Fed Chairman Bernanke Wins Confirmation for Second Term

[Libertas1776]

Source: CNBC

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke won Senate confirmation for a second term, ending a bruising political battle that forced the head the world's most powerful central bank to fight for survival. Bernanke's nomination earlier cleared a procedural roadblock with a 77-23 vote, and the Senate moved directly to a vote on final confirmation, where only a simple majority of 51 votes in the 100-person chamber was needed for approval.

Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/35123799

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I feel sick.

[DJ13]

1. I feel sick as well

The talking heads were saying that he won because the Senators were afraid of a potentially "liberal" choice if Obama had to choose a replacement.

[phantom power]

2. Super. What could possibly go wrong?

:banghead:

[The Northerner]

3. Oh gosh

Does anyone have a list of the names of senators who voted to confirm him for a second term?

[t0dd]

4. ..

:banghead:

[high density]

5. what a surprise

not.

[The Northerner]

6. 70-30 was the vote

Unbelievable.

[bulloney]

15. That's the Senate confirmation process: Reward failure, incompetence and/or corruption.

Where can I find such work? I can screw up with the best of them. I could be a CEO, given the Senate's form of logic.

[tularetom]

7. Bernanke is more important to these asswipes than health care

They were all threatening to filibuster the health care vote, but he sails through on bringing the matter to the floor 77-23.

Guess we all know where we stand.

Whoever the 23 votes were against him, thank you.

[The Northerner]

8. Senate cloture votes

http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00015

Nays (17 Republicans, 5 Democrats, 1 Independent):

Begich (D-AK)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Feingold (D-WI)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
McCain (R-AZ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sanders (I-VT)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Specter (D-PA)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)

[alp227]

10. Interestingly, a mix of very liberal AND conservative senators opposing Bernanke.

On the left there's Sanders, ex-Republican Specter, and Feingold, and on the right you have Inhofe, McCain, and Vitter.

[Ter]

16. The far-right thinks he's for One World Government

In a Superbank. They also think he made the recession on purpose to kick start the New World Order. :crazy:

[NorthCarolina]

17. I suspect the reasons Sanders/Feingold opposed are quite different from

the motivation behind the Republican vote.

[Alexander]

39. Begich? Didn't he speak in favor of Bernanke just days ago?

That's a welcome surprise.

[fascisthunter]

9. it's a rigged game

and America loses everytime politicians play it.

[katty]

11. of course he did-failing upward is continually rewarded

[The Northerner]

12. Senate confirmation votes 70-30

Nays: (18 Republicans, 11 Democrats, 1 Independent)

Begich (D-AK)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Ensign (R-NV)
Feingold (D-WI)
Franken (D-MN)
Grassley (R-IA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Kaufman (D-DE)
LeMieux (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sanders (I-VT)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Specter (D-PA)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wicker (R-MS)

[quakerboy]

13. What happened to the hold?

I trust this means we can start to rely on the republicans to help out on all our corp-light proposals from now on?

[TheWatcher]

20. The Hold was nothing more than pure Theater.

When are Americans going to wake up to the fact that the "Political System" they live under is no more based in reality than the WWE?

Maybe we should call it Washington Wrestling Entertainment.

They think you are Stupid, Dumbed Down, Weak Cattle that will believe anything you are told, and even if you don't they are so arrogant that you can't do anything to stop them, they just stick it in your face, rub your nose in your own shit, and say "So What? What are you going to do about it."

America, you need to Grow Up and realize something, once and for all.

YOU. DO. NOT. HAVE. REPRESENTATIVE. GOVERNMENT.

It cannot be made anymore plain to you.

Keep ignoring it and enjoying the meaningless distractions and creature comforts that keep you from caring, but just be prepared for the inevitable consequences that come along with it.

[fascisthunter]

22. .

[quakerboy]

38. I prefer my theater consistant at least.

I dislike these continuity errors.

[Luciferous]

14. They still aren't listening to us... anyone actually surprised by this?!

[TheWatcher]

21. See my post above.

It's time for the People to WAKE UP and understand what they are truly up against.

They need to stop having orgasms at every pretty speech they hear and see that the true substance of the fate of their country depends on the ACTIONS of the leaders they ELECT to REPRESENT THEM, not cheap words, no matter how beautifully and meticulously delivered.

And if the Leaders will not follow their duly elected duties, they need to undertsand where they stand, according to the Authors of a "Quaint" 234 year old Document:

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Americans have become so Stockholmed by the false paradigm they live in, they have forgotten who has the REAL Power.

[lib2DaBone]

18. Sad... an important opportunity was missed.... again....

[Romulox]

19. Heck of a job, Bernie! nt

[tpsbmam]

23. Senate confirms Bernanke for second term as Federal Reserve chairman

Source: WaPo

Ben S. Bernanke won a second term as Federal Reserve chairman on Thursday, as 70 senators voted to confirm him for four more years as the nation's most powerful economic policymaker.

Bernanke's nomination had become uncertain in the past week, as liberals and conservatives alike expressed new reservations about confirming a man who has presided over the worst economic downturn in generations.

But ultimately, a bipartisan majority of the Senate concluded that Bernanke's aggressive actions to combat the crisis, which many argued prevented the recession from becoming a depression, made up for regulatory and other failures by Bernanke and the Fed that contributed to the crisis in the first place. He won confirmation by a wider margin than many Congress-watchers had expected.

"Once the crisis started, he took charge in a way that was unprecedented," said Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), during the Senate debate. "I believe when the history of this period is written . . . Bernanke will prove to have been one of the heroes."

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/28/AR2010012800103.html?hpid=topnews

[Orrex]

24. Oh FFS

Throw a dart at a phone book, and you'll find a better candidate than Bernanke.


This is beyond stupid.

[Mithreal]

25. This is what you do when you ride the wave of support from a well spoken SOTU.

Back to reality.

[change_notfinetuning]

26. One more for the Gipper. Finally bipartisanship, but for this moron? n/t

[Jefferson23]

27. Bernanke lives!

The Federal Reserve chairman wins reconfirmation by a humiliating 70-30 margin in the Senate
By Andrew Leonard
The Senate just voted to end debate on the reconfirmation of Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve chairman. By a vote of 77-23, the motion for cloture passed, thus all but assuring a second term for Bernanke.

Depending on how you look at it, the margin is either pleasantly comfortable, given the speculation late last week that Bernanke might not get the 60 votes necessary to stop a potential filibuster. Or it's an embarrassing humiliation for both the chairman and President Obama, since it's been a long time since a sitting chair received so many nay votes while seeking reconfirmation.

UPDATE: The final "up-and-down" vote for confirmation: 70-30. Seven senators who voted to end debate declined to support Bernanke for a second term. According to Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the 30 nay votes was the most ever a Federal Reserve chairman nominee has ever received.


http://www.salon.com/technology/how_the_world_works/2010/01/28/bernanke_vote

[dotymed]

35. I don't care about the SOTU speech.

Sanders gave the speech that mattered when he spoke against Bernanke. Truth (not hope) to power.

[Jefferson23]

37. Agreed.

[biermeister]

28. how they voted-

Sorry but this was the best I could find. Surprised to see Leahy voting for him. At least Sanders stood his ground. Not surprised to see both senators from NJ support Bernanke.

There were 30 "NO" votes, including 12 Democrats and 18 Republicans. Here's the full list of NOs:

Begich
Boxer
Brownback
Bunning
Cantwell
Cornyn
Crapo
Demint
Dorgan
Ensign
Feingold
Franken
Grassley
Harkin
Hutchison
Inhofe
Kaufman
Lemieux
McCain
Merkley
Risch
Roberts
Sanders
Sessions
Shelby
Specter
Thune
Vitter
Whitehouse
Wicker

[Mithreal]

29. Hooray for Cantwell.

[Demeter]

30. There's some mighty big names missing off that list.

I hope they are retiring before we have to throw them out.

[Jefferson23]

31. Freaking Dodd and Lieberman from my state, of course they vote yea..schmucks.

[BumRushDaShow]

34. Hmmm.... Specter on the "no" list.

Does that give him street cred for his election? :shrug: ;)

[winyanstaz]

32. Well this is just stupid.....

Have we learned absolutly nothing???!!!?

[Ticonderoga]

33. Feinstein & Schumer

Of course they are not on the "NO" list. These two are the geniuses who gave us Sam Alito.:puke:

[proudohioan]

40. Sounds like Bernanke

suffers from Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

[anonymous171]

36. Fuck. nt