It’s entirely possible that you’re one of the many people who doesn’t like Elizabeth Warren.
Well, do you know how many fucks Elizabeth Warren gives about your opinion?
Zero. That’s how many.
And perhaps that helps to explain why I like Elizabeth Warren so much. Because I too give exactly zero fucks what you think about me.
Of course the other reason I like Elizabeth Warren is because no one is immune to her criticism. If you don’t keep it 100% real, she’s going to call bullshit. And as we learned on Thursday, that goes equally for Barack Obama, who decided that despite the rather unfortunate optics, he was going to accept a $400,000 speaking fee from Wall Street firm and bucket shop that no one takes seriously, Cantor Fitzgerald.
If you’re not up on the story, here’s the quick recap from the Times:
Two post-presidential Barack Obamas emerged this week.
The first was the civic-minded one, seated on a stage in Chicago, where he talked about the importance of community organizing and told a student audience that he had succeeded in politics because people believed “my values were not so different from theirs.”
The other was the one set to cash a $400,000 check from Wall Street – the same amount as his yearly salary during his time in the White House – when he delivers a speech in September at a health care conference run by Cantor Fitzgerald, a trading and investment firm.
On Wednesday, Mr. Obama’s spokesman defended the former president’s coming speech, saying Mr. Obama decided to give it because health care changes were important to him. The spokesman, Eric Schultz, noted that Cantor Fitzgerald is a Wall Street firm but pointed out in a statement that as a presidential candidate, Mr. Obama raised money from Wall Street and went on to aggressively regulate it.
Mr. Obama will spend most of his post-presidency, Mr. Schultz said, “training and elevating a new generation of political leaders in America.”
If you think that bolded and underlined bit sounds like bullshit, you’re in good company because Elizabeth Warren thinks so too. Here’s what ‘Liz told Sirius XM’s “Alter Family Politics” program on Thursday:
Money in politics is a snake that slithers through Washington.
I was troubled by [Obama accepting Cantor’s offer]. The influence on dollars on [Washington] is what scares me. I think it ultimately threatens democracy … we have to think about what the tools are to fight back against it.
And just in case that wasn’t enough real talk for you, here’s what Warren said when informed that her book, which just hit No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list, bumped Bill O’Reilly’s “Old School” from the top spot:
Ohhhhhhh! Sweet! Sweet.
‘Liz Warren takes maternal instinct to the next level. Don’t mess with her pups!
Funny how this was never an issue of optics until a woman and a black man started making money doing the same thing white guys did before them. Love to know how many people would turn down 400K if someone is willing to pay it.
We have the internet now. It’s not racism or sexism driving the boat… it’s just much more obvious now since everything is instantly reported (Much like crime is falling, but crime news is up). Sucks for Hillary and Obama on their timing. Actually why should they care, they’re rich.
Ok, I love Liz and I love Obama. My love for them is not tainted by him accepting some fool’s offer to pay him $400,000 nor her ‘use’ of her Native American heritage. I smile, shake my head, and still love them both!
I don’t have a problem with Obama getting paid for a speech. He’s just doing what his predecessors have done, and what was crafted into an art by the Clintons. I do have a problem with Obama selling out the American people and the middle class by willfully looking the other way on Wall Street, big pharma and the insurance companies upon being elected. As far as I can tell, he and the Clintons, Bill in particular, are cut from the same cloth. I voted for both of them every time. The sad part is that they both had the opportunity to revive the middle class and deliver hope to America. The result of their sellouts resulted in disenchantment and despair in the middle class which resulted in Trump being elected. Hillary’s hubris and tone deafness didn’t help either.