Elizabeth Warren May Control Larry Summers's [sic] Fate

[MannyGoldstein]

Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!

Elizabeth Warren May Control Larry Summers's (sic) Fate

Freshman lawmakers rarely influence outcomes in the Senate. Elizabeth Warren may be an exception if President Barack Obama nominates Larry Summers to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.

If the freshman senator -- the populist scourge of Wall Street -- supports her former Harvard University colleague, he probably would draw little opposition from Democrats and would likely muster enough Republican votes to win confirmation. If she opposes him, other Democrats may defect, too, and it might be a struggle to win over enough Republicans to get the 60 votes required.

...

Warren has signed a letter supporting Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen to succeed Ben Bernanke, whose term as chairman expires in January. However, Warren has indicated that she sees Summers as qualified, and people who know them both cautiously predict she would vote for him.

The choice is expected to be between Summers and Yellen. People familiar with Obama's thinking say he is leaning toward Summers.

[Jackpine Radical]

1. If Liz Warren goes for Summers, you can bet

that she did a cost-benefit analysis of some kind and did it in trade for something she considers more important to the public interest.

If she does make such a deal, I know she will unleash a flurry of attacks from the left. I'm sure she knows that too.

[MannyGoldstein]

2. I think the only reason she might vote for him is

because he supported creation of the CFPB, and she wouldn't want to get a reputation for turning on allies. On the other hand, he wanted Warren far away from it, so he's a pretty marginal ally.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. So maybe she gets off with lip service:

"He's qualified" and then puts her weight behind Yellen.