Within hours and possibly minutes I expect the president will name Elizabeth Warren to lead the new consumer protection agency, and if he does, the Democratic base will erupt and turn out to vote in far greater numbers than any current poll suggests.
I could be wrong; Obama might give up at the last minute, which would be the last betrayal of the Democratic base and very possibly the death knell of the Democratic House of Representatives. But if he names Warren, the pundits will be amazed, astonished and flabbergasted by the lift this would give to the Democratic base and by the voter turnout that would follow.
If Obama names Warren, consumers would have the strongest possible friend fighting for them all day, every day, at a time of major consumer rip-offs and disastrous consumer confidence that would be lifted with the Warren selection.
If Obama names Warren, veterans and military families who have endured rip-offs and abuses would have the strongest possible friend with Elizabeth Warren.
If Obama names Warren, small business would have the strongest possible ally as she champions fair treatment by small business that has been a piñata being abused by large financial institutions.
If Obama names Warren, the momentum in the campaign would shift powerfully and immediately, with a rejuvenated Democratic base excited and fighting trim, ready to roll, ready to fight, ready to erupt with support that the selection of Warren would inspire.
Warren should be nominated through a recess appointment, not a nomination that would bring a unified Republican filibuster in the tired Kabuki dance that the American people, and the progressive base, have suffered from for far too long.
The Democratic base is dispirited and tired, but the Warren nomination would rally them beyond the imagination of the most cynical pundits and politicians.
Waiting For Warren
What planet does Brent come from? Dr. Warren’s placement in that job slot won’t make heaven and earth move and shake!
I think he means the progressive community.
A Warren nomination at this point before the election is just like the stimulus package – too little, too late.
I think he’s got it backwards. If Obama *fails* to nominate Warren, the liberal/progressive base will *be disgusted and stay home* in November.
Don’t get me wrong, Warren’s appointment would be ideal. The Administration’s months-long futzing with what should have been a slam dunk nomination, however, doesn’t make this progressive all warm and fuzzy.
That’s because they had to staff the agency first to make sure Warren would have people working against her.