05 January 2012

obama, you're doing it RIGHT.

obama just sneak attacked congress and used some loophole to appoint richard cordray as the head of the CFPB, which of course stands for consumer financial protection bureau. terrible name, great agency. it's the brainchild of 2Pz fave senate candidate, elizabeth warren, and its going to work on keeping the banking / credit / lending industries from raping your pocketbooks every chance they get.

anyway, obama nominated him, and the republicans filibustered it, as they are want to do. so he waited until they went out of town for christmas, then used something called a "recess appointment" to pop him in there. and guess what: RICHARD CORDAY IS A JEOPARDY CHAMP!!
It will be viewed by the Washington punditocracy as a tough-minded executive act defying Senate Republicans, playing to a worried liberal base, and raising a possible legal challenge with constitutional ramifications.
But President Obama's Wednesday selection of Richard Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general, to run the spanking-new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is also just smart and necessary.
If our politics weren't quite so polarized, and folks stuck a bit more to the facts in public debate, maybe far more people would know what Cordray symbolizes. They would know that they should be happy that a frustrated White House has circumvented a Senate filibuster last month and will try to actually protect consumers.
And it's probably fitting that Cordray, who had a strong reputation in Ohio for investigating suspect mortgage foreclosure practices, is also a five-time "Jeopardy" champ. (via)
and it looks like barack's got 3 more appointments lined up. i like it.

8 comments:

starla said...

obama hoodwinked em!

thomas wilhelm said...

These recess appointments might be unconstitutional since the senate is not technically in a recess. It might even go to court.

So in a way it is unprecedented and could be abused by Republicans if they controlled the White House. OC, Obama's only doing it because the Republicans are abusing their power in the House and he's desperate to make some progress. Regardless, I'm not so sure I like this. TPM

kylie said...

well, i think the solution is clear. congress must reconvene, then never leave its chambers again.

Joseph said...

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean-favoured and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good Morning!" and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich, yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine -- we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked and waited for the light,
And went without the meat and cursed the bread,
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet in his head.

DJV said...

that's what i was thinking! except it was more like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwqwAy85CgY

Joseph said...

I couldn't chose which to post. I went classical. Glad you went contemporary. We should do this again sometime.

kylie said...

this must be a new england thing.

Joseph said...

“Republicans’ complaints about the president’s decision to make this recess appointment are equivalent to objections leveled by arsonists at people who use the fire door to escape a burning building.” Barney Frank on the Cordray appointment

 
Pin It