Hillary Clinton's VP pick should be Rich Cordray

[question everything]

Cross posting from GD16 (which quickly sank..)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512208883

(snip)

Cordray is currently the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — the agency closely associated with the rise to prominence of Elizabeth Warren, who suggested its creation. When it became clear the Senate would not confirm Warren if Abraham Lincoln returned to testify for her, Cordray got the job.

He has successfully built the CFPB into an agency that fights for consumers against the largest financial institutions in the world. It has returned billions to consumers in enforcement actions for deceptive conduct; it has written rules to make mortgage lending safer and fairer, and it has been innovative and efficient in designing new ways to aid individual consumers hoping to resolve disputes with banks.

(snip)

Unlike Warren herself, adding Cordray to the ticket would not leave open a critical seat in the Senate to be filled by a Republican governor. Trump and his allied PACs no doubt will attack Clinton for her ties to Wall Street. A VP candidate who is a top target of Wall Street ire offers something like immunity from those charges. More important, a Vice President Cordray would be just the sort of policy-focused, results-oriented adviser who would help Clinton actually improve the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans.

Cordray lives in Columbus, Ohio, and before becoming the head of the CFPB, he brought cases against Wall Street firms as Ohio state treasurer and Ohio attorney general during the mortgage meltdown and financial crisis. Repeat: Cordray has won two statewide elections in Ohio.

(snip)

Cordray has an unimpeachable reputation for honesty. He is modest and plain in manner while being wickedly smart. And he has courage in the face of political risks. In 1993, Cincinnati voters approved a ban on any city laws and policies that would prohibit discrimination against gay residents. Cordray was a lead attorney challenging the constitutionality of this law while contemplating running for elected office. Fifteen years later, Clinton, as senator from New York, and Barack Obama, as senator from Illinois, had yet to evolve on gay marriage.

(snip)

Cordray would be a surprising choice. Picking him wouldn’t seem to be the result of just calculation for political gain, with one exception. Did I mention he is from Ohio?

http://www.startribune.com/hillary-clinton-s-vp-pick-should-be-rich-cordray/383350551/

[BootinUp]

1. The truth is, he would have to be pressing hard

to get her attention. I have no idea whether he is or not. But the key with Hillary, is its got to be someone she has gotten to know pretty well.

[BlueMTexpat]

2. If he is doing a great job where he

is, why not leave him there? I am a proponent of the "if it already works, don't 'fix' it school," especially when an individual is in a key position already and performs that position well. It takes a while for a new director to learn the ropes.

Cordray sounds like a great guy. But he has more power where he is than as a Veep candidate, IMO. That said, if Hillary selects him, I will know that she has done so because she has considered everything. I trust her judgment.