Over the last two weeks, progressives have sparked a massive grassroots groundswell for Elizabeth Warren's appointment to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and rein in reckless bankers.
And how did the Senate Republicans respond? By using parliamentary tricks to prevent the Senate from formally adjourning, thereby preventing President Obama from making a recess appointment.
This obstruction on behalf of the Wall Street bankers who caused the financial crisis is outrageous. Senate Republicans seem to think they can carry water for Wall Street without objection from citizens. They need to hear from us.
The Senate Republicans are taking obstruction to a new level.
They have already announced they won't confirm any nominee to lead the consumer bureau unless the President allows them to gut the bureau first. This outrage doesn’t have majority support – but they vow to block any nominee with a filibuster.
Now, they won't let the President exercise his constitutional authority to make appointments when the Senate is in recess, by refusing to have any recesses.
The Senate Republicans are doing big favors for Wall Street banks. But they are doing real damage to the interests of consumers.
And they won't stop, until we make them pay a steep political price.
Senate Republicans are hoping no one is paying attention. They want to quietly kill the chance for a real middle-class champion to be the first chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
They can't succeed, if we make a lot of noise.
Already, the Campaign for America's Future petition in support of a Warren appointment has garnered more than 20,000 signatures. And combining the efforts of our progressive allies over the past week, nearly 300,000 people have declared their support for Warren.
But our job is not done until we have a middle-class champion with the power to hold Wall Street accountable.
