New Orleans Counting the votes seems to be an increasingly big challenge for President Obama and his Administration. The most well known problem today involves Syria where he can’t seem to get the United Nations Security Council or a majority of the G-20 largest industrial countries to back military strikes in that country to protest with blood the use of chemical weapons. Congress is also not exactly rallying to the latest war cry with the left and right finding agreement that the country is war weary and there must be another way to protest.
His reportedly dogged quest to appoint Larry Summers to head the nation’s Federal Reserve Bank is also troubled even as many are puzzled why he is trying to put a primary architect of the deregulation of the banks and relaxing of regulations that led to the Great Recession in that position anyway. Summers is famous as well for his inability to work with others. His tenure as Harvard’s president was mired down by his degrading remarks about women’s potential in science. Incredibly his mishandling of the mortgage crisis by toadying to the banks and refusing to allow foreclosure modifications to be implemented while working for Obama in the White House has also cost millions their homes. It just seems crazy wild that Summers could be a frontrunner for the Fed under any circumstances.
According to the Wall Street Journal, we still have hope given the administration’s poor vote counting skills. Democrats only have a two-vote majority on the Senate Banking Committee which would make the recommendation to the full body required to approve Summers for the post. Two key Senators on the Committee, Sherrod Brown from Ohio and Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts have everything but signed in blood that they would not vote to approve Summers, largely and correctly, over his failures around home mortgages. Congressional aides also indicate that Jeff Merkley from Oregon has indicated that he would vote “no” on Summers sending the nomination down hard, which is where it should go.
What’s the President thinking? He could appoint the respected vice-chair Janet Yellen, make women everywhere happy at this important “first” and get a money policy expert who is in favor of more regulation, rather than the Summers “less” program. Even Wall Street seems like they might be happier.
Let’s do the country a favor and reach out to the Banking Committee members and urge them to stand fast for us rather than the banks. They might own Charles Schumer from New York, but they shouldn’t, and since when would a Senator like Jon Tester from Montana be in the banks’ pocket?
|
Democrat |
Republican |
| Tim Johnson Chairman (D-SD) | Mike Crapo Ranking Member (R-ID) |
| Jack Reed (D-RI) | Richard Shelby (R-AL) |
| Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) | Bob Corker (R-TN) |
| Robert Menendez (D-NJ) | David Vitter (R-LA) |
| Sherrod Brown (D-OH) | Mike Johanns (R-NE) |
| Jon Tester (D-MT) | Patrick J. Toomey (R-PA) |
| Mark R. Warner (D-VA) | Mark Kirk (R-IL) |
| Jeff Merkley (D-OR) | Jerry Moran (R-KS) |
| Kay Hagan (D-NC) | Tom Coburn (R-OK) |
| Joe Manchin III (D-WV) | Dean Heller (R-NV) |
| Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) | |
| Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) | |