A Fighting Chance by Elizabeth Warren; Metropolitan Books, $28
There is a new sheriff in town, and her name is Elizabeth Warren. The town is Washington, D.C., and in her new book, Warren proves how one person can make a vast difference. If you hate politics, Warren's story might just inspire you to take another look at our partisan capital. Her memoir is an entrancing mix of autobiography and policy. It reads like the plot of the classic 1939 Jimmy Stewart movie Mr(s.) Smith Goes to Washington, with the committed crusader advocate for the struggling middle-class underdog fighting against the entrenched, wealthy, greedy world of high finance, who do not have your best interests at heart. A longtime supporter of LGBT rights before it became fashionable, Warren's story resembles a gay/lesbian coming-out saga, the outsider seeking salvation and identity in the big city.
She grew up middle-class in Oklahoma until 12, when her father suffered a heart attack and lost his job. Her mother looked for work, but their finances plunged, and the family teetered on poverty. She wanted Elizabeth to focus on finding a husband, but Warren decided to go to college, so she secretly earned a debate scholarship to George Washington University. She then dropped out of college to marry her high school sweetheart.
Warren finished her college degree, then attended law school in Trenton, NJ, while raising two kids. She specialized in bankruptcy law, and researched why people declare bankruptcy, usually due to a job loss, a medical problem, or a family breakup depleting all their resources. Warren led the fight to keep the law from being altered so banks could gain more profits while restricting access to bankruptcy protection. When Obama set up the bank bailout, known as TARP, Warren led the COP Panel that oversaw how $700 billion was allocated, though the committee's power was limited to issuing reports. Because of Warren's leadership, she was able to ensure that the Treasury's cut with big banks was smaller, saving taxpayers billions of dollars.
In 2007, she proposed the creation of a new government agency to protect consumers, and after the 2008 economic meltdown, she persuaded gay Congressman Barney Frank, in charge of the bill to reform banks, to include a strong new agency, which became the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFBB). Opposed by the big banks that tried to destroy or disempower it, only after Sen. Scott Brown ensured a $19 billion break for the banks was it approved. Warren served as the agency's acting head to get it up and running, but the banking industry was deadset against her being confirmed as the permanent head, which required Senate approval. Fortunately, one of her proteges, Richard Cordray, was appointed director.
Warren was encouraged to run for the Senate in Massachusetts in 2012, against Brown. Her family opposed her running, as they feared vicious attacks against her, and she had never held political office. But after engaging in informal talk sessions with state residents, she became convinced that working-class people needed a strong advocate, so she opted to run.
One incident is indicative of why she elicited the popular support she received. A man in his 60s, a Vietnam veteran, came over to her.
"'Yeah, you talk about building a future,' he said, 'but what about transgender? What about them?' I said, 'We build a future for all our children. And that means transgender children. All our children – no exceptions.' He held my gaze for a moment and said, 'Damn right.' He explained that he had a grown son who was transgender. 'In a million years, you'll never know the special kinds of hell he has gone through. I want somebody who fights and doesn't back off!'"
Warren started off in the polls behind the popular Brown, but after a nasty (on Brown's part), hard-fought campaign, she wound up winning, 54% to 46%, becoming the first woman Senator in Massachusetts' history.
It isn't hyperbole to say that Elizabeth Warren may be the best thing to happen in American politics in a generation, especially as a warrior for the middle class, a champion for consumer rights, and as an impassioned idealist for fairness, with her down-to-earth folksiness and her determination to fix our democracy. It is not that she is anti- or pro- capitalism as much as she wants equal opportunity for all, and to put the brakes on wealthy, greedy people and provide a social safety-net for the less fortunate. One of the triumphs in her book is that she takes a complicated subject, finances, and provides clear, nontechnical explanations that seem relevant to our daily lives.
Towards the end of her book, Warren writes, "Some say the rich and powerful now control Washington and always will. I say the battle isn't over yet. The playing field isn't level, and the system is rigged. But we're putting up a heck of a fight, and we intend to keep on fighting." With Elizabeth Warren representing the concerns and dreams of the 99%, perhaps we can believe that a government standing for all the people might just have a "fighting chance."