Wall Street is out to destroy Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

[Jackpine Radical]

She really struck a nerve when she came out against the nomination of Antonio Weiss, an investment banker who is helping Burger King avoid paying its fair share of taxes, to an important Treasury Department post. Jim Dean's email below explains the background behind this important nomination.

Wall Street knows that Sen. Warren's opposition to Weiss is a game-changing moment in the fight for the future of the Democratic Party. That's why they're pulling out all the stops to try and defeat her. Steven Rattner, a member of the Wall Street Wing of the Democratic Party, made this extraordinary criticism of Sen. Warren this week, as reported by Politico:

"This is not at all about Antonio Weiss," said Steve Rattner, a prominent investment banker who worked on the auto industry bailout during Obama's first term. "It is part of a much broader narrative of the fight for the soul of the Democratic Party..." Rattner added that if the Weiss nomination goes down "it will be a long time before anyone else with Wall Street experience volunteers for this kind of job."
That's exactly what we want. We've learned the hard way that Wall Street cannot be trusted to regulate itself. Sen. Warren herself has shown that you don't have to come from the big banks to do a good job regulating the financial industry. We need people who answer to Main Street, not Wall Street, filling these important financial regulatory posts.

The Antonio Weiss nomination has become a crucial moment in the fight for the future of this country. We cannot let Wall Street win.

Will you stand with Elizabeth Warren? Sign our petition and tell Sen. Warren's fellow Senators: Reject Antonio Weiss!

- Robert

Robert Cruickshank, Senior Campaign Manager
Democracy for America

[Ykcutnek]

1. K&R

[Autumn]

2. Do you have a link to this? Also would you please cross post this in the EW group?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1265

Rec and

[Jackpine Radical]

3. I reposted in EW, but don't have a link.

This is the text of an email from DFA. I don't have a link, but assume you can find it on their website.

[Autumn]

6. Cool thank you. I haven't checked my email since before Thanksgiving. Afraid to

I have prolific friend and family emailers

[pinboy3niner]

24. Here's the link to the DFA petition page...

Your DFA email has hyperlinks to a petition page that has your name on it; if you delete the question mark and everything following it from that url, you get the page without that personalization:

Stand with Elizabeth Warren: Reject Antonio Weiss
http://act.democracyforamerica.com/sign/antonio_weiss/

[RiverLover]

32. Thanks for this.

Signed this one too! Much appreciated~

[Vincardog]

35. Thanks for the link

[pacalo]

45. Thanks for the link, Autumn.

[whathehell]

4. Absolutely...I'll go the the EW forum to sign. n/t

[RiverLover]

5. This Is the Next Big Fight Between Progressives and the Wall Street Dems

Thanks JPR for bringing up a defining moment in our party.

Here's a good article (& btw, Burger King did gets its way thanks to Obama's nominee, deal is to close next week.*)~

This Is the Next Big Fight Between Progressives and the Wall Street Dems
11/24/14

If Burger King has its way, the company will soon leave its Miami headquarters for Canada and enter the coffee-and-donut business.

...But the chance to move to a country with lower corporate tax rates was undoubtedly part of the appeal. Since 2003, more than thirty-five American companies have dodged taxes through similar deals, which are known as “corporate inversions.”

Now the Burger King move is implicated in a fight brewing between some Senate Democrats and President Obama, a clash that throws into relief the split between the party’s Wall Street wing and its progressives. One of the people involved in the deal was Antonio Weiss, a major Democratic fundraiser, the publisher of The Paris Review, and the global head of investment banking at Lazard Ltd, a firm that has put together several major inversion deals. As of November 12, he’s also President Obama’s pick to oversee the domestic financial system—including the implementation of the Dodd-Frank financial-reform act, and consumer protection—at the Treasury.

But a growing number of senators are objecting to Obama’s latest Wall Street nominee. Unsurprisingly, Massachusetts’s Elizabeth Warren is at the front of the insurrection. “Enough is enough,” she proclaimed in the Huffington Post last week. “It’s time for the Obama administration to loosen the hold that Wall Street banks have over economic policy making.”

Warren has a number of problems with Weiss. The first is the fact that his career has been focused on international transactions. “Neither his background nor his professional experience makes him qualified to oversee consumer protection and domestic regulatory functions at the Treasury,” she wrote. The second is that he’s tied up in the corporate-inversion trend, which, as she notes, the Obama administration has criticized and tried to stop. She issued a sharp retort to White House claims that Weiss did not have a hand in the tax portion of the Burger King deal and that he opposes inversions personally:

This was a tax deal, plain and simple. It was designed to reduce Burger King’s tax burden, and Weiss was an important and highly-paid part of the team…Did he work under protest, forced to assist this deal against his will? Did he speak out against tax inversions? Did he call out his company for profiting so handsomely from its tax loophole work? The claim of personal distaste is convenient, but irrelevant.

The third piece of Warren’s opposition to Weiss isn’t specifically about him but about the fox guarding the henhouse. She ticked off a long list of people with close ties to the financial industry who now serve in high-level economic-policy positions in the Obama administration, including Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and US Trade Representative Michael Froman. Letting former Wall Streeters roost in top government perches “tells people that one—and only one—point of view will dominate economic policymaking. It tells people that whatever goes wrong in this economy, the Wall Street banks will be protected first,” she wrote....

http://www.thenation.com/blog/191289/next-big-fight-between-progressives-and-wall-street-dems

*

Burger King Nears Closing Tim Hortons Acquisition
http://online.wsj.com/articles/burger-king-nears-closing-tim-hortons-acquisition-1417785495

Unpatriotic burger crap pushing ingrates...

[JDPriestly]

33. Particularly disgusting because Burger King is a very American company.

Its products are pure, old-fashioned American food. And its name couldn't be more typically American. It makes most of its money in America.

It owes its taxes here. I think I will never frequent another Burger King in my life. That's for sure.

[BeanMusical]

63. There's no such thing as a patriotic corporation.

[JDPriestly]

68. A corporation enjoys only the rights and privileges granted it by law.

Unlike humans, it cannot be said that corporations have innate rights. Since the corporation is created only under state laws and must be chartered, an unpatriotic corporation is headed for trouble sooner or later.

Corporations in this country, simply by changes in the mostly state laws that permit them to be formed, could find themselves forced to be very patriotic.

In WWII, the Roosevelt administration told a lot of corporations what they could and could not produce and what prices they could charge. That was an emergency situation.

Corporations are not people. The Supreme Court decision cannot change that fact. It simply is a fact. You and I are humans and were not created by filing some papers with a state office.

Corporations exist because our laws allow them to exist. We can force them to be patriotic by refusing to give their owners the advantages such as limited liability for the debts of the corporation unless they are patriotic.

[appalachiablue]

37. This really highlights Dems. longterm relationship and dependence on financiers

going back 20+ years. Getting $ out of politics is huge. Warren's courageous, like Sanders even though there are several DUers who try to minimize her appeal by bringing in her earlier Repub. voting record. No matter.

[Autumn]

7. Kick because this IS that important.

[monmouth4]

8. How do I get to the EW site? I'm slow today..n/t

[PoliticAverse]

9. Here is her senate homepage:

http://www.warren.senate.gov/

Her twitter page:
https://twitter.com/SenWarren

Her youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTH9zV8Imw09J5bOoTR18_A

[monmouth4]

11. Many thanks..

[RiverLover]

12. I think the OP meant the forum here for EW

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1265

Though I couldn't find that petition.

I signed one a while back with Credo~

Stand with Elizabeth Warren: No Wall Street bankers running Treasury.

http://act.credoaction.com/sign/weiss_treasury


And it made the press, & but I'm SURE they'd love for even more people to sign it.

Elizabeth Warren's foot soldiers mobilize against Obama nominee
http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/03/news/economy/elizabeth-warren-obama-nominee/index.html

[Jackpine Radical]

18. Thanks for supplying the links.

[BobbyBoring]

20. Thanks for link

Signed and passed on!

[jen63]

67. The actual link to the

petition is above. Just signed!

[RiverLover]

10. Why would Obama nominate this Wall Street Robber Baron?

President Obama began his presidency by successfully taking on the greedy Wall Street manipulators whose schemes tanked the economy just before his election, but within a couple of years he had become quite cozy with the Street. Perhaps it just comes with the Oval Office. It should be noted that Mr. Weiss became a major fund-raiser for Mr. Obama.

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/editorials/ci_27074995/warrens-cause-extends-past-party-lines

Qs, Qs...

[rhett o rick]

38. I assume that's a rhetorical question. nm

[2banon]

62. O cozied up to Wall Street the day after his '08 election, if not before.

Wasn't the writer paying any attention to Obama's first cabinet picks?

[RiverLover]

64. True. I remember cuz that's when I realized we'd been punked.

Not a pleasant memory...still hurts.

But it makes sense since Goldman Sachs was his biggest campaign donor. I just didn't know it at the time.

[Turbineguy]

13. She won't be as easy as

Eliot Spitzer and Anthony Weiner.

[Odin2005]

43. They have already tried with the "1/64 Cherokee" faux scandal.

I guarantee you they will try again.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

14. Warren Buffet supports the Burger King deal.

This is where I stop to look at both sides of the debate.

[PoliticAverse]

16. He financed it even, see...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5912355

[Jackpine Radical]

22. You mean, because Buffett's imprimatur somehow legitimizes it?

Nuts to that. Buffett is a Wall Street Democrat.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

27. I realize that where he chooses to spend money doesn't help the economy as a whole.

But since I will rely on my IRA, the stock market is a concern of mine. And Buffet is at least a moral person in an industry nearly completely wthout morals.

I'd like to see Warren get Buffet to cut a deal. More favorable legislation for Wall Street when Burger King and others pay a living wage.

[4dsc]

61. Buffett is scum

I wish people would stop idolizing him

[bbgrunt]

15. big k and r.

[Atman]

17. Is this the Morning Joe "Ratfuckner?"

Color me surprised.

[rhett o rick]

39. Are you disparaging the OP or the decision to nominate a Wall Street criminal? nm

[RiverLover]

19. Burger King has maneuvered to cut U.S. tax bill for years

Burger King has maneuvered to cut U.S. tax bill for years
Sept 2014

(Reuters) - Burger King may have taken a lot of flack in the past week for a deal that should curb its U.S. tax bill but in many ways it is consistent with the burger chain’s aggressive tax-reduction strategies in recent years.

Some U.S. lawmakers and other critics attacked the company that is the home of the Whopper for deciding to move its tax base to Canada from the U.S. through its proposed purchase of Oakville, Ontario-based coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons (THI.TO). They say it will allow Burger King (BKW.N) to avoid paying some U.S. taxes.

That would be nothing new. A Reuters analysis of Burger King’s regulatory filings in the U.S. and overseas, which was also reviewed by accounting experts, shows that it has been making major efforts to reduce its U.S. tax bill for some time.

By massaging down U.S. taxable profits while maximizing the profits it reports in low-tax jurisdictions overseas, Burger King is able to operate one of the most tax-efficient businesses in the U.S. fast-food industry.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/02/us-burger-king-tax-insight-idUSKBN0GX0AI20140902

[Segami]

21. Steve RATtner, Anti-Elizabeth Warren Pro Scott Brown

Steve RATtner, the former Obama car-czar would rather support another repuke weasel like Scott Brown over Elizabeth Warren simply because he doesn't like how tough Warren is on the industry........WAAAAAH,......WAAAAAAAH.........

[RiverLover]

34. I forget the morning joe sidekick's name, but she's kind of smart!

She said, "This country needs her" speaking of Liz W...Mika, that's it.

OTOH, the RAT dude is an idiot. Thanks for posting Segami!

[Cleita]

23. No surprise. She's a real threat to them. eom

[JDPriestly]

30. Yes. They silenced Spitzer with scandal. Elizabeth Warren is not going to be so easily ruined.

She is what she is -- the real thing.

And her law students from Harvard will probably back her up. So will the many people who read her books on the economics of the two-income family.

There won't be any scandals concerning Elizabeth Warren. The more they try to destroy her, the more people will like her.

Elizabeth Warren is the cheaters' Waterloo. America deserves an honest financial services industry.

[RufusTFirefly]

44. Cross the money men at your peril. The case of former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon is telling:

Note the interesting timing. Obviously nothing to see here...



Jan. 8, 2008

Baltimore’s mayor and City Council are suing Wells Fargo Bank, contending that its lending practices discriminated against black borrowers and led to a wave of foreclosures that has reduced city tax revenues and increased its costs.

June 17, 2008

Investigators from the Office of the State Prosecutor executed a search and seizure warrant at Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's residence in southwest Baltimore. The affidavit filed to support a search warrant on the company Doracon was published on the Baltimore Sun's website on June 23, 2008. The affidavit states that Dixon is being investigated regarding bribery.

November 9, 2009

The start of two scheduled trials for Dixon on a variety of charges. The charges stem from alleged corruption on the part of the mayor involving gifts she allegedly received and gift cards she allegedly stole.

December 1, 2009

The jury found Dixon guilty on one charge of misdemeanor embezzlement for violating her fiduciary duties to the city and citizens of Baltimore by using approximately $530 in retail store gift cards intended to be distributed to needy families. She was found not guilty on two more serious felony theft charges, and not guilty on one charge of misconduct of office. The jury was unable to come to a verdict regarding a second charge of misdemeanor embezzlement.

January 6, 2010

• As part of a plea agreement reached with prosecutors, Dixon announced that she was resigning as Mayor, effective February 4, 2010.
  
  
• Wells Fargo mortgage case in Baltimore dismissed. Baltimore was the first major American city to accuse a mortgage lender of violating the federal Fair Housing Act with predatory lending practices that exacerbated the nation's housing slump. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz dismissed its case. Last August, a federal judge dismissed a similar lawsuit brought by Birmingham, Alabama against Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc.

The timeline doesn't mention that Dixon found a horse's head in her bed. Probably just an oversight.

[DeSwiss]

25. Threats to Wall Street......

...require food tasters, body doubles (several) and total secrecy about all travel plans.

- These are thugs, miscreants and mutants.

K&R

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

26. Rattner's either simply wrong or deliberately lying.

Wall Street types will ALWAYS want the power of holding such posts. 'Hurt feelings' or whatever isn't going to stop them from trying to insinuate themselves in position to control the levers of power that control the economy.

[JDPriestly]

28. K&R.

Elizabeth Warren went to Congress to change things. Of course, guys like Weiss and Stephen Ratner don't want change. They are living like kings with the status quo.

Run, Elizabeth Warren, Run.

[Segami]

31. Why would they want change?...

the system as is, is working quite fine for them. They don't want someone like Warren to simply walk in and begin changing the cosy environment they live in.

[Omaha Steve]

29. Signed

K&R!

[daleanime]

36. K&R....

[malokvale77]

40. Of course they are. (nt)

[Odin2005]

41. DU is swarming with their paid bullshitters, too.

[hifiguy]

42. K and R!

[WillyT]

46. K & R !!!

[riderinthestorm]

47. K&R nt

[SamKnause]

48. Wall Street is out to destroy

the global economy (again); aided and abetted by the U.S. government and global corporations that control the planet.

[Jackpine Radical]

49. Yup.

They're setting us up on derivatives again, they're trying to kill the remains of Dodd-Frank, and they just got caught sneaking one of their foxes into the top security job at the henhouse.

[colsohlibgal]

50. Signed it Recently

Great article about Hillary and Wall Street in my new Nation issue. Will she bite the hand who feeds her? No way.

[Jackpine Radical]

51. Well, maybe

a little love nibble.

[certainot]

52. wall st/republicans will use their talk radio advantage

and since the left has no clue what's going on republicon radio, whatever new swiftboating they come up with can go on there for weeks and months with no response, no one "getting her back".

that will be added to an accumulation of swiftboating lies and distortions targeted at warren by national (limbaugh) and local talkers since they stopped her from the admin post obama wanted her to take and then when they nearly kept scott brown in the senate.

[Octafish]

53. Struck a nerve, all right.

Integrity does that to crooks.

[Veilex]

54. Spot on!

"This is not at all about Antonio Weiss," said Steve Rattner, a prominent investment banker who worked on the auto industry bailout during Obama's first term. "It is part of a much broader narrative of the fight for the soul of the Democratic Party..." Rattner added that if the Weiss nomination goes down "it will be a long time before anyone else with Wall Street experience volunteers for this kind of job."
That's exactly what we want. We've learned the hard way that Wall Street cannot be trusted to regulate itself. Sen. Warren herself has shown that you don't have to come from the big banks to do a good job regulating the financial industry. We need people who answer to Main Street, not Wall Street, filling these important financial regulatory posts.

Exactly right!

[gregcrawford]

55. Warren is a better person than Blankfein, Dimon...

... or any of those Wall Street shitbags ever dreamed of being. They want to destroy her, how 'bout we destroy THEM? They'd do it to us in a New York minute... wait... they already DID! There's gotta be a way to hurt 'em where they live.

[Phlem]

56. "Wall Street is out to destroy Sen. Elizabeth Warren."

Only if we drink their Kool-Aid and as I've noticed, we've gotten way smarter than that. We must move forward and ignore Wall Street. We know the scam.

[Enthusiast]

57. K&R! This post deserves hundreds of recommendations!

Thank you, Jackpine Radical.

[Helen Borg]

58. Warren is a straight arrow...

They won't be able to find anything on her. Being a woman helps, since men (especially if theyhave some power) tend to have skeletons in the closet due to not being able to keep it in their pants

[RiverLover]

59. "Weiss nomination may go through with majority Republican support in senate next year"

What's wrong with this picture? Democrat pres needs rethugs to get his nominees approved?

Banker Blowback

...The nomination is likely to wait until the next Congress when Republicans control the Senate, so Weiss could conceivably be confirmed with mostly Republican support. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the likely incoming chairman of Senate Finance, said Weiss, Lazard’s global head of investment banking, has “a lot of experience, a lot of ability” and an “attractive résumé.” But the GOP could also decide to allow Democrats to keep fighting among themselves over Weiss and delay a confirmation vote for months. Weiss declined to comment citing pending confirmation hearings....

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/antonio-weiss-elizabeth-warren-113277.html

[madokie]

60. Big money is coming after her with guns ablazing

and have been since the creation of the Consumer Protection Agency

To them they have to stop 'that' woman

[chervilant]

65. Wall Street is out to destroy ANYONE or ANYTHING

that threatens their hegemony.

BTW, I sincerely believe we have GOT to stop using the term "Wall Street" and START using their given names. These are the lackeys of the obscenely wealthy (and a few of the actual obscenely wealthy), and they want their OWN ginormous piece of the remaining pie.

[Jackpine Radical]

66. That's an interesting side point--

We really need Lakoff/Luntz types to frame and encapsulate our messaging.

I do admit "Lackeys of the Obscenely Wealthy" does have a sort of cachet, reminiscent of that old classic, "Capitalist running-dogs."