Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Breaking Etiquette

[bigtree]

The Nation ?@thenation

Elizabeth Warren had been a US Senator from Massachusetts for only about a week when she broke with etiquette:


____ When new members arrive in the US Senate, they are supposed to take a seat on a back bench and listen quietly for a couple of years. That is not in Elizabeth Warren’s nature. She had been a US Senator from Massachusetts for only about a week when she broke with etiquette. Warren was outraged that AIG investors were urging the insurance giant’s directors to join them in a lawsuit against the federal government, claiming damages from the federal bailout of their company during the financial crisis.

The freshman senator sent out a tartly worded statement to her many fans and followers. “AIG should thank American taxpayers for their help—not bite the hand that fed them,” Warren wrote. The message swept the blogosphere like wild fire. The AIG directors folded the next day. It is perhaps mistaken to assume her voice alone stopped this corporate ingratitude in its tracks, but that may well be the message absorbed in Washington politics. Try not to provoke this new senator, especially on the stuff she knows a lot about. She might bite back . . .

Her reputation led to appointment as the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel that investigated the AIG bailout in great depth. The COP final report is itself an extraordinary document of government—clear and concise, an unflinching analysis that describes exactly how the Federal Reserve and the Treasury failed to serve the public interest in their incestuous bailout of Wall Street titans.

“The AIG rescue demonstrated that Treasury and the Federal Reserve would commit taxpayers to pay any price and bear any burden to prevent the collapse of America’s largest financial institutions,” Warren’s report concluded.

She will be heard . . .


read: http://tnat.in/gJw8y

[madrchsod]

1. she`s not going to back down....

there`s 6 more years of her speaking out for the people

[Separation]

5. Im gonna go out on a limb and say 1st female POTUS

[kooljerk666]

8. She has had my vote for years n/t

[hootinholler]

12. If only we could be so lucky!

I'm totally there. Warren/Franken

[BlancheSplanchnik]

71. OMG. that is a beautiful idea!

Almost got a little tearful there, it would be so great to have the two of them.



They would be about the only thing that would keep me from getting realllllllly depressed when Obama's term is done.

[smirkymonkey]

77. I would LOVE that ticket!

[Cracklin Charlie]

43. Second that.

I doubt that anyone in Massachusetts voted for Elizabeth Warren hoping to see her take a seat on the "back bench" for a few years.

[Plucketeer]

45. Oh to dream!

Can you IMAGINE her unbridled candor cutting like an angry machete thru the pomp & circumstance BS of DC???? The NOT SO GENTLE lady from Massa-angry-hornets showin' her stuff!

I still fantasize about a Warren/Grayson ticket in 2016!

[90-percent]

106. Me too

They are the only two politicians I donated to in the 2012 elections.

-90% Jimmy

And with Republican knee jerk obstructionism why should anybody in Washington give a damn about etiquette anymore. It's a bare knuckle brawl now.

[yurbud]

55. let's hope so

[Qutzupalotl]

63. She's never lost that common touch

which means she would make an EXCELLENT president for the people.

[SunSeeker]

64. From your lips to God's ears.

[glinda]

67. I hope so!

[plethoro]

83. I have been saying that a while now.......nft

ddddd

[xxqqqzme]

2. A big thank you

to the smart voters in Massachusetts.

[wryter2000]

4. Amen to that!

You guys in MA are wicked smart voters.

[taintedtriumph]

107. That's debatable

We did elect Scott Brown last time.

[gateley]

40. +1! Bless them!!

[Chico Man]

103. I'm happy to have voted for her

I keep sharing all of this good news on my mom's Facebook wall. My mom campaigned non-stop for her.

It was also nice putting up Warren signs in Wrentham, Brown's home town.

[Melissa G]

3. Yay, Senator Warren!

I hope we get a lot more folks in Congress to represent the People's interests instead of those of Corporations.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

6. I'm torn. I want Ms. Warren to raise hell, not sit on a back bench for 2 years. But,

I want my own senator (it pains me to even type that title) Ted Cruz to sit there and keep his fucking mouth shut.

[narnian60]

24. Agreed.

[calimary]

48. Well, then you need to be a dog on a pants leg with him.

Call his office - locally/regionally if it's less expensive. Keep reminding him that it's not just teabaggers and gun nuts he represents. There's YOU, TOO, and LOTS more like you, too. And whether he likes it or not, he's got to represent YOU as well. It's up to you and other constituents of his - to let him know he does NOT serve in some sort of CONS-only vacuum. And that your side is speaking louder and louder and louder and getting bigger and bigger and bigger, and he better watch his ass and listen to YOU, TOO, if he wants to keep his job.

If he doesn't hear from you, he'll figure you don't exist - and worse, don't matter.

Here is the Unofficial Law of the Washington Jungle:

If they think you don't care, THEY WON'T, EITHER!!!!!!!!!!!

[ChisolmTrailDem]

70. Very good advice. Thank you calimary. Just

to set the record straight, I am a bulldog - not afraid to latch on to their pants leg - and rip it the fuck off if I have to. I don't mince words when I call and I almost always call when they need to hear from me because that way I know they got the message. And, I don't care if they're "my" rep or not. I won't hesitate to call a rep clear across the country to give them my opinion. I've called the White House, the Dept of Energy, Pentagon, doesn't really matter if I have something to say. Rarely make it past the gatekeepers but at least I tried.

And politicians aren't the only ones I call. For example, if I hadn't gotten sidetracked with some actual work earlier today, I had every intention to call the restaurant owner who passed a note to a lesbian couple about the error of their ways - "out of love". That was in New Bern, NC, where we buried my grandmother Dec, 11. I've eaten at that restaurant. I'm always tracking down assholes like that, for various reasons/issues either by phone or Facebook, etc. I also let the news media have it on occasion.

I encourage everyone to heed calimary's advice and duplicate my efforts in letting these scum rightwingslugs know how fucking sorry they are at every opportunity, be it by phone, Facebook, or in line at the grocery store.

[calimary]

79. I even called one SUPPOSEDLY of our own today. Heidi Heitkamp.

I got one of her staffers in her DC Senate office. next week I'm gonna call her regional office.

I identified myself as a Californian. I said, straight off, that I'm not a constituent, BUT I GAVE MONEY TO HER CAMPAIGN LAST FALL. I did without several tanks of gas in order to send that money in so she could get to the Senate. I may not be a constituent per se, but I HELPED HER GET THERE. And I said I wanted to add my voice to all those who were utterly dismayed by her extremist comments on TV last Sunday, that President Obama's moves to tighten gun laws were absolute non-starters. I said - I HELPED SEND HER TO THE SENATE, AND I EXPECT SOMETHING IN RETURN FOR THAT. And I said I expect her to figure out a way to help make those reforms HAPPEN. NOT badmouth them from the get-go and try to poke holes in them and tell us all why they can't possible be allowed to go through.

FUCK THAT SHIT.

I told her staffer that I won't be contributing EVER AGAIN if she keeps up crap like that.

I gave to a whole bunch of candidates last November, and I bought myself several new and returning Senators and Congresspeople. As such, I figure Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, Tammy Duckworth, Tammy Baldwin, Patrick Murphy, and others - work for ME, too - every bit as much as Dianne Feinstein and Henry Waxman do. And because I donated, even the paltry amounts I could come up with, their asses are MINE, too. I have skin in this game, even if only a teensy bit. And I don't care if they're not all Californians. They're damn well gonna hear from me if they defy my will. Or else I'm done helping them. They may love my money (such as it was of course - I'm certainly NO shel adelson!), but my money isn't loving some of them at the moment.

These assholes NEED TO KNOW. THEY NEED TO HEAR FROM US. They're certainly hearing an ear-ful from the lobbyists and the NRA and the banksters and the teabaggers. WHY should they NOT hear anything from US?????? We have to counter-balance all that dreck If the schmucks are all they hear from, that's the only thing they'll believe is worth heeding. If YOU don't speak up, then to them - you do not even exist. And your views certainly don't matter. Speaking up and yapping at their heels means you DO matter and they can't pretend you don't exist, and they can't just cavalierly brush off your concerns and your agenda and your pet issues.

I MEAN IT!!! It is the political truth of truths: If they think you don't care, THEY WON'T, EITHER!!!!

[davidpdx]

101. Her statement about gun control was disappointing

The only other campaign I contributed to directly besides President Obama was Elizabeth Warren.

[CrispyQ]

108. ++++1!

I have a text document with my senators & rep's contact info. Under that I have the text from all the letters/emails I've sent to them. I write to them at least once a week. If everyone would do that, they might get the idea that we care & are paying attention.

Democracy isn't free.
You have to pay attention.

I have this DU tee shirt & it's one of my favorites.

[calimary]

109. Another one I like is a take on "Freedom Isn't Free!"

Yes, that's absolutely correct - freedom is NOT free.

It costs the blood of patriots - AND TAX MONEY!!!!!

[hopemountain]

84. this is exactly what promotes a proactive & progressive grassroots

movement - if they don't hear from you they do "forget" we are the ones they represent - not the lobbyists and corporate donors. they also need to hear appreciation / strokes from you when they do what we want them to do or speak strongly on the floor.

program your phones with their local and dc phone numbers and have them on your email contact lists. and if they are tweeters, subscribe to their feeds...same goes for fb. believe me, their staffers get to know you just by seeing your name all of the time - and so do they.

gone are the days when we sat by passively after an election and "let" our elected officials do what they were elected to do...nope! too much is going on and too much is at stake if we ever hope to realize a country with "justice" for all.

p.s. thank you calimary for all you do

[calimary]

86. You know, I wanted to say more about this SUPERB comment of yours, ChisolmTrailDem.

Just SUPERB.

I'd recommend it on its own if I could! Powerful and eloquent and courageous and forcefully on point.

This is a three-paragraph tutorial in how to fight back. It's a road map. It's a light shining on the path, making it easier to see!

THANK YOU, ChisolmTrailDem! Your ideas are FIRST-RATE, and well worth duplication!

What we have to do, as I just heard Melissa Harris Perry articulate on MSNBC - is that WE THE PEOPLE have to speak louder and exert more pressure on these reps, regardless of their party affiliation or regional loyalty, than the gun lobby does. Look how out-shouting worked for the teabaggers. Except they brought a lot of bad ideas and bad attitudes into power positions, and it's been to the overall detriment of the whole country, whether the rep is from Pensacola Florida or Petaluma California. And there was no counter-punch. These guys had the podium, the floor, the pulpit, all the microphones in almost all the radio stations and a whole damn 24-hour cable network to spew and rant and stomp their little feet. Unchallenged, undisputed, no response. Nobody home on the other side (OUR side), because everybody was cowering in the basement, afraid to speak up. Afraid. Of what, after all? What could they do to us? Call us unpatriotic? Well, how's about we throw that BACK AT THEM? And HARD!!!

And it seems to me we should take full advantage of this "republi-CONS in disarray" meme that's all over the media these days. GOOD! I've often posted about the "destabilize the enemy" strategy. The whole business of - keep jabbing, keep 'em busy, keep coming at them - like any number of little dinosaurs in the "Jurassic Park" movies. Just keep coming back. Stay on 'em. Keep 'em looking over their shoulders. Keep 'em busy. Keep 'em worried. Like those relentless flies in your face at the picnic or the beach, that just never seem to give up. If they build a levee, we need to just keep picking at it and boring little holes in it and crumbling it around the edges wherever we find a weak spot. But SHEESH - these days, they're doing all the heavy lifting for us! They're doing an outstanding job of keeping themselves destabilized!

We should exploit this opportunity to help them bring themselves to their knees. We've got the momentum on SO MANY issues! Particularly since they don't know how to fight this kind of onslaught. They're used to us being lazy and sleeping through the last 30 - 35 years or so and not putting up much of a fight. And when that happens to a fighter, the fighter gets flabby and out of condition. So now that we're fighting, and fighting back, and roaring our displeasure and OUR demands, doing so vocally, and in numbers that can't be ignored, they're at a loss. They don't know how to fight THIS.

One more important thing to remember: THEY are the proven numerical minority, anyway. And I've gotta tell ya - I'm damned tired of being pushed around by the minority. THEY'RE the ones who are supposed to go to the back of the room and sit down and shut up and stop interfering with Majority Rule and declaring mandates that they actually do NOT have.

And - this is NOT a center-right country. Despite all their assertions. If one has any doubt, one needs only to study the results of the last election, only last November. THAT cold, hard fact is on our side, too!

Now we need to make good use of that while this golden opportunity is fresh and in hand. Get active! DO some of these things! Make yourself and your wants and preferences HEARD! Call 'em up, write that letter to the editor, call that radio station, post that opinion, weigh in!

[ChisolmTrailDem]

91. Thank you so much for the very kind words, calimary. I haven't been here

long but it didn't take long to see you're someone I can admire and your words give me confidence that I have a voice and someone appreciates what I have to say. So, thanks again .

I've had to back off compared to the bush years (speaking politically) because I am worried about my mental health. You see, I very much feel burning hatred for cold, heartless, and criminal rightwingassholes and I don't like feeling hatred that strongly. And if I really despise the person I'm contacting, I'll cuss them up one end and down the other, which is rarely productive. I try to control myself as best I can but something breaks in me sometimes.

And your post above is absolutely fires me up and I'd love to see it as an OP. I haven't made and OP since I joined DU 'cause I tend to say exactly what I feel and I've seen some bad reactions towards others here who share that trait with me. So I'm nervous and scared about ever starting an OP. I've already got six people ignoring me and I have no idea what I've said to make them feel that way and people wouldn't take me as serious as they do you because they don't know me.

I really admire MHP and she's always spot and has great guests on her show. And she's spot on that we have to stay on them and let them know we're not going to stand for their crap. And I agree that we need to keep at them. We have the majority. We have the upper hand. They have nothing useful to offer and we need to call them on their bullshit in every corner of this nation, not just our own backyards.

But wow! I'm still blown away at your kind words. You made me feel like a million bucks!

[Thinkingabout]

61. Ted Cruz claims to be an attorney but does not know the Constitution very well.

I have offered to trade Ted Cruz for Elizabeth Warren but was unable to get any offers. I am hoping experienced Senators like McCain, Coburn and McConnell will take notice and start working like she has for a while.

[mbperrin]

80. Yes, WHYYYYYYYYY do I have to have Cruz and Cornyn, dammit!!!???

I want a Warren, too!

[Marie Marie]

81. I feel your pain. I have Toomey.

Will gladly trade for 1 Warren or 1 Sanders. Any takers out there?

[ChisolmTrailDem]

93. I hate it here so freaking bad. Oh how I so looooooonnnnng

for my Gov. Richards. Gawd I really miss her. Texas seemed like such a nice place then. And since it has made me feel like an unwanted stranger in my own home, so dark and distant and hopeless.

I've had a BIG crush on Elizabeth Warren since 2008 and especially after the May, 2011, Charlie Rose interview. And you know what's even more f'ed up? I was born in S. Boston, MA! I'm a Massachusettesian! But instead I'm in red Texas hell with idiots like Cruz and Cornyn when I could've had Kerry and Warren and maybe Frank and Teddy Kennedy. Just typing that makes me want to pull up stakes and move to Mass!

[calimary]

111. It's a non-issue now, anyway. She's about to become the SENIOR Senator from MA.

Now that John Kerry's leaving, whoever fills his slot will be the new Junior Senator. Elizabeth Warren moves up in the pecking order simply because she'll have been there longer. Even if by only a few weeks!

So I'd like to see her mouth off ALL SHE WANTS! She speaks for ME, and I'm not even a Massachusetts voter. I think she speaks for all of us from all 50 states and territories who want to see the banksters carry more of the weight and pay their fair share, and be COMPELLED to work for the 99% for a change. AND I'd like to see their monopolies broken up.

I'd like to see her lead the dismantling of the whole "too big to fail" canard. THAT'S gotta go. NOW. No - YESTERDAY. No - at least a couple of DECADES ago. LONG OVERDUE!!!!

[malaise]

7. You go Girl!!!

Rec

[meow2u3]

9. Ettiquette, schmettiquette. Sen. Warren is doing the right thing

[CherokeeDem]

10. I had read about Warren...

but the first time I saw her was during the bail-out when she appeared on the Daily Show to explain the details of the bail-out. Not only was Jon Stewart blown away, stating she explained the situation with more clarity than anyone had to that point, but so was I. Here is a woman who is not only extremely intelligent, but incredibility grounded in reality. That simple fact makes her formidable.

Senator Warren...keep breaking protocol and keep the bastards honest.

[DreamGypsy]

11. Facing certain backlash, AIG won’t join a shareholder lawsuit against the US government

Hurray for Elizabeth!

But the AIG situation is a bit more complicated...

From the Washington Post, yesterday: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/aig-board-to-consider-potentially-joining-25-billion-shareholder-lawsuit-against-the-us/2013/01/08/deb3c5da-59f3-11e2-b8b2-0d18a64c8dfa_story.html

NEW YORK — Afraid of looking like a world-class ingrate, AIG on Wednesday decided against suing the federal government over the $182 billion bailout that saved the giant insurance company from collapse.

American International Group Inc. was put in the awkward position of having to consider joining a lawsuit brought against Uncle Sam by its (AIG's) former CEO, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg.

The suit claims that the terms of the taxpayer-funded bailout were too onerous. The government received a huge stake in AIG when it bailed the company out at the height of the 2008 financial crisis. AIG has since paid all the money back and notes that the government made a profit of $22.7 billion.

Legally, AIG did not originate the lawsuit, the former CEO did.

The prospect of the insurer joining the lawsuit had already triggered outrage. A congressman from Vermont issued a statement telling AIG: “Don’t even think about it.” Comedian Andy Borowitz likened the insurer to somebody suing a fireman for ripping a designer jacket after rescuing them from a burning building.

AIG, which was legally obligated to consider joining the lawsuit, demurred. The company said it would not join Greenberg’s lawsuit and wouldn’t permit Greenberg to pursue his claims in AIG’s name.

So, the AIG board made a good decision. Greenberg and the shareholders who join his suit are the scambags .

[dixiegrrrrl]

20. If the conditions were too onerous, AIG should have not agreed to the bailout.

Shareholders have got the wrong target of the suit.
Let them go after who signed off on it for AIG.

[Bake]

47. AIG didn't HAVE to take the deal ...

They could have gone belly up instead ...

Bake

[DreamGypsy]

52. It may be that AIG Executives and members of the Board of Directors are named in the suit...

...I don't know. But the Government has deeper pockets and we all understand the basics of the American shyster...oops, I mean... legal system.

Here' some info on Hank (Maurice) Greenberg and AIG from Wikipedia that clarifies the situation a bit:

In 1962, Greenberg was named by AIG's founder, Cornelius Vander Starr, as the head of AIG's failing North American holdings. In 1968, Starr picked Greenberg as his successor. Greenberg held the position until 2005, when he stepped down amid a major leadership scandal and was replaced by Martin J. Sullivan. He was subsequently the subject of New York State civil charges which are still unresolved.[2]

In 2008, he appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" criticizing the board of directors.[3] In an interview with Reactions magazine in March 2010, serialized over three parts, Greenberg stated that he did not condone AIG's strategy of selling non-core assets to pay back the US government, and believed the terms under which AIG was provided access to bail-out funds needed to be renegotiated.[4]

More revealing, however is this article from ABC reference by Wikipedia - The Biggest Loser: Hank Greenberg from Sept 17, 2008 (emphasis mine)-

Everyone who owned shares in AIG took a hit Wednesday, following the announcement that the iconic insurance company was the latest casualty of the financial crisis -- but no one lost nearly as much as the firm's former CEO, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg.

In his 27 years as CEO of AIG, Greenberg was credited with vastly expanding the company, turning it into the world's largest insurance firm. Forced to relinquish the reins in 2005 amid a fraud investigation by then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Greenberg went on to run two companies that remained highly invested in the American International Group (AIG).

In the matter of a weekend, however, Greenberg watched the company he built over a lifetime collapse and, with it, his personal fortune and greatest legacy.

His genius, said Ron Shelp, a former AIG executive and the author of "Fallen Giant," a book about Greenberg, was in putting the company into sectors other than insurance. In addition to being the world's largest insurer, it is also the world's largest lessor of airplanes. But that diversity would ultimately bring about the company's downfall. Though AIG's traditional insurance departments remain profitable, it was its London-based financial services group that threatened to destroy the firm. The group sold credit-default swaps, instruments that allowed investors to insure securities backed by the same bad mortgages responsible for the ongoing financial crisis.

Greenberg on Wednesday -- just hours after the federal government announced it would provide AIG an $85 billion loan secured by an 80 percent stake in the company in an effort to prevent its collapse -- appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" to decry the actions of the current board and to admit that he had lost much of what he had built over the course of four decades.

"I've lost my entire net worth, literally my entire net worth," Greenberg said. "I worked 40 years building the greatest insurance company in history, one that everyone in the world envied – who was in this industry."

At least ...envied until it fell apart, Hank. Life is tough. Sorry. I understand your bitterness, but I have no sympathy with your tactics, of trying to get the American people to pay for the errors of corporate greed and misconduct, in order to restore your fortune. Sorry again.

Have a nice day Mr. Greenberg.

[dixiegrrrrl]

56. AIG was THE holder of my 401-k funds, per rules of my agency.

And we had to hold them for minimum of 7 years.
Fortunately, I was able to cash mine in, spring of 2008.

[BlueNoteSpecial]

13. Breaking etiquette, breaking with "traditions"...

...whilst the entrenched infestation of our hallowed chamber(s) break wind, the flatulent a$$hat$.

[samsingh]

14. it's a pretty picture

[caledesi]

15. Amen! NT

[ErikJ]

16. How long will it be before she is bought off?

With 12,000 lobbyists in Washington DC and billions of hush money, I hope she can stay pure.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

28. Here's the date for that buy off

The 12th of Never.

[gateley]

41. Agree.

[sheshe2]

72. +1000

and Thank You!

[shanti]

42. paul wellstone

was for the people and was never bought off either...i worry about her, as i worry about anyone elected who is FOR THE PEOPLE and not the $$$.

[dogknob]

92. She will need a lot of protection. I'm sure the crosshairs have already been drawn...

...the reserve army of lone gunmen is going to be tapped. Count on it.

She's the real deal and those who are frightened will react accordingly.

[LittleGirl]

17. When are the rest of the Dems

(aside from Grayson, Franken and Sanders) going to stand up and show a backbone like her? If we are going to lead this country with a progressive voice, we need the rest of the Dems in both houses to stop being weasels. Put up or get out of the way.

Cheers to Sen Warren.

[msanthrope]

18. Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History. nt

[Le Taz Hot]

59. I have a bumper sticker

on my truck that says exactly that. Occasionally eliciting a one-finger salute.

[mythology]

85. But they are a lot more fun to be around

I'm quite happy to have had the chance to vote for Elizabeth Warren, especially to boot out a putz like Scott Brown.

[freshwest]

19. K & R for our fabulous new Senator from Mass!

[ananda]

21. And through her, WE will be heard!

..

[nyquil_man]

22. Etiquette? Is that what we call institutionalized thumb twiddling now?

[Javaman]

23. I love this woman!

perhaps some of the other senators could take some notes from her on how to do their freaking jobs.

She's only been there a week and she's already light years ahead of them.

[BumRushDaShow]

25. Yelling "You lie!" to the President of the U.S. in the middle of a joint session

of Congress speech was an "etiquette" breaker. NOT comments from an amazing Senator who worked on the commission related to those free-loaders!

[great white snark]

74. Well said.

Don't like how they worded it but I do love Senator Warren. I have no problem delegating her as the future of our party.

[Beacool]

26. I like Elizabeth Warren and I think that she'll be a good senator,

but to say that AIG "folded" due to her statement is nonsense. AIG's Board of Directors had a fiduciary duty to listen to Greenberg, but they had no intention of joining him in his lawsuit against the government. The overreaction of politicians and the punditry to something that hadn't yet occurred was silly.

[supercats]

27. I love Elizabeth Warren!!

keep giving them hell, it's what they deserve....Thank you for doing what you said you were going to do, which is to stand up for the 99% ...Just keep it up, be relentless. I am rooting for you.

[JDPriestly]

29. That is why Massachusetts elected her and we all supported her.

[fadedrose]

30. I think we should keep her . .

[Skidmore]

31. Waiting for leadership to step up to say the obvious is an exercise in futility.

Ms. Warren should speak her mind and represent her constituency and, by extension, all citizens. Thank you, Elizabeth Warren.

[oldandhappy]

32. Good Woman!!

[mckara]

33. She Will Be the Senior Senator from Massachusetts, Soon!

[Volaris]

34. If theres A SENATOR that has a mandate this term,

its fuckin Liz. And she damn-well knows it. The reason that quote "caught fire" in the blogosphere, is because the American People by and large, agreed with her BEFORE SHE SAID IT. In that sense, she IS the vioce of We the People on these issues, she knows where WE are. And she is not going to brook any backtalk or bullshit from these people. It will be a fun show to watch.

First Female POTUS.

[ancianita]

35. She'll have my vote. Better believe the militarists will fight her tooth and claw. nt

[Volaris]

38. And they will LOSE.

The first time she chairs a Senate Commitee Investigative Hearing for some idiot who shafted the Taxpayers the whole damn country will know who she is and what she stands for. After that, it won't be tooth and claws, it will be Gnashing of Teeth and Rending of Garments over there lol.

[ancianita]

39. I feel better already!

[Octafish]

36. Love the language: US Taxpayers were on the hook to 'Pay any price and bear any burden' for AIG

"The AIG rescue demonstrated that Treasury and the Federal Reserve would commit taxpayers to pay any price and bear any burden to prevent the collapse of America’s largest financial institutions."

Truth has a beauty all its own.

[southernyankeebelle]

37. This is one woman who will bite back and her Lizzie lions will be behind her. You go girl.

Lizzie Lions

[libdem4life]

44. One of many reasons for keeping women out of the "Good 'ol Boys" Networks. They actually DO know

how to run things, they are not necessarily ingratiated by a nudge-nudge-wink-wink patriarchal social system, and because they physically bear the next generation, often see life and death and all the elements between them, from a vastly different perspective.

[calimary]

46. "She will be heard . . ." More like, at long last, WE will be heard.

She may be the first Senator outside of Barbara Boxer who GENUINELY works for the public interest FIRST, not the corporate interest first.

I think they're all so stunned that somebody finally gets in their face about what they've been pulling on an unsuspecting public - that it threw them completely off their guard and off their game. WHICH IS EXACTLY WHERE WE WANT THEM. Off-balance and not sure what to do or how to respond to this new political climate they never had to face before.

It's the same thing with jumping on the gun restrictions ASAP, way BEFORE the opposition can pull itself off the floor (onto which they were just abruptly knocked down). They have NO template for this. They have NO experience with this. With a public interest that rears up IMMEDIATELY and roars, and actually bites back. They're used to us all being gullible, acquiescent, disengaged, not paying attention, too busy with other stuff to get involved. That's how they've been able to snow us under. Who was speaking out - with any clout? Or any teeth? Well, NOBODY. Until NOW.

There's a new sheriff in town, and all I can say is "THANK YOU GOD!!!!!"

[a2liberal]

90. Don't forget Senator Sanders :-D (n/t)

[MissMarple]

49. She's a firecracker. Good for her....good for us.

[KamaAina]

50. Al Franken didn't, either

right off the bat, for instance, he proposed a bill to make it easier for vets to get service dogs.

[glinda]

68. Warren/Franken! Yes!!!!!!!!!!

[catbyte]

51. Senator Warren is 40 kinds of awesome already & she hasn't been in the Senate a month.

[mrmpa]

53. And as soon as John Kerry is confirmed.........

as Secretary of State, Senator Warren will be the Senior Senator from Massachusetts!!!

[DinahMoeHum]

54. Heh heh. She's sticking the needle up their asses already.

Good for her.

[nikto]

100. Yeah, a needle...

...Along with a hockey stick.

[Le Taz Hot]

57. May I just say

that Massachusetts is now my new favorite state ? (OK, second to California.) THANK YOU all of those in Massachusetts for electing this wonderful wonderful woman. She is going to shake things up not only in the Senate but when she makes it to the White House as the first female president.

[Cha]

58. Elizabeth Warren gave AIG words to live by..

“AIG should thank American taxpayers for their help—not bite the hand that fed them,” Warren wrote.

Thank you, bigtree.. We've come such a long way since the Senate republiCons "vowed to block anyone the president named to serve as director of the CFPB"

In the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis, she was named chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). She went on to serve as a special assistant to President Obama and special advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury for the new federal agency she conceived, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

When Republicans vowed to block anyone the president named to serve as director of the CFPB, Warren supported former Ohio attorney general Richard Cordray’s recess appointment to the post. At that point, she began to set her sights on opposing Brown, the man who had voted for the Dodd-Frank bill that created the CFPB — but only after he made sure several concessions to Wall Street were put into the legislation

.

Now, thanks to the GOP, Warren — one of the fiercest critics of Wall Street — will be watching over the nation’s largest financial institutions as a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, according to The Huffington Post.

http://www.nationalmemo.com/how-republicans-put-elizabeth-warren-in-the-senate-and-on-the-banking-committee/

Thanks to the gop a$$holes.. Elizabeth decided she wanted to be a Senator from MA.

[Scuba]

60. Damn uppity woman!

I love her!!!

[Thinkingabout]

62. Her reputation has preceeded her entry, confirmation by the people and not Congress.

It will be nice to have a strong Senator in Ted Kennedy's seat. She needs to spread the backbone potion throughout Congress. They might even stand up to the NRA and find it is not hurting their re-election but enhancing it. Who wants to bet Grover Norquist will nit rule her.

[littlemissmartypants]

65. I am pretty sure etiquette died in Washington, DC when

the words "you lie" were shouted at the President of the United States.

[Kath1]

97. Glad I'm not the only one who remembers that, littlemissmartypants!

I don't want etiquette out of Elizabeth Warren. I want her to kick ass! Love her!

[fascisthunter]

66. she's beautiful

a brilliant bright place in this universe.

[ReRe]

69. Yeah, eff the good ole boys club rules of old....

...that freshmen Senators can't open their mouths for two years. I knew Senator Elizabeth Warren would not bow to that ancient rule. AIG was testing the waters, and the temperature was indeed too hot! Keep it up, Senator Warren!

[littlemissmartypants]

75. Amen. n/t

[stultusporcos]

73. F Etiquette

You go Sen Warren!

[sheshe2]

76. I am so very Proud ...

of my new Senator from MA!

We may have been the ones who elected her,but the love and support from all of you, well it's beautiful to behold!

Elizabeth Warren, will not only represent the Citizens of MA., she will represent this Country as a whole!

She will be making history!

[ms liberty]

78. KR&B. n/t

[sad-cafe]

82. She is going to be a great Senator

She is off to a great start.

[LiberalFighter]

87. They have etiquette against communicating with her constituents?

Then screw the Senate jerks.

[Zorra]

88. She's a Democrat. The real kind. nt

[Txn4real]

89. Big woman...

...from a very small pond. Ho-hum.

[Kurovski]

94. Hey y'all! Thanks fer stoppin' in!

I know you musta had a busy day of sniffin' y'own farts. Hope ya never need no help financially after gettin screwed over big 4real.

K&R

[bigtree]

95. swimming upstream

. . . like she was born to it.

[Le Taz Hot]

102. Don't look now, Sparky

but the Senator is now swimming in the Big Pond. The woman's on a tremendous upward trajectory. You can catch a ride now or be left in the dust. It's your choice.

[Kath1]

96. Elizabeth Warren Rocks!

This country needs so many more like her.

[Skittles]

98. GO GET 'EM GIRL

we honest folk are tired of being stiffed by an unlevel playing field!!!!

[nikto]

99. In US Politics...

Etiquette and politeness get you nothing.

Go kick 'em in the balls, Elizabeth!
(And keep kicking!)

[sulphurdunn]

104. What does this mean?

“The AIG rescue demonstrated that Treasury and the Federal Reserve would commit taxpayers to pay any price and bear any burden to prevent the collapse of America’s largest financial institutions...”

Well, if we're willing to do that, then maybe the big banks should be regulated and held more accountable than casinos, in which case it's also time to go after the mobsters and shysters who run them and their bought politicians too.

[RedstDem]

105. this women is the worlds strongest case..

for cloning!


we need 99 more of her in the senate!!

[BeHereNow]

110. Stay off of small planes Elizabeth...

We need you too much for you to be "Wellstoned."
BHN