Sunday, October 28, 2012

Elizabeth Warren | The Boston Globe thinks she's good for Massachusetts — (not that anybody asked, but ) I think she's good for America

One of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People
in the World in 2009 and 2010.
I live a long way from Massachusetts, but Senates races have profound national implications. The presence of Elisabeth Warren in the race for the seat now held by Scott Brown strikes me as both remarkable and important. Remarkable because people with her capabilities often find other things to do in their 50s and 60s than protecting the rights of middle class consumers. Important because Elizabeth Warren knows her way around policy in a way that could make her one of the most effective first-term senators ever.

Here's part of what the Boston Globe said, endorsing her candidacy on October 28, 2012:
Yes, her vote would be more reliably in line with Massachusetts’ traditional liberalism. But the real promise in her candidacy lies deeper in her character. She’s a relentless striver whose life story represents the best of American upward mobility. As a young mother, she worked her way through community colleges and state universities to become the nation’s top expert on financial consumer protection. 
And after earning an enviable job at Harvard Law School, she pushed her way into the political arena, wrangling with such renowned inside players as Larry Summers and Tim Geithner to achieve her goal of creating a consumer protection bureau. Her crowning achievement, the bureau guards the interests of average citizens contending with credit-card companies, student-loan holders, auto lenders, credit bureaus, and more. Anyone who’s felt powerless to escape a fee that seems unfairly imposed, or to cover an interest rate they didn’t bargain for, owes Warren a debt of gratitude.
I'm on that list of those who owe Elizabeth Warren a debt of gratitude. There's no question I would vote for her if I lived in Massachusetts. I suspect — and hope — I will one day have the opportunity to vote for her in a national election.

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