NYT: Behind Consumer Agency Idea, a Fiery Advocate

[flpoljunkie]

March 24, 2010

Behind Consumer Agency Idea, a Fiery Advocate
By JODI KANTOR

WASHINGTON — Ask Elizabeth Warren, scourge of Wall Street bankers, how they treat consumers, and her no-nonsense bob will shake with indignation. She will talk about morality, about fairness, about what she calls their “let them eat cake” attitude towards taxpayers. If she is riled enough, she might even spit out the Warren version of an expletive.

“Dang gummit, somebody has got to stand up on behalf of middle-class families!” she exclaimed in a recent interview in her office here.

Among all the dramatis personae of post-financial crisis Washington, there is no one remotely like Ms. Warren, 60, who has divided the town between those who admire her and those who roll their eyes at her. She is an Oklahoma native, a janitor’s daughter, a bankruptcy expert at Harvard Law School and a former Sunday School teacher who cites John Wesley — the co-founder of Methodism and a public health crusader — as an inspiration. She brims with cheer, yet she is she is such a fearsome interrogator that Bruce Mann, her husband, describes her as a grandmother who can make grown men cry. Back at Harvard, Ms. Warren’s teaching style is ”Socratic with a machine gun,” as one former student put it. In Washington, she grills bankers and Treasury officials just as relentlessly.

Ms. Warren has two roles here: officially, as head of Congressional oversight for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and unofficially, as chief conceiver of and booster for a new consumer financial protection agency. Fusing those projects and her academic work, she has become the most prominent consumer advocate in years. In a blitz of television appearances, she offers a story of how 30 years of deregulation has rewarded the financial industry but led to abusive practices and collapses that have hurt ordinary Americans — the same taxpayers who are paying for bank bailouts.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/business/25warren.html?hp

[Hell Hath No Fury]

1. Dump Geitner. Hire her.

Give Wall Street a little taste of pain and fear of god. :mad:

[Cha]

2. KickR for Elizabeth Warren.

[flpoljunkie]

4. There's a great video clip at the link, as well.

[arcane1]

3. I LOVE HER!!!!

Too bad she's married, I don't care that she's 18 years older than me :loveya:

[nyc 4 Biden]

5. Now I have two new crushes today.

Warren and Wash Governor Christine Gregoire. They both play second fiddle to Rachel though.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. She's the best

One of the few actual thinkers in DC, and she speaks with such great imagery and precision. Favorite quote:
"My first choice is a strong consumer agency,my second choice is no agency at all and plenty of blood and teeth left on the floor. My 99th choice is some mouthful of mush that doesn't get the job done."