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Two More Senators Endorse Bernanke As Former Enron Lobbyist Garners Support For Yet Another Con
The one most promising legacy out of the greatest corporate con early in the last decade, which by the way was Enron for those of you who may not have been born yet, will undoutedly be its lobbying power. As Politico notes: "Possible successors to Bernanke include three people currently advising Obama on the economy, former Fed chief Paul Volcker, Larry Summers and Christina Romer. Kohn was traveling in Europe at the end of the week on Fed business, but strategy on the Bernanke confirmation was being led by former Enron lobbyist Linda Robertson, who is viewed as an effective advocate for the banking chief on Capitol Hill." One con lobbying for another con: what a swell summation of the sad state of affairs in this once great country.
In other news, two more Senators have succumbed to Rahm's herding, as Senators Feinstein and Inouye have have come out with open support for Bernanke.
From Dow Jones:
U.S. Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Daniel Inouye (D-Hi.) Monday said they would support Ben Bernanke for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve, after the White House escalated efforts to win the 60 votes needed.
"Ben Bernanke has been helpful to the recovery and, for reasons of stability and continuity, should be reconfirmed. I support him fully," Feinstein said in a statement.
Sen. Inouye is also voting for Bernanke, his spokesperson Lori Hamamoto, said in an e-mail.
Despite a flurry of activity by the White House over the weekend, Bernanke's confirmation was not a certainty. As of 10:30 a.m., EST, Monday, 34 senators were publicly committed to voting for Bernanke, with 17 opposed, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey.
The Senate is expected to vote before Bernanke's four-year term expires Jan. 31.
The Senate Banking Committee voted 16-7 last month to move the Bernanke confirmation to the full Senate.
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Dear President Obama:
The next time you and Timmy meet, may I suggest you have some milk and cookies and read to Timmy the classic children's book, "The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf"
Also, Barry, your actions on the Bernanke matter prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are owned by wall street and the banks.
No doubt in my mind that the last place Bernanke should be is the Chairmen of the Federal Reserve.
However, I can't help but look on the bright side of his confirmation. When everything goes to hell, the source will be readily identifiable, and "I told you so" comments can run free, and all those that confirmed Bernanke will be banished from public office.
I must disagree. I've read this play book. When our doom befalls us the pundits and the Fed will chant "We did a good job! Imagine how much worse it would have been if Zimbabwe Ben was not at the helm!" If anything they will argue he was not loose enough with monetary policy.
Remember Gideon Gono is still the head of the Bank of Zimbabwe.
+1 Touche'.
"...strategy on the Bernanke confirmation was being led by former Enron lobbyist Linda Robertson..."
An aphid lobbying for an ant, just what one might expect in this welter of insects. When the peoples' moment comes, Robertson won't escape detention, interrogation and public trial. Its both lobbyist and political vermin that will engage prosecutorial interest, not simply one or the other.
You have more faith that the "people's moment" will happen than I. There might be a couple of sacrificial lambs slaughtered for public consumption, but nothing that will touch the likes of Bernanke and Franks and Dodd and other, as you so aptly put it, insects.
Don't despair, friend suteibu. We have hardly begun to experience the effects of the criminality of these maggots. What with more of their imperialism, their warmongering and the inevitable escalation of unemployment levels domestically, the emergence of an authentic peoples' movement - that to be distinguished from the Republican embraced, brownshirt, Tea Party phenomenon - becomes more and more likely. And when it does emerge, there will be no trifling with mere symbolic sacrifices of the kind you mention. The entire retinue of lobbyist/politician bacteria will be the object of its attentions.
Shame on you for comparing the Tea Party protesters to "brownshirts."
This is nothing but slander and you ought to be ashamed of yourself.
A great many of the Tea Party protesters are leftists who have realized Obama is not who he said he was, pacifist Ron Paul Republicans, and libertarians.
For you to wilfully misrepresent a much-needed anti-tax and anti-deficit movement as a fascist parade is lunatic, ill-informed, and pathetic.
"A great many of the Tea Party protesters are leftists who have realized Obama is not who he said he was, pacifist Ron Paul Republicans, and libertarians."
Huh? Some leftists that would be more concerned about deficits than stimuli in periods generating 10% or more unemployment. No leftists at all, I'd say. And as to the Ron Paul Republicans and libertarians, one would think they'd want some distance from the talk show Nazis and Republican Party operatives that so successfully have embraced and co-opted them. You're known by the company you keep, son. Surely mother pointed that out to you.
And when the personally very comfortable Ron Paul can muster the courage to mount an independent run for President - something he lacked the guts for last time around - and his coterie of adolescent camp followers and Tea Party activists can isolate themselves from their fascist associations in the Republican Party, I'll quit calling them brownshirts, but not until. Capische?
Check your history buddy. Ron Paul ran as a Libertarian in 1988 for President. The Neocons have worked hard to co-oped the Tea Party movement but it was started primarily by Ron Paul and his supporters.
Though if you know of a better American politician right now than Ron Paul, please enlighten us with his identity.
"if you know of a better American politician right now"
You are joking right? When the shit hits the fan, no one will want to be known as a politician.
Last time I looked, the most recent presidential campaign was in 2008, not 1988. Is it that we're to call it progress that Paul could mount an independent campaign twenty-two years ago yet couldn't manage one last time out? I don't think so. All the quasi-religious zealotry among his followers notwithstanding, Paul remains a Republican and a very comfortable personal coward. I'm not particularly taken with his allegedly "principled" presence in Washington. No one needs Ron Paul that badly in Congress that they should tolerate anything approaching this kind of self-service, frankly.
What color is the sky in your world? So the man must mount an independent campaign every time? I also note you didn't answer my question about who is better. So I'll ask another, name me a vote that Ron Paul made and explain why you disagree with him on it. As to his cowardice can you explain and give an example.
But you seem a bright fellow, and surly a man of infinite principal, and most definitely a lion of courage and zeal who would stand for all Americans. When can we expect your independent run for president? After all I'm sure that since you are a far better man than Dr. Paul your very presence on the campaign trail will electrify all America and indeed the world.
You talk real perty-like, Andrei... I'm taking a liking to you.
You're only saying this because I'm good looking, aren't you, you little devil. :-)
This interlude has taken an awkward turn toward gayness.
Not that anything is wrong with that.
Seriously. What the hell are you thinking. Everyone knows perfectly well that the problem with Washington is that both parties borrow and spend.
And while you sit here and whinge on an Internet blog about Washington's policies, at the same time you're going to indict the only people who are actually unplugging their PCs, going out into the streets, and PROTESTING.
Disconnect the Tea Partyers from their string-pullers in the Republican Party and on Nazi radio and I'll see value in their being on the street. There's nothing even resembling that kind of independence at the moment. A populism that connects itself so uncritically with such filth is more hyper-Regime than anti-Regime. The prime political beneficiaries of Tea Party protest today are Republicans, which ought to give authentic anti-system citizens real concern. The whole thing carries an exclusively anti-Obama, anti-Democrat, stench which makes it as phoney as a three dollar bill. That, sir, is what I'm thinking.
The insect analogy is excellent.
I would go further to say that bernake is the head of the tapeworm that has invaded the bowels of the system.He dwells in darkness and stench while sucking the life out of his host.
Yes....I rather think the tapeworm comparison is an apt one.
I say it is time for deworming.
Ah, yes, good Cistercian. The tapeworm imagery catches an aspect of the problem entirely overlooked by my symbiotic aphid/ant offering. Also, it adds an important olefactory element, something necessary if one wishes to be exhaustive, eh? Indeed, these squalid filth emit noxious odors. One can even detect them over conventional broadcast media.
Disagree on the insect analogy, since ants and aphids contribute to soil aeration and nutrition and support the diet of other creatures in the food web. It's downright libellous to ants and aphids to compare them to politicians. Tapeworm I think I can go with. Liver flukes. The worms that cause elephantiasis of the scrotum.
http://elephantiasis.freeyellow.com/elephantiasis_clip.mpg
I would say that that guy might compare his affliction to something caused by politicians.
Otherwise enjoying the retro-apparatchik-speak, AV.
Alright, I'll concede. Liver flukes are certainly to be prefered over my earlier ant/aphid offering. I'll let Cistercian and you work out a possible tapeworm, liver fluke controversy.
One con lobbying for another con: what a swell summation of the sad state of affairs in this once great country. - great is a relative term and perhaps we were given the impression of being a great(er) country than we really were and like a lot of third world countries to be level with good country we may need something like a French revolution !!!
Bloomberg Article Adds Light on Summers, Robertson Connection :::::::::::::
Fed Intends to Hire Lobbyist in Campaign to Buttress Its Image.
By Robert Schmidt
June 5 2009 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve intends to hire a veteran lobbyist as it seeks to counter skepticism in Congress about the central bank’s growing power over the U.S. financial system, people familiar with the matter said.
Linda Robertson currently handles government, community and public affairs at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and headed the Washington lobbying office of Enron Corp., the energy trading company that collapsed in 2002 after an accounting scandal. She was also an adviser to all three of the Clinton administration’s Treasury secretaries.
Robertson would help the Fed manage relations with lawmakers seeking greater oversight of a central bank that has used emergency powers to prevent Wall Street’s demise. While she wasn’t tied to Enron’s fraud, her association with the firm may raise questions, analysts said.
“Some members of Congress think there are votes in attacking the Fed” after it “unnecessarily and unwisely entangled monetary policy with fiscal policy,” said former St. Louis Fed President William Poole. “The Fed is going to have a tricky time of unwinding what has been done” and will need to “keep in touch with members of Congress more thoroughly,” said Poole, now senior fellow with the Cato Institute in Washington.
Robertson served under Treasury Secretaries Lawrence Summers, Robert Rubin and Lloyd Bentsen. She didn’t return calls seeking comment.
Summers Tie
Summers now heads the White House National Economic Council. Along with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, he is leading Obama administration efforts to broaden the economic rescue and overhaul financial regulation. He has been mentioned as a possible successor to Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke should Bernanke not be renominated when his term ends in January.
Robertson is likely to start at the Fed in July and have the title of senior adviser to the Board of Governors, the people familiar with the situation said.
She was considered for a senior post under Geithner at the Treasury but ran up against the Obama administration’s restrictions on hiring lobbyists, the people said.
“People have been asking whether the Fed is capable of getting its job done right,” said Lynn Turner, a former chief accountant at the Securities and Exchange Commission. “Hiring a former lobbyist from Enron will surely make one wonder.”
Lawmaker Pressure
Robertson would confront a range of issues in the newly created position. Congress is looking to subject the Fed to more scrutiny, and some lawmakers have suggested that district bank presidents should be confirmed by the Senate.
Some legislators have also expressed opposition to the Obama administration’s attempt to make the Fed the regulator in charge of financial companies deemed too-big-to-fail.
In addition, the central bank has been become a target to some members of Congress who’ve posted online videos of their interrogations of Fed officials during public hearings.
One YouTube clip, of Florida Democratic Representative Alan Grayson’s grilling of Inspector General Elizabeth Coleman, has garnered almost 500,000 views in about a month.
Robertson is expected to advise the Fed on communications strategy, the people said. In recent months, Bernanke has pushed to make the traditionally secretive institution more open. He’s done a television interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” program and taken questions from reporters at a National Press Club function in Washington.
According to her biography on the Johns Hopkins Web site, Robertson has spent more than 25 years working on federal legislative issues.
While Robertson’s Hopkins biography makes no mention of her work at Enron, federal disclosure documents show she joined the company in 2000 after working at the Treasury. Robertson, who signed some of the forms, said she lobbied on energy and tax issues.
To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Schmidt in Washington at rschmidt5@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: June 5, 2009 00:01 EDT
Handsome help for bearded Ben: http://justgetthere.us/blog/uploads/Linda-Robertson.jpg
UGH!! Dude...let a guy know next time.
WTF?!?!? Really?!?! I mean shouldn't a female lobbiest be equal parts stripper and lawyer? Are you telling me our Senators are giving their votes to that?
It's probably not her looks or her powers of persuasion. It's probably that she has absolutely no scruples with throwing around large amounts of untraceable cash and/or sharing some really embarrassing personal things that don't have to become public knowledge (wink, wink).
Gonzo Polaroid ?
I thought they would throw him under the People's Bus. I was wrong. They clearly don't want him "at large", where he might actually feel free to talk about what happened, naming "names" etc. They are closing ranks now and we won't find out the Truth for a long time. The Conspiracy continues. We need the Ron Paul Amendment now or these guys will turn us into Zimbabwe.
Whoever votes for Benny boy will simply lose his/her seat come election day. Period. It's time to send this message loud and clear to Washington.
I am fully committed to financially supporting the opponent of any Senator who votes for Bernanke and is up for reelection this cycle.
This kind of shows you what the public is up against...this is akin to putting a pedophile as a crossing guard near an elementary school. It's sickening..
Yeah, the Californians better vote for Ben. He will be monetizing their debt soon.
quid pro quo reappointment.....a la harry reid:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s tepid endorsement of Fed chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday left some investors queasy. Mr. Reid said his support for Mr. Bernanke was conditional. “To merit confirmation, Chairman Bernanke must redouble his efforts to ensure families can access the credit they need to buy or keep their home, send their children to college or start a small business.” He added that he expected an announcement from the Fed chairman on this issue soon.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2010/01/25/does-harry-reid-want-something-from-the-fed-for-his-vote/
you yanks live in one fucked up country.
Yes we do. Our elected thugs and thieves openly talk about needing bribes.
What I say Reed's statment as
"I'll vote for Zimbabwe Ben, but he is going to have to pay me off first. Good thing corporations can donate again. I'm not a greedy man just enough to buy an island paradise full of slaves and Blackwater mercs. After all it's not like I'll be welcome in Nevada"
Reid: I want you to redouble your efforts so that everyday people can get the credit they need. In other words, I want you to make sure that force the banks to make loans to people who don't have the income to pay this stuff back.
Bernanke: Uhh... okay... whatever you say, dude... I'll do it.
Forward to October 2010:
Reid: Hey, Benny... what in the world is going on here??? You promised that we would see more lending to the little guy, but the banks aren't growing their loan books. What happened?
Bernanke: Well, we tried our best to do what you said... but people just aren't approaching our banks for more loans... they seem to want to fix their own balance sheets. About the only thing the banks can do to make money these days is to take our interest free loans and buy Treasuries.
Reid: WHAT? But you said you will be able to fix everything here. What about my re-election? The people are not going to stand for this!!
Bernanke: Well, I'm really sorry about that Harry... but I made every effort to make sure interest rates remained low so that borrowers could borrow. What did you want me to do... force my banking hombres to make more bad decisions in managing their risks?
Reid: Well yes... whatever it takes.
Bernanke: I think it's a little too late for that now.
Reid: Bastard! What about all my Senatorial perks?
Bernanke: Oh don't you worry they're still there... your retirement benefits are the envy of the land. Besides, I've talked to Rahm and there is a place for you in the Administration... I'm hearing there's an opening in the Ambassadors post in Zimbabwe. I've learned a lot from those guys in monetary theory, ya know?
Reid: DOH! I want my mommy!
Moral of the story? Morals? Are you kidding me? There are NO MORALS in Wsashington!
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
dupe
And they didn't have to promise them $300 million USD to get their votes? Even Senator Bill Nelson sold out for a grab bag of goodies.
What a bunch of cheap whores!!
I mean Senator Landrieu set the curve, so what's up with these two idiots, aren't they used to sucking off Uncle Sugar's teat?
Now thers an avatar, Bernankes hair (!?) on Romers face. Yea, thats the ticket.
So Geithner this morning warns that the markets will crash if Ben Shalom is not reconfirmed. Well, the S&P 500 looks set to fall of its own accord this afternoon, perhaps another 5%.
Wanna bet that Linda is saying "Sell"?
McCain voting against Bernanke. Is this news?
The problem with the senate is that their terms are staggered. If they were on a 4-year cycle with a 2-term limit, like the president but offset 2 years, that might help limit barnacle growth.
This may be why Boxer is against Bernanke and Feinstein isn't - Boxer is up for re-election this year and Feinstein isn't. If Feinstein is voted out in 2012 because of her support for bernanke today, I will be surprised and impressed that the California electorate has more than a short-term memory.
And we all know that Feinstein's husband is Richard Blum, chairman of CBRE as well as his own haute finance operations, and arguably another beneficiary of current financial policies and federal largesse - yes? And that her name used to be Goldman?
The Iron Maiden
Feinstein... you are a tough man, sister with that super starch helmet hairdo.
Her worthless wife and gleeful Carlyle investor "Dick" Blum and Rahm Baby do the secret pinky shake... whenever "Dick" isn't too busy working his Iron Maiden for favorable legislation for his CRE investments as Ze Cacetudo points out. Should have seen "Dick" clean up when Iron Maiden was running SF.
"Dick" Blum is clearly the bitch in that family...