Discussion for article #231961
āWeiss, a Democrat and banker at Lazardā¦ā
Under circumstances where the banking industry wasnāt so obviously overreaching their power stranglehold on our government, having a job with industry experience might be counted as an asset. But not now.
I see this as a check on their arrogant bipartisan co-opting of the system, and for our sake letās hope there are more to come.
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Itās a good start. More noise, more threats, more outrage, more more MORE!!!
NO QUARTER.
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Good. Obama needs to pick someone who actually cares about the economy, not just that part of it that stuffs fat catsā wallets.
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It doesnāt matter if Weiss is potentially the greatest public servant - he worked for the firm that aided the āInversionā for Burger King to avoid tax obligations in the US. These so called Inversions are one of the many dastardly moves for-profits makeā¦ and Obama himself has railed against the Inversions in public. How the hell could he support Weiss and even in the death throes of the nomination, Jack Lew and the press person are still like āoh thereās no good reason to objectā - BULLSHIT GO TALK TO YOUR BOSS!
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Tony Fratto, a former assistant secretary at the Treasury Department and a White House former deputy press secretary for President George W. Bush said Weissās decision was a shame and āembarassing for the Obama administration.ā
So helpful to hear what a former Dubya mouthpiece thinks of the matter. Leaves me wondering what Michelle Malkinās advice to the President would be.
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Exactly. Big Finance has run roughshod over the political system for decades now. Maybe Weiss would have been an asset - if so, he still can be as an āadviserā. But a message needed to be sent. Weāve had enough of the revolving door. There must be other qualified candidates without his baggage.
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Way to go Liz!! You are the only Dem who actually has the balls to do what you have always doneā¦look out for us.
You go, girl!
God, what I would give for a Warren/Sanders ticket in 2018. The sad thing is however the average american voter would be too dumb to vote for you.
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This time Iām going to have to disagree with Warren.
All she won was a symbolic victory against the industryās hold on Washington.
From what I have read, this position Weiss was up for was more along the lines of managing the nationās debt, so more of a technocratic function than policy formation.
And her drawing a line in the sand over this fairly innocuous position by the usual standards, sheās giving the administration a setback in trying to fill a needed position in a sensitive sector with the ādemocrats in disarray,ā media mem, all over again, over this episode , .
Weiss has been on record supporting Obamaās economic policies, so it would be good to get a competent technocrat in that position who happen;s to share the presidentās views.
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Randy, I agree with you more than anyone Iāve encountered in my politically-awakened-life on political forums/comment sections in the last 15 years. You always seem to have the persuasive, nuanced, historically honest, and politically savvy point of view. This time I disagree. A line in the sand DOES need to be drawn, and we need to start steering the ship of state further in the correct direction. Post-2014 elections is the right time to start the pivotā¦ and Warren has started it exactly on time.
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Excellent news. At this point in time having a Wall Street background is, in substance, no different than having a criminal record.
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I agree on the need to send a signal about Wall Street influence, but what would be the level of acceptable involvement Wall Street in a Treasury position if itās in the more technical juggling of debt interests. Someone likened the position to that of the nationās investment banker. And it seems Weiss was pretty savvy with the markets. I appeciate her position, just think it might have been a better case of pick your battles.
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Also, I feel it plays into the ātwo sides do itā scenario that generally hurts Democrats for what at best is just a symbolic victory.
Someone else from the same financial sector will be picked if its a purely non-policy and just a technical position, I say why not? Let him wheel-and-deal for the US. In a way it also neutralizes him. Obama could do worse than have a savvy technocrat in that position, and the democrats lose by beating each other up over this. Itās too much ground to give up over what is at best just a symbolic victory.
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Iāve never heard of Tony Fratto before, but he sounds like a colossal dick.
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Go, Elizabeth! Of course, tomorrow morning weāll have the usual passel of commenters who would support grinding up pre-schoolers for bio-diesel if an Obama appointee recommended it.
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And thanks for the compliment.
If it was anytime prior to the elections in 2014 I would agree. Nearly every time prior to this, since 2009 when the scorched earth tactics of the Republicans was made clear, it made tactical and strategtic sense to not pick fights over items like this, stay consistent with the messaging, no infighting, etc. Any of that would have delayed or outright prevented so much of the progress in the last six years. But it is now time to start to widen the debate in this country and force these topics to be covered by the MSM, and begin to frame the debates for 2016. It is so vital.
I agree completely that this is symbolic, and I wouldnāt even call it a victoryā¦ itās the first step about keeping this subject in the national discussion. I just donāt see the discussion going there without direct intervention by progressives with a voice (politicians, artists, etc.) ā barring another resurgence of the Occupy movement, or some other socio-economic protests, or another economic tragedy.
Sorry Iām not able to address your points directly - because I agree with your statements about the reasons behind nominating him (actually skilled in the discipline required for the job description, having an inside guy, going to hire someone from that industry eventually, etc. ā except for as I commented on earlier, itās inconsistent for the President to nominate someone directly involved with the BK Inversion) but the specifics donāt matter ā this good argument is caught up in the context of pivoting to 2016 and setting a progressive agenda. Gotta break some eggs to make an omeletteā¦ and thereās a lot more eggs to crack Iām sorry to say. Iām hopeful weāll see unity and cohesive banding together after the nominee is pickedā¦ but for now, itās time to move the ball down the field.
edited to combine my replies and mix my metaphors.
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Absolutely. Iāve wanted to thank you on several occasions for taking the words right out of my mouth and saving me the effort posting a comment trying to remind everyone how far back the issues go and how the system actually works: slowly and without grace, much to the chagrin of the idealists. On many occasions youāve given clarity to very murky topics and I appreciate your ability to stay both logically and ethically consistent and true to the long, long history of politics, policy, and history in general. So kudos and cheers 
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Just read this article by Matt Yglesias which captures the different facets to this that weāve been talking about, and they all have merit, which doesnāt square until you frame it like this:
The White House sees Weiss as a perfectly standard-issue Democrat who Democrats should support. Warren sees the mainstream Democratic Party approach to finance issues ā both as practiced by Bill Clinton in the 1990s and by Obama more recently ā as misguided and worth rejecting. The White House thinks itās important to regulate the financial system to minimize the risk of a major new blowup. Warren thinks itās important to regulate the financial system to re-order the role of banks in the American economy and reverse a multi-generational trend toward finance-led capitalism.
This is a fundamental clash of ideological visions thatās much bigger than disagreements about the role of the Undersecretary or the details of Weissās biography. Indeed, in many ways thereās nothing Weiss or his friends could possibly say or do to assuage Warrenās concerns. He has the misfortune of being the right person at the right time to serve as a foil for Warrenās larger project. But the fight isnāt about him, and regardless of what happens with this nomination, the battle is going to continue. Thatās what makes the debate worth following.
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Regardless of his potential suitability for the job, I agree with Senator Warren that itās time to slow down this revolving door between Wall Street and DC.
I havenāt heard anyone indicate why he would be absolutely essential for this position, what he brought to the table that was unique. Iām sure there are many other people who can fill the position without his baggage.
Nothing about the fvcked up economics of this country will ever change until we find a source other than Wall Street to fill government posts.
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