policies regarding dealing with the biggest banks and the TARP program. This morning, though, I am all smiles, delighted to my core, because the reports, confirmed multiple times, about the appointment of Elizabeth Warren are a big home run.

I am more than a little biased, because Elizabeth has become a good friend over the past few years, and because I have rarely seen the kinds of guts and tough bargaining strategy that I watched her show during the financial reform fight and the TARP oversight work. She publicly and repeatedly faced down Tim Geithner on a series of major issues around TARP and the overall handling of the financial crisis. She privately went nose to nose with Barney Frank and Chris Dodd and Treasury during negotiations over the financial reform bill. She had to time and again back Dodd down when he was getting ready to make bad compromises on the consumer agency. (Why do you think Dodd has fought so hard to keep Warren from being nominated?) She is the real deal, a fighter for middle class and poor families through and through.

Now, some progressives are arguing this joint appointment to the White House and Treasury is somehow a weak attempt to fool us, that Warren is being given the job as window dressing but will have no real power. The people arguing that just don't know Elizabeth very well, or understand what motivates her. I do not believe for a minute that she would meekly accept a powerless window dressing job, or would put up with it very long if that is what it turned into. She has never been interested in being in government for the sake of a title, and she isn't going to start now. The impressive thing is that I think Obama understands that, too, and gave her the job anyway.

For Elizabeth, the options here were the choice of basically being put on ice for several months at least during an extended confirmation battle, a time where she couldn't speak out or do any actual work on the agency while Geithner was free to start building it any way he wanted; being at Treasury reporting solely to Geithner, who I believe would do everything he could to undermine and disempower her; or this intriguing combination of working with Treasury to craft the agency while also reporting directly to the President. I don't know exactly how this deal went down, but it looks to me like Elizabeth helped craft something that might actually work in her mission to help consumers in dealing with the big banks. She always has the option of walking away if it doesn't- and knowing her, she would have the guts to do just that.

I think this is one time when we can give Obama credit for doing the right thing. Wall Street was determined in its opposition, and establishment insiders like Dodd did everything they could to derail Elizabeth from having any role in creating this agency. But the progressive movement fought like crazy to make this happen, Elizabeth showed her usual savvy and toughness once again, and the President did the right thing.

http://www.openleft.com/

[MineralMan]

1. Absolutely correct. Those who are complaining about this

are either misinformed or they have let their dislike for the Obama Administration get the better of them. With this decision, Warren begins setting up the organization of the agency. Without it, everything is stalled. Obama can appoint her at any time, when there is a decent likelihood of her confirmation.

Sometimes, taking a step is better than losing the opportunity.

[KoKo]

2. Yes...but we on the Left have felt burned by most of his appointments in the past..

and so we were correct in being skeptical. I hope this works out the way Mike Lux says. And, that's why I posted it.

[arcane1]

3. I think part of the confusion was due to the earlier reports this week

which were all about a possible "interim director" appointment and not much else. I'm happy she's involved.

[KoKo]

4. a kick for those who missed it, when DU was down..

[TexasObserver]

5. Mike is a sharp guy and a lifelong progressive.

His dad was a professor at U of Nebraska in Lincoln. He cut his teeth with a group called "Citizen Action," I think it was. He worked in the Clinton White House. Always been a solid progressive Democrat.

[KoKo]

6. yeah...I read his Bio and didn't find anything "EVIL" there AT ALL!

And, I'm real Lefty who wouldn't accept anything unless it made some sense. Mike Lux made sense on this post and it's been verified by other Lefties that most folks here want banned.. So, I think Mike has good points.

Of course we need to see how it all plays out because "Our Obama" has been known to "Bait and Switch"...so we will have to see what happens.

But Mike Lux does have creds...so I think his POV is IMPORTANT.