Could Wall Street's Favorite Dem Head Obama's Consumer Bureau?

[Dr.Phool]

You wondered how they would neutralize Elizabeth Warren? Read it and weep folks.
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Could Wall Street's Favorite Dem Head Obama's Consumer Bureau?
Not only is rumored CFPB candidate Melissa Bean as industry-friendly as they come, but her ex-chief of staff has lobbied for finance reform's biggest enemies.

— By David Corn and Andy Kroll


Mon Nov. 8, 2010 12:01 PM PST

Will President Barack Obama appoint Wall Street-friendly Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? If so, that would be bad news for reformers, who are appalled by the prospect—but good news for John Michael Gonzalez, a leading lobbyist for Big Finance. Before becoming one of Washington's top influence peddlers on behalf of financial firms and trade groups, he was Bean's chief of staff.

According to Politico, Bean, a congresswoman representing northern Illinois who trails in the vote-counting in her close reelection race against Republican Joe Walsh, is under consideration by the White House for this new position, heading up the agency that consumer finance advocate Elizabeth Warren is now constructing.

Bean's campaign would neither confirm or deny whether she's under consideration for the CFBP job. "This race remains too close to call, and we are staying focused as this election process continues," says Bean spokeswoman Gabby Adler.

Bean, a member of the House financial services and small business committees, has a long history as a favorite of Wall Street. Her top donors hail from the finance, insurance, and real estate industries, which together have poured $2.5 million into her campaign coffers over her five-year career, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In the 2008 elections, Bean bagged more money from the Chamber of Commerce, which vehemently opposed the Dodd-Frank bill, than any other House incumbent. And among the top contributors to her 2010 reelection campaign were JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Allstate Insurance, all of which sought to weaken aspects of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill that established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

(snip)http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/11/melissa-bean-wall-street-consumer-bureau

[vi5]

1. And the spinners will be along in 5,4,3,2......

"But this is just a rumor. Stop spreading rumors!!!"

"Oh, Mother Jones...pffft.."

etc.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Worse. It started on Politico.

I didn't post anything about it yesterday because I couldn't find any source that didn't trace back to the Politico story.

Corn is also citing Politico as his source.

There are several possibilities here, one of which is that the Obamites are floating a trial balloon. Another is that Politico pulled it out of their ass.

[displacedvermoter]

10. Probably having an In Service meeting, so give them a little

while!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. If Obama does this, to hell with the rest of his

presidency.

Bean would be my last choice. There are some decent GOPers who would be far more honest and fair minded in that role. If true, this is disgusting.

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. I'm not going to say it. I'm not going to say it. I'm not going too...GAAAHHH

I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!

[Jackpine Radical]

5. Well, if there's anything to this rumor,

I'd say that the first hints occurred when Obama didn't appoint Liz Warren straight off, but finally played that little "interim game with her.

[Dr.Phool]

6. We need Tansy's stamp.

[Tansy_Gold]

11. .

[dkf]

7. This is unacceptable.

Why go through all the trouble of passing the damn thing if it's going to be window-dressing.

What a waste.

[Nite Owl]

8. Well if this is true it was

likely just a bone thrown out to the base that they take such joy in bashing to try to get them out to vote. Now that that's over with....

[northernlights]

12. to try to sucker the fucking retards to vote for the one

why else?

[jotsy]

9. My guess is this is the bone they throw expecting outrage,

so we're more relieved when they get the person they probably picked to begin with.

I'm so jaded!

As I recall, the package lacked considerable teeth anyway. RT News interviewed Richard Wolff of 'Capitalism Hits The Fan' about how much change could be expected from the new financial regulation legislation recently passed.

<http://www.youtube.com/user/RTAmerica#p/search/0/SXbSNs33b48>

RECOMMENDED.

[Dr.Phool]

13. Good video.