BREAKING-Elizabeth Warren has been named as a Special Advisor to the

[jenmito]

WH and Treasury Dept. in dealing with the Consumer Advocacy Group.(from Ed Schultz.) :bounce:

ETA: The move, first reported by ABC News' Jake Tapper, gives Warren an important role in creation of the bureau, but avoids, for now, a confirmation fight in the Senate. Her selection will appease a slew of prominent lawmakers, progressives, and labor unions who in recent months have clamored for her nomination to the post.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-picks-elizabeth-warren-help-form-consumer-agency/story?id=11624929

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. Terrific!

[vaberella]

2. Interim advisor or just advisor?! n/t

[jenmito]

5. I just used his exact words, so that's all I know. n/t

[vaberella]

15. Okay, thanks. Good news either way. n/t

[onehandle]

3. Blah, blah, blah.

Sounds mushy as Hell.

We're not in the minority... yet.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. It's about time!

They finally got off the dime, and named her!

Recommended.

:bounce:

[Cha]

6. Hey! I'm glad I just happen to catch it from your..

BREAKING NEWS!

[Oceansaway]

7. wooooohoooooo !!...nt

[catgirl]

8. I feel so proud right now... n/t

[flpoljunkie]

9. TPM: They Must Not Really Want Her

(Very disappointing! I need to hear from Elizabeth Warren herself on this 'special position.')

They Must Really Not Want Her
David Kurtz
September 15, 2010, 5:51PM

ABC's Jake Tapper has a curious scoop*, reporting that President Obama will name Elizabeth Warren not to run the new consumer financial protection bureau but instead will give her the previously unheralded "special position reporting to both him and to the Treasury Department and tasked with heading the effort to get the new federal agency standing." Get that?

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/09/exclusive-president-obama-to-this-week-name-elizabeth-warren-to-special-advisory-role-to-white-house.html

We're seeking more clarification now, but it sounds like the White House has decided that instead of nominating Warren to head up the new consumer financial protection bureau, or alternatively avoiding the confirmation process and appointing her as interim director, the President will take a third way and make her a special adviser to help set the bureau up.

I tend to agree with Matt Yglesias on this: "With Warren, Obama showing real innovation in developing odd, satisfying to nobody compromises."

--David Kurtz

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/they_must_really_not_want_her.php?ref=fpblg

[mikelgb]

10. +1

[arcane1]

11. I'm hoping I'm wrong...

but it seems like she's just getting "a" job to throw a bone to us, without putting her in any position of power that might piss off Wall St

[FrenchieCat]

12. You can't run something that isn't running yet.

I believe that is the issue as stated...."tasked with heading the effort to get the new federal agency standing."

Certainly if she will be the one setting up the organization,
that will make her best qualified to run it, whenever that time comes.

[vaberella]

20. Yup...it's createdand hasn't started. n/t

[snot]

24. Ahem, I believe the head of the org is the FIRST person you hire--then she could hire, org it as she

thought best.

As an "advisor," that's ALL she gets to do, w/ no guarantee anyone will listen.

I half want her to expose this charade for what it is by saying thanks but no thanks.

[Raine1967]

49. For some, nothing is EVER good enough. EOM.

[kenfrequed]

81. Well...

'Nothing' is what we are so frequently given so we have a lot of experience with it and we know it isn't really good enough.

[Raine1967]

92. I don't know about this *WE* you speak of

I wonder if they are friends with the *Professional Left*

I am neither -- I am quite pleased about this news.

[donheld]

52. This is actually a good move IMHO

Were they have to go through a confirmation hearing, even Chris Dodd was starting to make trouble for her. This way they avoid all that.
What happens after November is anybodies guess.

[jenmito]

14. From my article:

The move, first reported by ABC News' Jake Tapper, gives Warren an important role in creation of the bureau, but avoids, for now, a confirmation fight in the Senate. Her selection will appease a slew of prominent lawmakers, progressives, and labor unions who in recent months have clamored for her nomination to the post.

[Beetwasher]

19. Actually This Appointment Gives Her More Power

She won't be subject to the political pressures of confirmation. Read Slinksrwinks diary on Kos.

[ProSense]

26. It's the same thing

AP source: Consumer advocate tapped for new post

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama will appoint Wall Street critic Elizabeth Warren as a special adviser to oversee the creation of a new consumer protection bureau, a Democratic official said Wednesday.

Warren would report to both the Treasury Department and the White House in a role that would not require Senate confirmation. The 61-year-old Harvard University professor had been considered the leading candidate to head the bureau itself, but her lack of support in the financial community could have set the stage for contentious Senate hearings that may have ultimately derailed her confirmation.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to speak ahead of the formal announcement.

The independent consumer bureau was created under the financial regulatory bill Obama signed into law earlier this year. It will have vast powers to enforce regulations covering mortgages, credit cards and other financial products, and be financed by the Federal Reserve.

The media is playing word games.

[flpoljunkie]

28. Ezra Klein has questions, as well. Elizabeth Warren to be appointed to...something

Elizabeth Warren to be appointed to ... something

Or so Jake Tapper reports:

President Obama will announce this week that Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law School professor who first proposed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will be named to a special position reporting to both him and to the Treasury Department and tasked with heading the effort to get the new federal agency standing, a knowledgeable Democrat told ABC News.<...>

Naming Warren as an assistant or counselor to both the president and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner would allow the president to bypass a Senate confirmation process that could prove lengthy and contentious.

“I’m concerned about all Senate confirmations these days” including if he were to “nominate somebody for dog catcher,” the president said Friday when asked if he was concerned about Warren’s ability to be confirmed. “I’ve got people who have been waiting for six months to get confirmed who nobody has an official objection to and who were voted out of committee unanimously, and I can’t get a vote on them.”

Since nominees facing the confirmation process also enter a period of public silence, avoiding the confirmation process would also allow Warren to publicly discuss the agency and its benefits, which the president is eager for her to do.

Still unclear: Does this prevent her from eventually heading the agency? Or is this a precursor to doing that? What are her actual powers? How long does she serve in this position for?

By Ezra Klein | September 15, 2010; 5:28 PM ET

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/09/elizabrth_warren_to_be_appoint.html

[jenmito]

31. I see it the same as when Bush chose Cheney to be in charge of looking for a good VP...

and CHENEY ended up being the VP.

[flpoljunkie]

41. We can only hope so, Jen!

[ProSense]

35. Doesn't matter

She's going to set up the agency. Consider it OTJT sort of like making Elena Kagan Solicitor General.

Seriously, do people consider that the President knows what he's doing and Elizabeth Warren is savvy enough to understand?

[Radical Activist]

32. TPM: Given lemonade and making piss all over everything.

[Lorien]

56. Better than passing out piss and calling it lemonade.

which is what the WH is doing.

[Lorien]

55. Yglesias is right. nt

[AlecBGreen]

13. CONGRATS EW!

hopefully this is just a stepping stone up to a bigger role! :bounce:

[BlueIdaho]

16. About damn time... nt.

[Peacetrain]

17. YESIREEE K&R

:fistbump:

[jenmito]

25. It's brilliant timing, too!

:fistbump:

[ClarkUSA]

18. Elizabeth Warren is "tasked with heading the effort to get the new federal agency standing."

:woohoo:

[CreekDog]

21. i'm sensitive to being teased right now

i'm not applauding until i see her given power to actually do something --and i see it get done.

[jenmito]

22. Doing it this way avoids the confirmation process. She's in. That's a very smart move. n/t

[CreekDog]

23. not with you there

sorry. not convinced.

who the heck are they going to put up that will be easier to confirm?

i cannot even begin to imagine. :banghead:

[jenmito]

27. SHE will be the one to take the position

that will be created-without having to be confirmed.

[CreekDog]

36. oh and what if they appoint Dodd or someone like him to run the new agency?

what will happen to her recommendations then?

WHO will they appoint that will be easier to confirm that Warren and based on what will make them easier to confirm --how likely is it that they will undermine her?

i've been toyed with far too long. i'm sure they don't mean any harm, but sometimes i feel as though i'm sharing a foxhole with the administration and they are negotiating with the enemy to allow just one of us to get out safely.

[ClarkUSA]

38. Dodd is retiring and supported Elizabeth Warren's nomination just last week.

Let's not drive ourselves to distraction with what-if's.

Enjoy the OP! jenmito is correct. :party:

[CreekDog]

40. Dodd supported Warren's nomination? Oh come on...

you're smarter than that.

if he wanted her to get the nomination and wanted it to succeed, he would've quietly called the WH and advised them of his concerns.

instead he broadcast to the entire media that she couldn't be confirmed and even suggested that there be an alternative.

come on!

[ClarkUSA]

42. Yes he did. Check with his DC office if you don't believe me.

Read my comments on this thread before you express further derision, please:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=441342&mesg_id=441482

[kenfrequed]

78. Read the law carefully

That is the magic of it. Obama doesn't HAVE to put up someone easier to confirm. Ever.

[kenfrequed]

80. oops

My mistake, I thought he actually gave her the position. Lovely, all the stupid right wing noise flack without a senate hearing and without the power. Terrific.

[jefferson_dem]

29. I'll applaud this...

Sucks that Ms. Warren didn't get what she deserved, however. I look forward to learning more about what role she will play.

[jenmito]

34. I believe she WILL end up getting THE position...

this is just a roundabout way of doing it.

[Hello_Kitty]

30. Great news. I hope she gets a lot of face time too.

She's very engaging and is great at explaining complicated financial topics in a way regular people can understand.

[NC_Nurse]

33. Sounds sketchy to me. I'm going to wait and see.

[jenmito]

37. I see it more as a "back-door way" of getting her in without confirmation.

[Cal33]

43. Fine. As long as she gets in and can do a good job.

[Jackpine Radical]

46. Yes, that's right.

And Obama can take his own sweet time going about a "permanent" appointment. Like maybe some time in his second term.

[girl gone mad]

60. More like an underhanded way of shoving her aside.

I hate these stupid games the administration plays.

[DevonRex]

64. You really did choose the most appropriate name for youself. nt

[no limit]

61. Why not just name her interm head? That seems like a much better way to get her in

assuming you actually want her in.

[Recursion]

67. So she doesn't report to Geithner

That's the main idea from what I'm seeing.

[GOTV]

76. From this article in the Washington Post...

"Warren is expected to take on a dual role as assistant to the president and special adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner"

So she does report to Geithner in some respect I think.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/15/AR2010091505999.html

[mkultra]

88. interim head of what genius?

The agency doesn't exist yet.

[ProSense]

39. White House To Tap Warren To Set Up Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

HuffPo: White House To Tap Warren To Set Up Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The White House has tapped Elizabeth Warren as a special adviser to help set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, ABC News is reporting. The move allows her to act as an interim head of the CFPB and will enable her to begin setting up the agency immediately and prevent the GOP from filibustering her nomination. Warren could serve until Obama nominates a permanent director -- a nomination he's not required to make for some time. Obama could also nominate her as the permanent director in the near future, a prospect that has been discussed among top aides, according to a person familiar with the White House deliberations. Warren will also be named as a special adviser directly to Obama, ABC reported.

<...>

That's how you do it!

[Jackpine Radical]

45. When I first heard the news on PBS, I was pissed.

"Sellout," I thought to myself. It was only after reading a few things--like that HuffPo piece--that I realized this IS the interim director appointment we were cheering and hoping for just yesterday.

Bravo Barack.

[AtomicKitten]

44. Just heard the news!!! WOOOOHOOOOO!!!

Happy dance. :)

[Jennicut]

47. Good, gets her in without having to drag a fight out over her nomination.

I am very pleased right now.

[jenmito]

48. Exactly. n/t

[jenmito]

50. Maddow is happy about this-she's talking about her now! An announcement will

be made within a week. Chris Hayes is happy, too. They both think it's GOOD news! It's "incredibly gratifying," said Hayes. They're talking about why the way Obama is doing this is a GOOD MOVE. She can be a public face and voice right NOW instead of having to remain in a "cone of silence" until she's confirmed.

[impik]

57. Exactly. And she'll remain "an "outsider", which is very good

[snot]

51. If this appointment matters, Wall St. will howl. If they don't . . .

. . . I have to say, real power usually requires 1. authority to hire and fire, and 2. authority over a significant budget. Some "advisors" effectively have this -- e.g., Rove -- but most don't.

[Flying Squirrel]

58. Good thinking, I still am not convinced

that this is anything but a clever way to appease the left yet still not put her in any position of real power.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

53. Sounds good AND smart to me...

specifically "avoids a confirmation fight in the Senate". If I'm reading that right, it means she can get to work helping to create the thing, instead of everyone being hamstrung with fucking stupid partisan battles.

[Lorien]

54. They got her out of the way so that they could put a Wall Street cronie on the job

I'm just surprised that anyone here didn't see through it (though a few never will).

[Flying Squirrel]

59. I'm with you, call me a diehard cynic but I've seen too much

already from this Administration to think they're actually doing something that would take balls.

[jenmito]

63. Weird that they'd put her right in the middle of it if they wanted to get her out of the way. And

it's also weird that Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes would both be happy about this.

[DevonRex]

65. That's the silliest thing I've read on DU today. nt

[Faryn Balyncd]

62. Now that's playing some chess!!!

:sarcasm:

[Orrex]

66. Stuff *that* up your committee, Chris Dodd!

:woohoo:

[katty]

68. great, we'll see how much they listen to her advice

[jenmito]

69. I think it's a sneaky way to give HER the job without having to be confirmed.

[JNelson6563]

70. Awesome.

:toast:

[JDPriestly]

71. Good news! Now let's see whether Obama lets her open her mouth.

Because if he does, he will have the conservatives over a barrel. What I like about Elizabeth Warren is the fact that she can explain economic and legal facts in a way that just about anybody can understand.

I have heard that Summers has criticized her research and maybe her math abilities. She doesn't need to do research or math. She just needs to explain the basic economic realities to the American people in that down-to-earth way she does. She will be a great ambassador for Obama and all sensible, law-abiding people.

Banks have nothing to fear as long as they are honest and fair in their dealings.

[jenmito]

72. As Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes said last night, the oppointment allows her to

"open her mouth" as you put it immediately instead of having to remain in a "cone of silence" until/if she's confirmed.

[The Doctor.]

73. WOOT!

:bounce:

[bobburgster]

74. Maybe they just wanted to get around the confirmation process.

Christ, the way nominations get held up, we would probably have a blue moon before she was confirmed. Sounds like a great back door way to get her started.

[jenmito]

75. EXACTLY! n/t

[kenfrequed]

83. Easy way around that

It would have been called a recess appointment and it would have been a good signal to the base. I'm sensing the hand of Rahm in this stupidity. We will magically keep conservatives, who will never vote for us happy by not stepping on any toes. And somehow the most symbolic and seemingly meaningless gestures are supposed to keep progressives happy. Arrghh!!


Please, get out and vote. Change the narrative and the spin. Make the Tea Parties cost the GOP big time.

[kenfrequed]

77. YES!!!!

Hopefully this will be the start of a trend.

In my opinion Obama can feel free to fill out department and judicial vacancies this way. He can put it all under the heading of "Getting Serious and Getting Down to Business."

[kenfrequed]

79. Oh wait...

Special advisor...

Damn it. Fooled again. Why didn't he just do a recess appointment and be done with it. This was idiotic.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

82. Bullshit. Another appeasement.

Elizabeth Warren designed this program...this was her idea. Why can't Obama fight for her and appointment her to the position
she deserves ?

[mkultra]

89. maybe because the agency doesnt exist yet

and its her job to create the agency.

Seems pretty fucking simple.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

91. I've changed my opinion.

I'm not to proud to admit my post was a bit of a knee jerk reaction since Warren's appointment
has been front and center on my list of things that must happen to create change.

I actually think this position will be a better fit for her.

[Unruly]

84. Obama . . .

. . . splitting the difference again. He wants the left to know he's on their side, but doesn't have the guts to formally nominate her . . . reminds me of his statements on the Muslim Center near ground zero, "they have a right to do it, but I won't comment on it's wisdom."

Once again, he makes himself look weak.

[jenmito]

85. Wrong. He's very SMART to do it this way...

to APPOINT her rather than to nominate her because she might not make it due to ALL of the Repubs. and certain DEMS. like Chris Dodd as well as conservadems.

Did you see Obama and his STRONG defense of the Islamic Center in his formal press conference? I guess not. :eyes:

[Unruly]

86. I guess . . .

. . . that was after he said he would not comment on the wisdom of the Islamic Center. How many positions has he had on that so far . . . two, three . . . still counting?

[jenmito]

87. He's had ONE position...

they have every right to build the Islamic center on that site. When he was asked a question about it, he answered consistent to his speech the night before, but the media cut off his response to the reporter. If you saw his whole answer, it was consistent.

[Unruly]

90. n/t

[EmeraldCityGrl]

93. Weak? I suppose that's why

the Rethugs are crying foul. They've been duped and they know it.

http://baselinescenario.com/2010/09/10/republican-nightmare-putting-elizabeth-warren-to-work-now/