Elizabeth Warren cont'd (WaPo's Ezra Klein's take)

[chimpymustgo]

Elizabeth Warren cont'd

Jon Cohn talked to some folks and came away with a generally optimistic take on Elizabeth Warren's interim nomination. Same goes for Matt Yglesias.

I'm still a bit more ambivalent. First, I mistrust decisions that can be easily spun in different ways to different audiences. Talking to the lefty blogger crowd, the administration can say that this shows the depth of their support for Warren, and in no way prevents a permanent nomination from occurring at some later date. The reality, as they've been explaining, is that the Senate isn't moving nominations right now and the Republicans are filibustering everything, so in the short-term, it was this or nothing.

And all that's true. On the other hand, it would also be easy to explain this to a member of the financial industry. The grass-roots pressure to appoint Warren was overwhelming. But this way, she's merely an adviser. She doesn't actually have the powers of the office. And after doing this, there's no way Senate Republicans will ever let her have the permanent spot. Warren's interim appointment makes the politics of a permanent appointment almost impossible.

And here's the thing: Both explanations are true! Republicans really are holding up the nomination process. In the short term, it really was this or nothing. Over the long-run, this really will make it impossible to imagine Republicans letting Warren through a confirmation process. Whether this is a good or bad outcome depends on your assessment of the counterfactuals, in which Obama either didn't appoint her at all or tried to appoint her and faced a fight he may or may not have won against the Republicans in Congress.

By Ezra Klein | September 16, 2010; 12:38 PM ET

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/09/elizabeth_warren_contd.html?wprss=ezra-klein

[zipplewrath]

1. Pretty much my take

It's eating your cake and having it too. You can claim you "appointed" her to one crowd, and to another you can claim that you've ensured she'll never become director. Dodd is already playing that line. This has Rahm written all over it. In the end, the only way we'll know is when we cook and eat the sausage that came out of the grinder.

[chimpymustgo]

2. You are absolutely right. We won't know if she has any power till we see her wield it.

But Ezra nails the explanation. I think it does not bode well for the people.

[scheming daemons]

5. To believe that, you have to believe that Warren is an idiot

Do you think that?


Do you think she's dumb enough to quit her job at Harvard to accept a position in which she yields NO power?


Really?


Sorry... I think more highly of her than that.

[chimpymustgo]

6. No, I believe Warren wants to try to do what she can. She knows she's the only thing standing

between us and the rapists and thieves.

But clearly, this has not been handled in a way that's confidence-inspiring. There were too many other options.

[scheming daemons]

7. This was clearly the best of all of the options

[chimpymustgo]

8. Exactly how? Please explain. She'll never get confirmed by the Senate AFTER November.

They'll have to name someone else.

[scheming daemons]

10. No they won't.... here's why

This "Advisory" position has no time limit.

Obama can nominate her... and the Senate can filibuster to their heart's content. And while they do so, she is still the acting director.


So she can effectively run the agency forever, if the Senate never gets around to confirming her..... at least until there's a new President.


This appointment basically means that she has the job until Obama is no longer President....at a minimum.

[chimpymustgo]

11. Why not name her as a recess apointment - and clear up the confustion?

[zipplewrath]

14. That's easy

Because a recess appointment expires at the end of the next senate, which is every 2 years at the most. And there are limits about how many times you can recess appoint someone.

[chimpymustgo]

15. But now the story is, she doesn't WANT a 5 year term. And why not Acting Director, which could have

gone on indefinitely.

Without the ambiguity.

[pscot]

3. On the other hand

If this were followed with an interim appointment after the first of the year it would look completely different. If that doesn't happen then we're probably seeing the kind of clumsy gamesmanship Klein suspects. Really though, we probably wouldn't be satisfied with anyone who could pass muster with the Senate.

[Uzybone]

4. you guys need a new "outrage"

[zipplewrath]

9. I haven't seen any outrage in this thread

Klein kinda nails it. This has process written all over it. It just isn't clear what the process is. It could be good, it could be bad. It is the fact that it has so many variables that makes it suspicious. Essentially as he said, all points of view in essence can be true, and yet that doesn't indicate what he eventual outcome will be.

[mkultra]

12. The process is the only factual truth in the post

which is that its the best possible at the time. If they had done less than what was possible, then you would have room for assertions of dishonesty on the part of the Obama administration. No it looks as if folks have moved on to layering doubt on top of best possible performance.

[zipplewrath]

13. That's a presumption on your part

It is a presumption based upon trust that the Obama administration is "playing it straight".

[mkultra]

16. Its not a presumption when it is a fact

[zipplewrath]

17. There are no "facts" in a discussion about what wouldn't have happened

The presumption from which you are working is that other options wouldn't work.

[mkultra]

18. The FACTS are that the best possible solution has been executed

Your presumptions are that Obama will pull something dishonest later. Its just your usual anti-obama smear campaign. BAU.

[zipplewrath]

19. I was not presuming

I was aware that it could happen. I have said several times that no one here knows and that we won't know for a long time. You on the other hand claim personal knowledge of exactly what is, and is not, possible. Even things that never actually had a chance to happen.

[Name removed]

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