How Elizabeth Warren Is Scaring the Crap Out of Think Tanks and Banks (Truthdig)

[MannyGoldstein]

How Elizabeth Warren Is Scaring the Crap Out of Think Tanks and Banks

Elizabeth Warren—with her eloquent informed proposals and speeches that speak to the true needs of the American people, with her outright disdain for Wall Street and desire to bolster Social Security and the minimum wage as well as lower federal student loan rates—is a scary woman.

The Massachusetts senator caused a stir this week after the Third Way think tank wrote an op-ed Monday warning Democrats not to follow Warren “over the populist cliff.” Ever poised, Warren did not respond directly to Third Way’s Jon Cowan and Jim Kessler, who wrote the piece in The Wall Street Journal claiming “a vision of pragmatic progressive government, not fantasy-based blue-state populism” is what will get the Democrats re-elected. Instead she wrote a letter to six CEOs at the head of some of the most prominent financial institutions, demanding the banks disclose what think tanks they funded since policymakers, shareholders and the public all had the right to know about these contributions in order to evaluate think tanks’ work. Stating that the concealment of these contributions is blatantly “wrong” in her opinion, Warren added that banks and think tanks had no legal obligation to disclose such information, but called for “transparency” and offered to discuss it further with those interested in doing so.

But what’s truly behind all this resentment toward Warren? Fear, of course. Just read what Kessler, Third Way’s senior vice president, had to say about the Massachusetts Democrat, according to the Daily Kos:

"Here’s a stunning admission…[The Third Way is] scared shitless of Elizabeth Warren and the power she can bring to the movement to expand Social Security, and thus to strengthen the Democratic wing of the Democratic party..."

[msongs]

1. nice to have one democrat willing to stand up to obama and the other corporatist third wayers nt

[loudsue]

27. Notice they make "populist" a dirty word. What does it mean? For the PEOPLE.

Third Way admits they are NOT FOR THE PEOPLE. They are republican infiltrators, and need to be dumped by the democratic party.

[cantbeserious]

2. Warren 2016

eom

[Fla Dem]

20. I love E. Warre, but IMHO she can do so much more as a Senator than as Prez. nt

[truedelphi]

26. But we do need a President with her stance on the Banks.

A Hillary Clinton Presidency would be be every bit as cozy for the Banksters as the Obama Presidency has been.

[Swede Atlanta]

30. I agree that a Hillary presidency would be another giveaway to the 1%......

Yes Bill Clinton raised taxes which helped reduce the deficit but the real reason we had a surplus was the "dot com" bubble. I recall reading articles saying the traditional economic notions of boom and bust may be over because we were entering new and unchartered water.

But I'm not sure how effective any President can be in these times. Even if the Democrats controlled the House, Senate and held the White House, there are sufficient number of DINOs to block any real progress in addressing income inequality, etc.

So I prefer to leave Ms. Warren in the Senate to become known as the Lioness of the Senate who isn't afraid to take on monied interests. She is the Senate version of Representative Barney Frank.

[truedelphi]

31. THE REASON WE ARE ENTERING NEW AND UNCHARTED TERRITORY

(Or uncharted waters) is because we have never before let the foxes rule the hen house, or at leas t not to the extent that is happening right now. And also, very impriotantly, before the tail end fo Clinton's Presidency, we have never before allowed our Rulers to enslave us by keeping the Glass Steagall style provisions off the books.

In other words, a nation does not "magically" arrive at having "new and uncharted territory" crop up. This is like a parent having a teenage kid and buying them the crack cocaine and then saying, "How can I help this situation?!? It is all new and uncharted territory for me as a parent!"

Ha d anyone in the USA, preferably the newly elected President, one Barack Obama, listened to Issa or Kucinuch as they addressed Paulson back in Fall of 2008, we could have, as nation followed the exact same procedures for restoring the economy as were followed by Congress and the President back at the time of the Savings and Loan fiasco. Those laws were in fact, still on the books.

But instead, Barack Obama colluded with Wall Street. He allowed Rico-guilty-but never indicted Tim Geithner to take charge of everything, and Geithner pushed for two very destructive items:

One) Not to re-instate Glass Steagal, and
Two) To go head and Bailout the banks. And he deliberately did the Bailouts without any advantages to those providing the Bailout monies. Did you know that when this happened in Ireland, the government saw to it that the banks accepted that the under water mortgages would be secured by the Bailouts. But of course, over in Ireland, the government is afraid of its citizens, while here the citizenry is afraid of the government.

Ho w do we know that a different matter of dealing with the crisis would work? Because the very independent minded, democracy lovers of Iceland have followed a different path and things are working out okay for them

[NorthCarolina]

39. Hillary as the standard bearer for Democratic Party Presidential hopes

in 2016 would be a HUGE mistake IMO. The greater majority of of voters seem to have finally come to the realization that there really is no justification for, or benefit in, supporting third-way Wall Street approved candidates in the Democratic Party. I believe the likes of Warren, Grayson, and Sanders are the face of new American politics. Third-way is running scared no doubt, but they will likely return to the GOP fold from whence they came.

[JDPriestly]

33. Sorry to disagree, but . . . Warren appointing the Fed Chair and the Secretary of the Treasury

as well as the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission? Can't think of anything better than that for our country.

Warren would not have that kind of influence over our economy or that kind of authority over Wall Street in the Senate.

[Fearless]

40. +100000!

[daleanime]

3. K&R....

[DeSwiss]

4. Fear is their stock and trade.

We're usually the targets. It's good to see the tables turned for a change.

- The progressive mouse that roared, indeed!

K&R

[pscot]

5. Notice there aren't any other Democrats

out there doing what she is? I wonder why.

[alfredo]

9. Shes it so well.

[Plucketeer]

24. Most of the others are wearing choke chains

You just can't SEE said chains.

[Efilroft Sul]

6. Hope she avoids riding on small planes.

Just in case Third Way types have a few friends more experienced in skullduggery on the other side of the aisle.

Don't think the owners of this country aren't above it.

[MannyGoldstein]

8. No worries.

[Efilroft Sul]

11. Oh, no, not worried at all!

[Divernan]

14. Clinton's made over $50 million in fees from Big Corporate interests since leaving oval office.

We're talking personal income - not to mention the millions corporations have shelled out to the Clinton Foundation. Corporations consider those speaking fees/"donations" to be "good value" as the Brits would say, in that they will reap far more in tax cuts & loopholes, gutted safety regulations, no-bid govt. contracts, etc., should Hillary get in the Oval Office.

You'd think with over $50 million and a bad heart, he might choose to relax and enjoy what life he has left. What gives him joy is making ever more money and living the jet set life with the other one percenters.

[cprise]

21. The Clinton motto should be remembered as

"Let them eat bugs"
http://money.cnn.com/gallery/smallbusiness/2013/09/24/clinton-hult-food-crisis/

He wants the poor to eat bugs when there is already more than enough food being produced and American consumers toss 40% of their groceries to the garbage can.

[merrily]

38. As of 2007, he had over $110 million total.

That he owned up to.

[Plucketeer]

25. What a great duo!

While attending the "Drive for third world wages" golf tournament.

[GoneFishin]

17. Yep. It's mystifying how much "bad luck" liberals have in small airplanes. n/t

[Phlem]

7. K&R!

We need more forces like her in the party to lean the national dialogue. As we've seen heard lately the line is blurred between centrists and Republicans meaning the national agenda has been leaning right for a long Fucking time.

The left turn on the national dialogue needs to be so sharp it looks like a "U" turn.

Period.

-p

[blue14u]

10. I tried starting a

thread earlier today, a result that came to me from an e-mail I received.(I still
don't have any success in starting threads). I'm still trying to learn. I read so much and there are many things I would share if I could figure it out.

Anyway...happy to see this OP. Thank you Manny. We are ripe for the picking of a progressive, and Third Way can smell it in the air...Fear is exactly what it is.

It becomes clearer everyday, Democrats are on the rise. My e-mail states that

"Third Way" admitted in a radio interview this weekend that they attacked

Senator Warren because her populist agenda was/is becoming to "viable"

and "getting out of hand". That Senator Warren is dangerous"...

As the tide turns left finally, we will see more of this from the

centrist right third way.. They are scared, and should be. The voters are not

going to take it anymore...All we have to do is find a candidate..

Move over Third Way centrist right The Democrats are coming to take over now..

2014 Vote!!!! There is strength in numbers. We have the majority.

[closeupready]

23. A belated welcome to DU!

[blue14u]

34. Thank you closeupready...

[mother earth]

42. Welcome to DU!

[blue14u]

43. Thank you mother earth!!!

[Enthusiast]

12. Stink tanks.

[mother earth]

13. Warren...with or without a presidential run...is fearsome BECAUSE she not only tells it like it is,

but ALL of us are waking up to the fact that everything is rigged & we are not going to tolerate it any more. That's what WE are ALL realizing, the tipping point is here. The next election will not be about a Hillary run, it's going to be about the people waking up & turning this country around, they fear US....

"scared shitless of Elizabeth Warren and the power she can bring to the movement"

K & R, Manny!

K & R for Warren & the tipping point.

[blue14u]

35. Yep... That's exactly correct!

The wave is coming, and WE in the know see and feel it!

[Divernan]

15. Warren doesn't have Bill/Hillary's tangled web of financial/political payback obligations

In college Mrs. Clinton was president of the Young Republicans & supported election of several moderate Republicans - John Lindsay, Edward Brooke; interned for Rep. Gerald Ford and the House Republican Conference and campaigned for Nelson Rockefeller. In 1968, when she was 21 and after years of political involvement, she attended the GOP convention in Miami where she was upset by Nixon's dirty tricks campaign attacks on Rockefeller & left the GOP party.

In Carl Bernstein's 2007 book, A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton (Alfred Knopf. ISBN 0-375-40766-9), he quotes from a letter she wrote to her youth minister, "she described herself as "a mind conservative and a heart liberal." (p. 50). Bernstein states she believed this combination was possible and that no equation better describes the adult Hillary Clinton.

I think Bernstein's opinion is valid. However, over the years, her support for liberal issues has become quite muted and taken a very distant back seat to her commitment to the MIC, Big Banking and the other "big" corporate interests which have funded Clinton family activities since Bill left office, to the tune that he now has accumulated a personal wealth of over $50 million dollars, in addition to all the millions "donated" to the Clinton Foundation and funding the very lavish life style the Clintons lead while involved in any remotely connected Foundation activities. Here are headline & sub-headlines of a recent article:

Bill Clinton's charities spent more than $50m on travel expenses in the past decade even though he regularly uses a billionaire pal's private jets. Former President Clinton runs a number of charities under his name that are focused on eradicating world health problems
An internal audit showed that the charities spent more than $50m on travel expenses since 2003, including $12.1m in 2011 alone
Rooting out inefficiencies in time for Hillary to decide whether she is going to run for office in 2016
This article is very detailed with fascinating examples of how the Clinton Foundation threw money donated for charity into expenses like flying a politically active movie star and her dog first class to an event. It also illustrates how the Clintons have failed to separate their non-profit charity from political involvement benefiting GOP candidates:

By using grocery-store magnate John Catsimatitis’ plane for trips- like his recent one with Chelsea to South Africa last month- the charities either pay a discounted rate to Catsimatitis or he writes the expense off as a charitable donation.

Such close ties to the Republican billionaire also shows another reason why the Clintons have been actively staying away from the ongoing New York City mayoral race, as Catsimatitis is running as a Republican against a number of Hillary Clinton’s former colleagues from her days in the Senate- not to mention her longtime aide Huma Abedin’s husband, Anthony Weiner.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2398355/Bill-Clintons-charities-spent-50m-travel-expenses-past-decade-regularly-uses-billionaire-pals-private-jet.html#ixzz2lZEZDaRQ

The Clintons have the most tangled political/financial web of any US political dynasty ever. And all those invisible strings leading back to the corporate "donors" to the Clinton Foundation will be in place and calling the shots if there is another Clinton presidency.

See also:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/14/us/politics/unease-at-clinton-foundation-over-finances-and-ambitions.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&

[harun]

18. +1

[Whisp]

44. Do not trust a Clinton

to do anything other than for themselves and their little mafia thing they got going.

[nolabels]

16. The truth is always painful for those who wish to deceive

She is like the bully grade school teacher you had who was always right and made you learn it by rote, if nothing else. Only really abrasive to those who refuse to want to learn and entertaining to rest of us who already have.

[Jackpine Radical]

19. What's at the bottom of the Populist Cliff?

The People, of course.

All holding a gigantic blanket like in that Inuit game.

[closeupready]

22. Yeah, they're a-feared of her; they sure stopped laughing

when she kicked Scott Brown out of office. They weren't laughing when she was appointed the US consumer czar. She is a juggernaut, and they know it. K&R

[BEZERKO]

28. A friend of ours says that

the DLC and Third Way types are really fiscally conservative Republicans who don't care for the rest of the party's agenda, so they're now fiscally conservative Democrats.

[nikto]

36. The DLC-types are just ...

Rightwingers who don't oppose abortion or gay rights.


Being correct on only 2 issues just doesn't do it for me.

[WillyT]

29. HUGE K & R !!!

[NealK]

32. K&R

[merrily]

37. I hope she scares banks and think tanks to death.

[laserhaas]

41. Kicking & Rec'ing - THANKS for this. Just wish she were a Senator somewhere else than Bain'ville

She was a bankruptcy case attorney and KNOWs I've got Pitten's by the proverbials;
but - I can't ask her to go full bore - against her constituents.

Just seems skewed!