Question for Liz Warren: How Many Subsidies Does a Zombie Bank Need?

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MREWarren

Zero Hedge -

“All right,” thought the Devil. “We will have a tussle. I’ll give you land enough; and by means of that land I will get you into my power.”

“How Much Land Does a Man Need?”  (1886)

Leo Tolstoy

Last week, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) incurred the ire of the banking industry by suggesting that their cost of funds is subsidized to the tune of $80 billion annually.  Bloomberg News reports:

“Warren questioned Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke over what she said was a taxpayer subsidy worth $83 billion, citing an International Monetary Fund working paper on the funding advantage big banks get because of the market perception that they are protected by the government against failure. In their brief, the industry groups said the paper cited by Warren used data on banks’ borrowing costs before Dodd-Frank was passed.”

Unfortunately, neither Senator Warren nor the folks at the IMF have a full appreciation for the scope of the subsidies that run through the P&Ls of the US banking industry and, in particular, the top-four zombie banks — C, WFC, BAC and JOM — which account for more than two-thirds of the total assets in the industry. And you don’t need to count any of the emergency programs and subsidies put in place after the 2007 subprime crisis in order to understand the subsidy flows to the zombie dance queens.

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Update on Key Senate Races

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2012-election

Good Morning Folks –

With just ONE day to go until Election Day, here are some of the top stories from key races….

In Massachusetts, a final sign of the strength of Scott Brown’s campaign and the weakness of Professor Elizabeth Warren’s candidacy – running in one of the bluest states in the country – a final new UMass Lowell/Boston Herald poll shows Brown holding a 49-48 percent advantage over Warren among likely voters, dispelling earlier polls and Democratic claims of a small Warren lead.

 

Front Page Of Today’s Boston Herald

 

 

  • And the Associated Press reports that Brown held a rally Sunday at Boston’s Faneuil Hall. Brown, speaking to the cheering crowd packed into the historic venue, cast himself as he has throughout the campaign, as an independent voice who puts people over party and weighs each bill to see how it will effect Massachusetts residents before voting.  He also portrayed Warren as a lockstep Democrat who will push for higher taxes and bigger government at a time when the nation is struggling with soaring deficits.  “People are hurting. They want to work,” Brown said. “My answer is to work together, find that common ground, try to push back against the extremes on both sides and actually solve problems.”

 

  • Finally, the Boston Herald reports that even Democrat officials believe many rank-and-file union members will break with their union leadership.  Expect a swath of blue-collar rank-and-filers to defy their Democrat-endorsing union bosses and vote for U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, his pro-union supporters predicted yesterday, as Brown stood with former Gov. Bill Weld, former Boston Mayor Raymond L. Flynn and Brockton’s Rocky Marciano statue as his bus tour racked up another five stops.  “I do think the rank-and-file union members are going to go in and do what they want to do, and I believe the majority of them are going to vote for Scott,” said state Rep. David Nangle (D-Lowell), who was on the trail with Brown yesterday.

 

In Virginia, the Washington Post reports on the final weekend of campaigning for both candidates – The ads still blanket the state, the mail has been sent and the debates are long over in Virginia’s marathon U.S. Senate race. But for Timothy M. Kaine and George Allen, there was time on the frantic last weekend before Election Day to reach small pockets of supporters.  Allen (R) barnstormed through Hampton Roads Sunday, when he spoke on behalf of veterans and defense spending…. Speaking in Navy country and calling national defense “the paramount responsibility of the federal government,” Allen asked veterans in the crowd to raise their hands. He voiced concern about deep, across-the-board defense cuts that could hit early next year if Congress does not strike a deal to avoid them.  “What we need to do is not raise taxes as my opponent and President Obama suggest,” Allen said.

 

In Nevada, top political reporter Jon Ralston predicts that Dean Heller will defeat embattled Congresswoman Shelley Berkley.  This year, I have been pretty sure Heller would win, and the public polls have backed that up. … Heller, 49 percent; Berkley, 48 percent; others and none of the above, 3 percent.  

 

In Montana, the Billings Gazette reports that a new Mason Dixon poll has Denny Rehberg at 49 percent and Jon Tester at 45 percent.  Montana’s high-profile, big-money U.S. Senate contest, Republican challenger Denny Rehberg continues to hold a slight lead over Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a new Gazette State Poll shows.  The poll showed 49 percent for Rehberg, who is Montana’s U.S. House representative, and 45 percent for Tester, the first-term incumbent. Only 1 percent said they’re voting for Libertarian Dan Cox and just 5 percent were undecided.

 

  • Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that Denny Rehberg was working the phone banks reminding voters of liberal Democrat Jon Tester’s failed record.  As he joins the phone bank, Rehberg’s closing message to voters remains the same as when his campaign began nearly two years ago: This election is a referendum on President Barack Obama.  “I think Obamacare is a mistake, and I think the people of Montana agree with me,” Rehberg said in a phone interview.

 

  • Finally, Politico notes that the NRSC is up with ad reminding voters that a vote for Mitt Romney and Denny Rehberg is a vote for a new direction of less spending and more jobs.  “The failed Obama-Tester policies are hurting America,” the National Republican Senatorial Committee blared in an ad running across the airwaves on radio and TV in Big Sky Country. “The choice is clear: Romney-Rehberg for a new direction.”

 

In Wisconsin, former Governor Tommy Thompson tells the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that unlike his opponent, he’ll actually get things done in Washington.   In a phone interview, Thompson cast himself as the bipartisan leader who appealed to Wisconsin independents in the 1990s and Baldwin as a liberal with few legislative accomplishments.  “I’m a doer, a reformer, somebody who can get the budget under control and get the economy stimulated to create jobs here in America,” he said.

 

  • Meanwhile, the Journal-Sentinel reports that both American Crossroads and the NRSC have pummeled liberal Madison Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin’s job-killing record.  For Thompson and against Baldwin: American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS $7.4 million; National Republican Senatorial Committee, $5.6 million; and U.S. Chamber of Commerce, $2.8 million. Crossroads was founded by GOP strategist Karl Rove.

 

  • Finally, the Sheboygan Press reports that Governor Thompson brought his “Proven Reformer” bus tour to the Fox Valley.  But with Election Day only two days away, GOP supporters — about 100 of whom welcomed U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson’s bus tour to town on Sunday afternoon — packed the Republican Party of Sheboygan County headquarters to welcome Thompson to town for an enthusiastic rally.  “I didn’t realize there were that many Republicans in Sheboygan,” said Thompson, 70, who is locked in a tight race with Madison Democrat Tammy Baldwin for the U.S. Senate seat left open by Sen. Herb Kohl’s retirement.

 

In Ohio, The Hill reports that Josh Mandel and liberal Democrat Sherrod Brown are tied at 48 percent.  The latest survey from Rasmussen shows Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and GOP challenger Josh Mandel both earning 48 percent support from likely Ohio voters. Two percent surveyed said they backed another candidate, with 2 still undecided.


In Pennsylvania, the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader reports that later today, Rudy Giuliani and Pat Toomey will join Tom Smith on the campaign trail.  Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will appear in Wilkes-Barre Monday morning with Tom Smith, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.  Smith’s campaign announced the visit set for 11:30 a.m. at the Luzerne County GOP Headquarters at 34 S. Main St.

In North Dakota, Rick Berg is up with a  new ad with Mitt Romney telling voters that Sen. John Hoeven needs a conservative teammate in order to stop the Reid-Pelosi agenda.

  • Meanwhile, the Grand Forks Herald reports that Berg barnstormed North Dakota this weekend with the GOP ticket talking about he will take the North Dakota Way to Washington D.C. Washington could learn from North Dakota, said Berg, R-N.D. Several years ago, former North Dakota House Majority Leader Earl Strinden taught him the importance of a balanced budget, stable taxes and energy development, he said. “Those are things that our country needs today,” he said. “There’s a cloud of uncertainty over our whole country — on small businesses, on farms and ranches, over everyone. We can move that cloud out of there.”

In Connecticut, the Hartford Courant reports that Linda McMahon spent the final weekend continuing to focus on female voters.  McMahon, the former CEO of WWE, a wrestling and entertainment company, reminded a largely female gathering of supporters at a Southbury restaurant Saturday afternoon that she would be the state’s first female U.S. senator. “We’ve never had a woman senator, so we can make history and we need to,” she said to applause and cheers….Winning over women voters has been a cornerstone of McMahon’s campaign strategy. When she first ran in 2010, she lost the women’s vote and wound up losing the election. This time, she has held dozens of informal living-room gatherings with women across the state in a quest to win their support.  Stacy Luddy of Waterbury, one of about 75 supporters at the rally, said she likes McMahon’s message that she wouldn’t be beholden to Republican leaders in Washington.  “I see her as an independent woman in the Senate and I don’t think we have an independent voice there,” Luddy said as she waited for McMahon to begin speaking. “I’m really excited that she’s not going to be following … a party line.”

In Arizona, the Arizona Republic reports that Jeff Flake is leading Democrat Richard Carmona who was the only candidate in the country to be personally recruited by President Barack Obama.  Flake’s backers include GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan; Kyl; and Sen. John McCain. … The most recent public poll showed Flake with 50 percent of the vote to Carmona’s 44 percent. That was within the margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points for the automated telephone survey of 500 likely voters conducted Oct. 21 by Rasmussen Reports.

  • Meanwhile, tonight the Prescott Daily Courier reports that Jeff Flake will close out his campaign by attending a GOTV rally on the steps of the Yavapai County Courthouse.  U.S. Sen. John McCain and U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Flake will join other Republican candidates for a “Get Out the Vote” GOP Victory Rally at 7 p.m. today on the Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza in Prescott. … Flake said the Yavapai County Courthouse steps will be his last campaign appearance before election day, continuing a tradition established in 1964 by Sen. Barry Goldwater.

 

In Nebraska, the Associated Press reports that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice endorsed Deb Fischer and her pro-jobs campaign.  Yet another big name has offered a boost in the tightening race to fill Nebraska’s open U.S. Senate seat.  On Saturday, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced that she endorses fellow Republican Deb Fischer in her race against Democrat Bob Kerrey.  “America needs leaders who understand the importance of solving complicated problems and getting results in order to reaffirm our American strength once again,” Rice said in a news release from the Fischer campaign.  “Deb Fischer is an effective legislator who will promote economic competitiveness and private sector growth and will change the current standstill in Washington. Her fresh perspective will allow her to be a leader in Congress and I’m proud to stand with her in this important race.”

In New Mexico, KRQE-TV in Albuquerque reports that Heather Wilson was meeting with voters this past weekend.  Republican Wilson hit the streets of Albuquerque Sunday afternoon.  She surprised some of her supporters at their homes asking for votes.

 

  • Meanwhile, Wilson tells the El Paso Times that reports that her race between herself and liberal Congressman Martin Heinrich will come down to the wire.  Heather Wilson, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, predicted Saturday that her race against Democrat Martin Heinrich would be decided by no more than 2,000 votes statewide. … But, she said, the margin of victory on Nov. 6 would be razor-thin, based on her internal surveys.  “This race will be much closer than many people think,” she said during a speech at the New Mexico Press Association’s annual convention. Wilson did not predict victory, but said the election would be decided by “1,000 or 2,000 votes, either way.”

 

In Florida, the Associated Press reports that Connie Mack continues to barnstorm the state reminding voters of his pro-jobs agenda for the Sunshine State.  Republican U.S. Senate candidate Connie Mack IV stressed the need to help small businesses Sunday during a campaign appearance as he fights Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson for votes in the final days before the election.  Mack spoke to about 60 people in New Smyrna Beach at an event he held with the National Federation of Independent Businesses.  In a short speech, Mack highlighted the need to help small businesses.  “This is really what this election is all about. It’s about small business,” Mack said amid a field of restored World War II aircraft at American Aero Services. “Small business is what does the hiring in this state and in this country. It’s what puts people to work. When you look at the state of Florida, we have 820,000 people out of work. And when small businesses grow it’s going to help those people find work.”

In New Jersey, the Newark Star Ledger reports that Joe Kyrillos continues to remind voters that embattled U.S. Senator Bob Menendez is a fierce partisan who doesn’t get along with others.  Kyrillos, a 52-year-old state lawmaker from Monmouth County, has accused Menendez of being in a “partisan corner” and has said he will work with both parties to get the nation on a more sound fiscal footing.  He has made sure the public has seen him with his longtime friend, Gov. Chris Christie, while tying Menendez to the unpopular former governor, Jon Corzine, who first appointed him to the Senate.

Update on Key Senate Races

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2012 Election 2

Good Afternoon Folks –

Driving the discussion with just three days to go until Election Day….

In Massachusetts, on day three of Scott Brown’s “People Over Party” statewide bus tour, the Brown campaign released a new web video, called “Democrats For Brown,” featuring former state representatives Arthur Broadhurst of Methuen and Geoff Hall of Westford.   In the video, Broadhurst, who represented the 15th Essex District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1993 to 2007, says he is supporting Brown because he puts “good ideas” ahead of any political label, and says that if we had “another hundred Scott Browns in Washington, I think you’d see a lot of things getting done, fast, quick to help the economy and help the people of Massachusetts and the country.”

  • Meanwhile, Wendy Long, a leading women and victim’s rights advocate pens an op-ed in the Patriot Ledger urging her fellow women in Massachusetts to vote for Scott Brown.  Warren thinks she deserves women’s votes because she supports free contraception, but an awful lot of women in Massachusetts aren’t worried about getting free birth control because they’re living in fear of dying in their own homes….Scott Brown has a record of supporting a tougher law enforcement and prosecutorial response to deal with the epidemic of violence against women and children…Scott Brown is more likely than Elizabeth Warren to save women’s lives because he sees value in a tougher law enforcement response. It’s a good reason to vote for Scott Brown even if, like me, you voted for Barack Obama in 2008.

 

  • And the Boston Herald has the latest from the campaign trail – Scott Brown — in a tossup race with challenger Elizabeth Warren just days before the election — swept through the Bay State at a breakneck pace yesterday, offering the profile of a working-man moderate running against a political machine.  Brown’s bus tour started with breakfast in Springfield and ended at a women-for-Brown rally in Chelmsford, with stops at a Chicopee lumber yard, an old-fashioned lunch counter in Worcester, a family-owned orchard in Methuen and a swing through Boston’s North End with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

 

In Wisconsin, Governor Thompson released his closing ad where he reminds voters that together they’ve accomplished a lot things in the Badger State.  We’ve accomplished a lot together.  We’ve created thousands of manufacturing jobs, we’ve cut taxes, and we reformed welfare.  Today Washington is in desperate need of reform.  They are killing jobs and putting future generations in debt.  My plan balances the budget and gets America working again.

  • Meanwhile, the Hudson Star reports that Governor Walker, former Mayor Giuliani and former U.S. Senator Norm Coleman will join Tommy Thompson on his bus tour across Wisconsin.  At least four top Republicans will be visiting the Victory Center, 213 S. 2nd St. in Hudson, Saturday afternoon at 5:30 p.m.  Headlining the list is former New York City Mayor “Rudy” Giuliani. He will be joined by Gov. Scott Walker, former Minnesota U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson. The group will be promoting the Thompson candidacy. … Thompson is crisscrossing the state Friday, Saturday and Sunday on a “Restore America Tour.” The trip includes stops in many communities to gain last-minute support before Tuesday’s election.

 

In New Mexico, Glen Bolger a highly respected GOP pollster has Heather Wilson and liberal Congressman Martin Heinrich tied at 46.  As Politico’s Morning Score reports:  New Mexico Wilson tied at 46:  According to an internal poll of Republican Heather Wilsons’ race, she ties Martin Heinrich. … Memo: http://goo.gl/0abnm.

 

In Montana, ABC-Great Falls reports – With his U.S. Senate Race one of the most closely watched in the nation, Congressman Denny Rehberg and his wife Jan cast their ballots Friday in Billings.  The Rehberg’s arrived Friday morning at the Yellowstone County Courthouse along with others to exercise their right to vote….“This is a big race. They say that Montana, there’s no path to a Republican majority in the United States Senate that doesn’t go through Montana. They figured that they have to win this seat. I feel compelled to say the same. I would not have felt right if I had not run for the United State Senate,” says Rehberg.

 

In Pennsylvania, a new poll commissioned by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review finds the race now in a virtual dead heat.  Republican U.S. Senate nominee Tom Smith narrowed the race against Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr., pulling nearly even in a Tribune-Review poll.  Casey polled 46 percent to Smith’s 45 percent among likely voters, with 8 percent undecided, according to the survey by Susquehanna Polling & Research in Harrisburg.  Those figures show stagnation for Casey but a 4-point gain for Smith since a Trib-commissioned poll Sept. 12.  The more recent poll of 800 people from Oct. 29-31 has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.  “The momentum has clearly gone to Smith,” said Susquehanna President Jim Lee. He argued Casey made “a near-fatal” mistake by allowing Smith a chance to cast his political persona.  “You never allow the challenger to define himself or herself on his own terms,” Lee said.

 

  • And from the Associated Press today – First-term Sen. Bob Casey in Pennsylvania wasn’t on anyone’s lineup of vulnerable Democrats six months ago, especially after Republicans nominated little-known businessman Tom Smith. But the coal executive spent more than $17 million of his own money and cut into Casey’s edge. The National Republican Senatorial Committee and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce jumped in with money and ads in the final week. “I think a race that everyone here in Pennsylvania assumed was safe for Sen. Casey no longer is,” said Gene Barr, president of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.

 

In Virginia, the Washington Times’ editorial board strongly endorses George Allen – The contrast in this race is vivid. As a governor, senator, congressman and member of the commonwealth’s House of Delegates, Mr. Allen has a long record of leading the charge for limited government and job growth. Mr. Kaine frighteningly admitted that his work is simply, “Doing what the president wants me to do.” America can’t afford another Obama lackey voting to increase federal deficits and debt. The Washington Times endorses George Allen for the U.S. Senate.

 

  • On the campaign trail today, Allen is bringing his “Fighting For Our Jobs” tour to the Richmond area, where he will share his strong commitment to protecting and creating Virginia jobs, and join Congressman Paul Ryan for a Victory Rally at Richmond International Airport.

 

In Nevada, where Shelley Berkley was once hailed as a prolific fundraiser, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the embattled Congresswoman has loaned her campaign $250,000 so she can get her campaign to Tuesday.  Rep. Shelley Berkley loaned her campaign $250,000 in the homestretch of a heated U.S. Senate race, the first time either Nevada candidate has needed to tap personal funds.  Berkley made the transactions in early and mid-October, including borrowing $50,000 from a retirement fund to send the money to her campaign, according to federal reports through Oct. 17. … Berkley also reported a $24,581 campaign debt to American Express.  Meanwhile, incumbent Republican Sen. Dean Heller had $1.2 million cash on hand heading into the final weeks of his $7.6 million campaign. He reported no loans or outstanding debt.

 

  • Meanwhile, the Reno Gazette-Journal’s Ray Hagar – the top political reporter in Northern Nevada – predicts that Dean Heller will defeat Shelley Berkley.  Sen. Dean Heller is doing something this campaign season that no other politician has to do.  He’s fighting two opponents. Heller was fond of saying it during the campaign and it’s true.  First, he is competing against his Democratic opponent, Rep. Shelley Berkley of Las Vegas.  Heller also has to deal with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, master of the Machiavellian world of Capital Hill, boss of the upper house. … Heller is up by a small margin, according to a few respected polls. If he beats Berkley, it would be a humongous blow to the Nevada Democratic Party and Reid.  The bet here is Heller win by a margin that’s less than 5 points.

 

  • And from Human Events – “We are confident Dean Heller will be re-elected on Nov. 6th because not only has he been a great senator for Nevada, but he’s running against one of the most unethical and liberal members of Congress,” said Brian Walsh, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “We believe that regardless of the outcome of the presidential race in Nevada, Dean Heller will win.”

 

In North Dakota, the Devil’s Lake Journal reports on just one stop on Rick Berg’s cross-state bus tour.  Berg said his motto about government spending is “10, Six, Four.” Ten referring to “the $10 million dollars the government spends each day, six referring to the $6 million dollars it takes in each day and four being the amount that’s lacking.”  Berg referenced his upbringing in Maddock and Hettinger, N.D., and said his grandparents came from Norway. He said they always wanted to work toward leaving a better future for the younger generation.  “We don’t want our kids to be anchored by our debts,” Berg said. “We need to fix this problem.”

 

In Ohio, the Dayton Daily News reports that Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio urged supporters gathered in Centerville on Friday to elect Josh Mandel to the U.S. Senate to help break partisan gridlock that Rubio blamed on the Democrats.   Rubio said he supports Ohio Treasurer Mandel in his bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio. Rubio said Democrats have paralyzed the Senate and Mandel would be critical to Republicans gaining a majority.  “We could use some Ohio commonsense” in the Senate, said Rubio, a freshman senator from Florida once mentioned as a possible Romney runningmate.

 

In Connecticut, Linda McMahon’s closing ad reminds voters that she is an independent thinker who knows we have to work together to grow our economy and create jobs.

In Florida, the Associated Press reports that Connie Mack is reminding voters in the Panhandle about liberal Democrat Bill Nelson’s liberal record.  Among other stops, Mack was in Jacksonville on Wednesday, the Panama City area on Thursday and the Jacksonville area Friday. On Saturday, he’ll be in Jacksonville and Panama City again

 

  • Meanwhile, the Palm Beach Post reports that if Governor Romney carries Florida, his coattails could help bring Connie Mack to Washington.  Republican Connie Mack IV and two-term Democrat Bill Nelson are battling through the final weekend of Florida’s U.S. Senate race, although both sides acknowledge their fate will really be shaped by Mitt Romney and President Obama, who sit atop their respective tickets.

In Arizona, the Eastern Arizona Courier reports that John McCain continues to tell Arizonans that he needs Jeff Flake in the U.S. Senate, so they can continue their crusade against wasteful spending.  Saying he hopes the U.S. Senate will have a Republican majority after the Nov. 6 election, McCain said he does not want to have the second member of the Arizona U.S. Senate delegation be a Democrat.  “I don’t want someone who will cancel out my vote,” McCain said. … It was Flake who stood up against earmarks, fighting to stop them in the House of Representatives, an action which put him in trouble with the House GOP leadership, said McCain, who fought against earmarks in the  U.S. Senate.  Flake stood his ground, and while almost a persona non grata, eventually he was welcomed back into the GOP fold after elections that turned out some Republicans who supported earmarks, the senator said.

 

In Nebraska, Leavenworth Street reports that the Nebraska Farm Bureau released a web video reminding voters that Valentine is strongly behind Deb Fischer.  The Nebraska Farm Bureau put out a video featuring the citizens of Valentine, NE talking about Deb Fischer. 

  • Meanwhile, as Kerrey unveils of all of his out of state endorsements, Larry the Cable Guy – an actual Nebraska voter – is supporting Fischer’s bid for the U.S. Senate.

In Hawaii, KHON-TV in Honolulu reports that last night former Governor Linda Lingle held a huge GOTV rally.  Hundreds of people attended an event Thursday night with the goal of encouraging voters to head to the polls.  More than 500 people attended a “Get Out the Vote” rally at Aloha Tower Marketplace.  It was hosted by Senate candidate republican Linda Lingle.

 

In Missouri, CBS-St. Louis reports that Todd Akin was back on the road Friday as he made stops in Warrenton and Fenton to make a final push in his goal to replace United States Senator Claire McCaskill.  Akin’s campaign is also spending $900,000 in TV ads over the next several days leading up to Tuesday.

#MASen Video: Elizabeth Warren Unmasked

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www.youtube.com screen capture 2012-10-31-10-12-27

TWS

The Republican party of Massachusetts has released a new Halloween-themed web ad criticizing Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, particularly her positions on Obamacare and a balanced budget. “This election season, Elizabeth Warren is masquerading,” the text reads.

She’s Not Who She Says She Is. On November 6th, Don’t Let Her Trick You!

#MASen Update: Scott Brown’s Closing Ad – “People Over Party

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www.youtube.com screen capture 2012-10-31-7-50-30

In Massachusetts, Politico’s Morning Score previews Scott Brown’s closing ad – “People Over Party.”  Every day I hold this office, I will give all that is in me to serve you well and make you proud. I’ve kept my promise to be an independent voice,’ Scott Brown says in speech footage used in the ad. ‘I put people ahead of politics, and now I need your help to keep that independent tradition alive in Massachusetts. Let me tell you, things would be a lot better in this country if more people in Washington were willing to think for themselves and work with each other for the good of America.”

  • Meanwhile, the Salem News is the latest editorial board to endorse Scott Brown for re-election.  [O]ur scorecard shows that Brown has heeded all of those calls and, in some cases, taken them a step or two beyond what anyone could have hoped. Despite the questionable claims about his positions by his challenger, Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren, it is clear that he has fought for Massachusetts workers and taxpayers alike — and that he will continue to do so. That’s why Scott Brown is our clear choice to be re-elected to his U.S. Senate seat when voters go to the polls Nov. 6…. Brown has been an effective, bipartisan senator in his short time in office. Let’s send his independent voice back to Washington to serve Massachusetts for a full term.

 

  • And the Boston Herald editorial board pans the faux outrage from Elizabeth Warren and the Democrats over Scott’s decision to continue his planned statewide bus tour instead of rescheduling the last debate. Certainly a recent Boston Globe poll which showed a neck and neck race (although a Suffolk University poll had her up by 7 percentage points) had nothing at all to do with her enthusiasm for a Thursday debate — one co-sponsored by the Globe, which had just endorsed her. But all that’s mere coincidence we’re certain.  Yes, some 300,000 households are still without power and wouldn’t be able to watch it anyway. And more than a few are distracted by the flooding in their basements and the trees down on the street.  In fact, Brown spent yesterday inspecting storm damage from Rehoboth to Plum Island — it’s what incumbents do. Warren’s campaign did not release an official schedule.

 

  • This sentiment was echoed by several local columnists today including the Herald’s Joe Battenfeld – This was a no-brainer for U.S. Sen. Scott Brown. Pick the voters.  Democrats and some in the media are predictably in a lather about the Republican incumbent forgoing a fourth televised debate, but the fact is Brown has already taken part in one more debate than then-U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy did in 1994…. Brown also had agreed to two radio debates that Warren refused to attend, but there was no outrage over that.

#MASen Video: Unions Fine Members Who Don’t Show Support for Elizabeth Warren

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union-thugs

From the Weekly Standard

A GOP source sends along this video, shot by a Republican tracker, of a union member supporting Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren outside of a debate Wednesday night in Springfield, Massachusetts. The cameraman asks the union member if he was at an earlier debate between Warren and her Republican opponent, Senator Scott Brown.

“Uh-huh,” the union member says, nodding.

“Did you guys get fined if you weren’t there?” the cameraman asks.

“Yeah,” the union member replies.

“How much did you get fined?” the cameraman asks.

“A hundred and fifty,” the man says, although he later adds, “It’s two-fifty if you don’t go.” Watch the video below:

This isn’t the first instance in a Massachusetts Senate race where unions have been accused of generating fake grassroots support for the Democrat.

In 2010, before Brown’s victory in the special election, a union member wearing a shirt supporting the Democratic candidate, Martha Coakley, told a local blogger on camera that he had been paid $50 to wear the shirt but that he was actually voting for Brown.

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#MASen Update: Not a Good Start to the Week for Professor Warren…

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Warren front page of the globe

Just one day after Scott Brown’s campaign introduced a new statewide ad with one local TV reporter asking Warren “Is there anything else going to come out about you that we don’t already know?” – another shoe drops highlighting Warren’s rampant hypocrisy as a former corporate lawyer.  Politico’s The Huddle leads with the big news from the Bay State this AM – Both the Boston Globe and Herald have stories out this morning detailing Democrat Elizabeth Warren’s work helping a bankrupt steel firm avoid paying into a health care fund for retired coal miners. Noah Bierman writes for the Globe: “US Senator Scott Brown has attacked Elizabeth Warren in recent days for her legal work on behalf of Travelers Insurance in an asbestos case, asserting that it undermines her reputation as a consumer advocate. …  Warren also helped write a petition to the US Supreme Court for LTV Steel in the 1990s, assisting the former industrial conglomerate in its fight against a congressional requirement that it pay millions of dollars into a fund for its retired coal miners’ health care.

 

  • Key line in the Globe today - “Her advocacy on behalf of a large corporation, opposing a mandate to pay for the health benefits of blue-collar retirees and their families, would seem to undercut her image as a middle-class champion, the central message of the Democrat’s Senate campaign against Brown, the Republican.”

 

Front Page Of Today’s Boston Herald

 

 

  • Herald’s lead today - Democrat Elizabeth Warren, who has made fighting for workers a focus of her Senate campaign, was a hired legal gun for a steel conglomerate trying to dodge paying health and pension benefits to thousands of retired coal miners, records show.   Warren represented LTV Steel in 1995, when she was a Harvard Law professor, aiding the bankrupt company’s bid to overturn a court ruling forcing it to pay its former employees and dependents $140 million in retirement benefits.

 

  • But wait, there’s more – Washington Examiner headline today – Dem Warren never licensed to practice law in Massachusetts.  Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic candidate in a pivotal U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts, admitted Monday that she never was licensed to practice law in Massachusetts even though she was representing clients out of her faculty office at Harvard University for years.

 

  • And the hits keep coming on Warren as even one left-leaning columnist for the Boston Herald today implores Warren to simply come clean and apologize for lying about her heritage.  Here’s what might help Elizabeth Warren in this oh-so-close U.S. Senate race: some apologies, some mea culpas.  Yesterday during an interview with Jim Braude and me on News Talk 96.9, Warren was asked — yet again — about the issue that just won’t go away.  “Do you feel that guilt that you checked the box?” asked a caller from Wellesley, who admitted that she, too, had checked the Native American box when pursuing a government job in the ’80s, and still feels bad about it.

 

  • Finally, make sure to read this political column in the Lowell Sun talking about Scott Brown winning the first debate in this race.  Scott Brown turned the professor into the pupil.  If the results of the first television debate between the two candidates for U.S. Senate are any indication, Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren had better do some homework before the next one on Monday.

#MASen: Did Elizabeth Warren Practice Law in Massachusetts Without a License?

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I'm a lawyer

Update: Elizabeth Warren Admits She Is Not Licensed to Practice Law in Massachusetts from Breitbart:

Speaking to Boston’s 96.9 FM radio program “Jim and Margery” on Monday, Democratic Senate challenger Elizabeth Warren admitted that she is not licensed to practice law in Massachusetts.

Let’s see… first, fake Indian and now fake Lawyer… does any one in Massachusetts really know who this lady is???

From National Review Online:

Over at Legal Insurrection, William Jacobson has a bombshell: considerable evidence that Democrat Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren practiced law in Massachusetts without a license.

I confirmed with the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers by telephone that Warren never has been admitted to practice in Massachusetts.  I had two conversations with the person responsible for verifying attorney status.  In the first conversation the person indicated she did not see any entry for Warren in the computer database, but she wanted to double check.  I spoke with her again several hours later, and she indicated she had checked their files and also had spoken with another person in the office, and there was no record of Warren ever having been admitted to practice in Massachusetts.

You don’t need a law license to teach law, but you need one if your duty includes “the examination of statutes, judicial decisions, and departmental rulings, for the purpose of advising upon a question of law … and the rendering to a client of an opinion thereon.”

Among her cases in recent years: “As reported earlier by Globe reporter Noah Bierman, Travelers hired Warren to represent the insurance company in its fight to gain permanent immunity from asbestos-related lawsuits; in exchange for that immunity, the insurance company said it would establish a $500 million trust for current and future victims of asbestos poisoning. Warren succeeded in that mission, successfully arguing Travelers case before the U.S. Supreme Court. She was paid $212,000 by Travelers from 2008 to 2010.”

He concludes, “I detail above the facts and law which lead me to the conclusion that Warren has practiced law in Massachusetts without a license in violation of Massachusetts law for well over a decade. I expect Warren will disagree, and I welcome a discussion of the facts and the law.”

Will this interest the Massachusetts media at all?