Today's News On Warren...

[WillyT]

Warren Ruled Out as Consumer Agency Head
By: David Dayen - FDL
Saturday July 16, 2011 8:12 am

<snip>

A separate article in the Wall Street Journal said the short list was narrowed to Raj Date, Richard Cordray and Jennifer Granholm. But Granholm already turned down the job, saying Warren deserved it, and she doesn’t work at CFPB. So it’s probably down to Cordray and Date, and in all honesty, I’m fairly sure Date will be nominated. The fact that nobody would leapfrog Warren and take the job was working to constrain the Administration’s options for a time, but once Date expressed willingness, Warren couldn’t very well say no to someone she hired.

Date will be described as an “ex-banker,” a contextless appellation that means about as much as saying Barack Obama is an “ex-community organizer.” But I’ve had enough consumer advocates tell me that they’re concerned by Date’s appointment to know that it doesn’t measure up to Warren by any stretch. Cordray, on the other hand, has a lot of integrity and drive; he was the first Attorney General to sue a mortgage servicer over foreclosure fraud. Not having Warren at CFPB means the agency suffers no matter the replacement; but I would say that Cordray would be a lot better than Date.

That said, let me make a prediction. Whoever gets nominated for the position of CFPB Director will not actually become a confirmed CFPB Director. At least not under an agency that’s constructed the way it is currently. Republicans have said that nobody will get confirmed without major changes to the agency. I don’t think they’re kidding. The agency transfers to the Fed on July 21, and without a Director at the helm, it loses the ability to regulate non-bank financial institutions like payday lenders and mortgage brokers. It will still be able to regulate mortgage servicers and credit card companies and banks. But this really gives the nonbank institutions a leg up, and it’s enough leverage for Republicans to get at least some of the changes they seek.

This is why any impression of this nomination of Date as an olive branch to Republicans is fanciful. I know that bipartisanship and compromise is devoutly to be wished and all, but in this case, Republicans haven’t been shy about stating their intentions. They will not confirm anyone to the Director position. So the only way to get an actual director is through a recess appointment. Whether the White House uses its power to adjourn Congress and make recess appointments is unknown. But in nominating someone other than Warren, the Administration is certainly not bowing to political realities. There isn’t a soul on earth who would be acceptable to Republicans for this position. So you can be pretty clear that their pick is who the Administration wants to run CFPB.

<snip>

More: http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/07/16/warren-ruled-out-as-consumer-agency-head/

:shrug:

[texshelters]

1. Another possible anti-consumer decision

by Obama.

I guess he didn't want to hurt corporations and Republicans' feeling.

It seems like it's not a done deal, but I'm done writing to Obama and Congress on this issue.

With every passing week, I am less likely to vote for Obama. Don't worry, we have local Dems who have earned my vote.

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[jaxx]

2. OMG the FDL doesn't like an Obama nominee.

Stop the presses. LOL how lame can they get?

[upi402]

3. People who actually give a damn about America don't like his appointees

no text

[jaxx]

5. It's impossible to not like one nominee out of the many.

But that's how it goes here in DU land. It's expected.

[WillyT]

6. No... It's Just That The Predicted Cave On A Warren Nomination Has Now Been Proven Correct...

But that's how it goes here in Obama land. It's expected.

[jaxx]

7. Only in FDL land.

They predict and then say they're right....never mind the fact that Warren didn't want the job. LOL but they want her to have it and by golly they want what they want when they want it. So that becomes fact to them. Sad, isn't it?

[Tesha]

24. "And the grapes were probably sour anyway."

Warren is probably enough of a politician to say,
ex post facto, that she didn't really want the job.

That doesn't mean Obama didn't cave on her nomination.

Tesha

[WillyT]

25. Yeah... She Understands What's Going On...

Still a WH cave though.

:shrug:

:hi:

[TheWraith]

8. A "cave" on a nomination she never wanted?

People will go to ridiculous lengths to blame Obama for anything they think is wrong with the world. It didn't rain enough today... must be Obama's environmental policies.

[WillyT]

9. Nice Meme Ya Got There...

Good luck with that.

[TheWraith]

13. It's called factual accuracy.

"Elizabeth Warren made it clear to the White House while it was debating her nomination to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that she was not interested in a five-year term to run the agency. Barney Frank, a Warren ally, delivered that message to the White House, he told HuffPost in an interview Thursday."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/16/warren-didnt-want-permane_n_719932.html

[tekisui]

10. You don't get to turn down job offers from the president.

[WillyT]

11. Yeah, Huh... "When The President Asks You To Serve... "

Maybe that, like our Democracy, has... "evolved".

Along with...

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

"The buck stops here."

To name a few.

:shrug:

[TheWraith]

12. Funny, I wasn't aware we'd brought back slavery.

Yes, you DO get to turn don job offers from the President. Saying anything else is hyperbole.

[WillyT]

14. Well... Rahm Emmanuel And Jon Hustman Disagree With You...

Link: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&cp=24&gs_id=2j&xhr=t&q=when+the+President+asks+you+to+serve&pf=p&sclient=psy&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=when+the+President+asks+&aq=0v&aqi=g-v1&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=e6629fdcc0adb231&biw=1024&bih=679

:shrug:

[TheWraith]

17. And their opinions are their opinions, with no binding basis in fact.

[WillyT]

20. So Elizabeth Warren Is Less Honorable Than Emmanuel And Huntsman ???

I seriously doubt that.

And BTW... her "not wanting the job meme" was offered up at the same time she was put in place as the "interim" director/advisor position. Last fall... September of 2010, specifically.

What if she changed her mind? What if that sop was to keep the banksters from going ballistic?

Because there was a good 9 months of people pushing for her to be appointed. Why didn't she or the administration nip those movements in the bud?

:shrug:

[tekisui]

19. You call long practiced patriotism slavery and accuse me of hyperbole?

:rofl:

What is also funny is how many times I've read about the genius of Obama appointing Petraus to CIA head to keep him out of the repuke race.

It isn't slavery, they are well compensated and it is long tradition and widely understood that when the president asks, you say yes.

[WillyT]

21. + 1,000,000,000... What You Said !!!

Thank You!!!

:shrug:

:hi:

[girl gone mad]

15. She was the best person for the job.

Your ancient Barney Frank quote doesn't change that fact.

[TheWraith]

16. And your opinion doesn't change that she didn't want the job. nt

[girl gone mad]

23. If she didn't want the job, she would have actually said that a long time ago.

All you have is a single Barney Frank quote. In the interim, Warren has worked tirelessly to promote this agency. Her closest allies have been lobbying aggressively for her to take the position. Consumer advocacy has been her life's work and there would be no better place from which to advocate than as head of the CFPB. Those who have been paying attention do not for a second buy this absurd spin that she "didn't want the job".

You can try to cover Obama's weak ass with this tiny, transparent fig leaf if you want, but everyone sees right through it.

[wolfgirl]

4. In her current role as an advisor to Obama,

she has free access & ability to tell him exactly what she thinks and what should be done. SHe is also able to actively work on organizing the agency as she sees fit! If Obama were to nominate her, she would be constrained in what she is allowed to do (hands off anything to do with the agency), she would face an absolutely f**king awful assault from the GOP and still wouldn't get the okay from Congress.

Obama's choosing to nominate someone else (of which I'm sure she has had a part in naming) he gets to keep her at his side to help unofficially manage the program.

She is terrific and I would hate to see how much more hatred would be heaped upon her by the GOP if he had actually nominated her for the post.

[Zorra]

18. Q: Why didn't establishing the CFPB and appointing a Director

get done back when there was a large Democratic majority?

A: This is a rhetorical question.

[Chan790]

22. "...this nomination of Date as an olive branch to Republicans is fanciful."

It's not an olive branch to Republicans, it's an olive branch to Wall St. and the banks in the hopes that they'll bring pressure to bear to force the GOP to kneel and approve the organization as constituted and Date as director.

The banks above all do not want to be held to a stricter standard than other fiscal institutions. They're willing to twist arms to insure it does not happen as long as they know their liability...Date is not a threat to them. He's one of them.