Give me that old time populism

Just when I despair of the possible rehabilitation of the Democratic party, Elizabeth Warren delivers a speech on the Senate floor in which she calls for increased Social Security benefits:

“The absolute last thing we should do in 2013 – at the very moment that Social Security has become the principal lifeline for millions of our seniors — is allow the program to begin to be dismantled inch by inch.

“Over the past generation, working families have been hacked at, chipped, and hammered. If we want a real middle class — a middle class that continues to serve as the backbone of our country — then we must take the retirement crisis seriously. Seniors have worked their entire lives and have paid into the system, but right now, more people than ever are on the edge of financial disaster once they retire — and the numbers continue to get worse.

“That is why we should be talking about expanding Social Security benefits — not cutting them. Senator Harkin from Iowa, Senator Begich from Alaska, Senator Sanders from Vermont, and others have been pushing hard in that direction. Social Security is incredibly effective, it is incredibly popular, and the calls for strengthening it are growing louder every day.”

Bigger excerpt at the link. No, she won't be running in 2016 and that's a good thing. She can do a lot more good in the Senate right now. And we need to vote in more progressive Dems to help her in 2014.

Elizabeth Warren stands her ground

Go read Charlie Pierce for the elegant analogies on Elizabeth Warren's inspiring appearance on CNBC. All I'm going to add is: every time I see her do this stuff, I really wish she was our POTUS.

Elizabeth Warren goes back to Washington

The talk of the toobz today was about Elizabeth Warren kicking the SEC's ass at her first Senate Banking Committee hearing. She politely asked why no banksters had been brought to trial. This apparently unexpected inquiry left the SEC flailing, and failing, to come up with an adequate answer.

Our intrepid Senator Warren then proceeded to explain in great detail why the failure to meaningfully prosecute the banksters was not a particulary effective deterrent to criminal manipulation of the financial markets. And her sidebar on the double standards of the justice system was a thing of beauty. Here we have an unapologetic liberal with the power to change the national conversation and the courage to do it. Cheering.

Of course, not everyone found this exchange as satisfying. The banksters were not amused.

That set off angry responses to Politico's Morning Money. "While Senator Warren had every right to ask pointed questions at today's Senate Banking Committee hearing, her claim that 'nobody believes' that bank books are honest is just plain wrong," emailed a "top executive" to the financial newsletter. " Perhaps someone ought to remind the Senator that the campaign is over and she should act accordingly if she wants to be taken seriously."

Unserious. The ulimate all-purpose code for STFU with your liberal facts.

Elizabeth Warren is "unserious." She's one of us. I don't think she's going to STFU. We are blessed. [image via]