Who's afraid of Elizabeth Warren?

Republicans are deploying a new taunt to needle Democrats they say refuse to consider even modest changes to financial oversight laws: Why are you so afraid of Elizabeth Warren?

Its part of an effort by the GOP to portray Democrats as being completely inflexible when it comes to changes to the 2010 Dodd-Frank law because they are running scared from the populist wing of the party that views Warren, the most outspoken Wall Street critic in Congress, as their champion.

Story Continued Below

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told a roomful of bankers this week that getting banking bills passed, particularly any dealing with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, depends on Warrens sway over her Democratic colleagues.

Its [about] how powerful does Elizabeth Warren become? he said.

Democrats are scoffing at the charge and argue its a ham-handed attempt by Republicans to make Warren the liberal Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican senator whose stances on a variety of issues has stirred up divisions between tea party and establishment Republicans.

Whenever you point one finger, theres three pointing back at you, said Sen. Jon Tester, a moderate Montana Democrat. I think you got to make sure your own house is clean before you start making such accusations.

Warren declined to comment through a spokesman.

The Republican focus on Warren (D-Mass.) follows a fight between Democrats last year over the inclusion of language in a year-end spending bill that watered down new derivatives-trading restrictions and was the subject of a years-long lobbying effort by Wall Street banks. Some Democrats had supported the change in recent years but Warren led an unsuccessful campaign to sink the bill over the provision, warning it would amount to a crack in the dam of financial reform that would lead to a further weakening of Dodd-Frank.

While she failed to get the language out, Warrens campaign against the bill left a mark.

Here is the original post:
Who's afraid of Elizabeth Warren?

Related Posts

Comments are closed.