How Elizabeth Warren Is Scaring the Crap Out of Think Tanks and Banks (Truthdig)

[MannyGoldstein]

How Elizabeth Warren Is Scaring the Crap Out of Think Tanks and Banks

Elizabeth Warren—with her eloquent informed proposals and speeches that speak to the true needs of the American people, with her outright disdain for Wall Street and desire to bolster Social Security and the minimum wage as well as lower federal student loan rates—is a scary woman.

The Massachusetts senator caused a stir this week after the Third Way think tank wrote an op-ed Monday warning Democrats not to follow Warren “over the populist cliff.” Ever poised, Warren did not respond directly to Third Way’s Jon Cowan and Jim Kessler, who wrote the piece in The Wall Street Journal claiming “a vision of pragmatic progressive government, not fantasy-based blue-state populism” is what will get the Democrats re-elected. Instead she wrote a letter to six CEOs at the head of some of the most prominent financial institutions, demanding the banks disclose what think tanks they funded since policymakers, shareholders and the public all had the right to know about these contributions in order to evaluate think tanks’ work. Stating that the concealment of these contributions is blatantly “wrong” in her opinion, Warren added that banks and think tanks had no legal obligation to disclose such information, but called for “transparency” and offered to discuss it further with those interested in doing so.

But what’s truly behind all this resentment toward Warren? Fear, of course. Just read what Kessler, Third Way’s senior vice president, had to say about the Massachusetts Democrat, according to the Daily Kos:

"Here’s a stunning admission…[The Third Way is] scared shitless of Elizabeth Warren and the power she can bring to the movement to expand Social Security, and thus to strengthen the Democratic wing of the Democratic party..."