Women do it better

We need more women like Elizabeth Warren and Janet Yellen in Washington.

Sen. Warren took to the senate floor and excoriated the Republicans for misuing the filibuster to prevent President Obama from filling judicial positions.

“So far they have shut down the government, they have filibustered people [President Obama] has nominated to fill out his administration and they are now filibustering judges to block him from filling any of the vacancies with highly qualified people: We need to call out these filibusters for what they are: Naked attempts to nullify the results of the last election. . . .

“If Republicans continue to filibuster these highly qualified nominees for no reason other than to nullify the president’s constitutional authority, then senators not only have the right to change the filibuster, senators have a duty to change the filibuster rules.  We cannot turn our backs on the Constitution. We cannot abdicate our oath of office."

In one short year in office, Warren has become the leading progressive in the senate -- and she is certainly not afraid to speak out and call the conservatives out the Republicans on deregulation, government shutdown, tilt toward Wall Street, and now filibuster obstructionism.  

In her nomination hearings to replace Ben Bernanke as chair of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Congress had made the job of the Fed more difficult because of its austere spending cuts:

"Fiscal policy has been working at cross purposes to monetary policy. . . .  Some of the near-term reductions in spending that we have seen have certainly detracted from the momentum of the economy and from demand, making it harder for the Fed to get the economy moving, making our task more difficult. . .

"We are worried about a fragile recovery, and a more supportive fiscal policy, or one that at least had less drag, that did no harm, would make life easier."

Do I detect an iron fist in a velvet glove here?    Don't look for Yellen to be a big liberal on stimulus -- there are limits to what the Fed can do -- but she is at least willing to tell Congress the truth, that they are making things worse.   And, whatever they may say for the media message to their constituents back home, she is someone they seem to respect.   Reports are that she "sailed through" her confirmation hearing.

There is an increasing number of highly capable, progressive women in our government now, in addition to Warren and Yellen:   Nancy Pelosi, Patty Murray, Diane Feinstein, Claire McCaskill, and Amy Klobachur in congress;  Susan Rice, Samantha Power, Kathleen Sebelius in the administration;  Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan on the Supreme Court; -- and Hillary Clinton gathering her forces for a presidential run.

Ralph