Multimillionaire Elizabeth Warren: I’m not wealthy
posted at 9:10 pm on January 27, 2012 by Allahpundit
Actually, I don’t think that’s what she’s saying here but that headline is simply too sweet to resist. (That was HuffPo’s original headline too before they changed it.) The quote from BuzzFeed:
“I realize there are some wealthy individuals – I’m not one of them, but some wealthy individuals who have a lot of stock portfolios” she told [Lawrence O'Donnell].
Hard to see how Warren wouldn’t be, by most standards, wealthy, according to the Personal Financial Disclosure form she filed to run for Senate shows that she’s worth as much as $14.5 million. She earned more than $429,000 from Harvard last year alone for a total of about $700,000, and lives in a house worth $5 million.
She also has a portfolio of investments in stocks and bonds worth as as much as $8 million, according to the form, which lists value ranges for each investment. The bulk of it is in funds managed by TIAA-CREF.
Here’s her financial disclosure form, which is brimming with TIAA-CREF mutual funds plus IBM stock valued somewhere between $100,000 and $250,000. The confusion comes when she says “I’m not one of them.” It sounds like she means “I’m not wealthy,” but all she actually means, I think, is “I don’t have a big stock portfolio.” Which is kinda sorta true: She’s got a hefty mutual-fund portfolio, but shares in a fund are different from shares in a company because the investment’s being managed by someone else and it’s spread out among hundreds or thousands of holdings. That’s not an insuperable obstacle to insider trading as a congressman — if you own a fund that invests in a single industry, legislation to benefit that industry as a whole will pay off — but it makes things more difficult. (A lawyer friend tells me that he’s allowed to invest in mutual funds at his firm but, for conflict-of-interest purposes, has to get approval for investments in individual corporations.) Her IBM shares are obviously a problem, but does that constitute a big investment in stock? Remember, for comparison purposes, we’re talking about a Congress here where bigwigs like Pelosi lay down $2 million on can’t-miss IPOs (via their spouses, of course).
Follow the BuzzFeed link and scroll down and you’ll see that Warren’s spokesman is framing her comments this way too. But who knows? Maybe I’m wrong and she really was moronically trying to insist that she’s part of “the 99 percent” despite her many, many millions in assets. That would fit with the Democratic narrative of things you can never be if you’re a liberal: Racist, “out of touch,” uncivil, rich. If that’s what she was trying to say, though, then she’s missing an opportunity. This pitch is more effective in Massachusetts coming from a would-be benevolent rich philosopher-king who wants to help the poor than as some sort of blue-collar “just folks” type who so happens to teach at Harvard. Ask the Kennedys.
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Perhaps. But Obama and his close allies will probably be happy to have them all play out at once. That way, sympathetic and low-information voters will just think that Republicans and conservative media are just trying to mine for scandals, throwing each against the wall until they find one that sticks. Why pay attention to the facts and details, when each scandal is just a tool of the VRWC?
calbear on May 14, 2013 at 12:35 PM
Just think how differntthe press coverage would be if it were Bush/Cheny/Halliburton secretly wiretapping reporters
krome on May 14, 2013 at 12:42 PM
..incredibly wonderful sarcasm here, Don. Sadly, most of this spate of scandals occurred BEFORE the election and the MSM is only now getting around to it because (1) they want to try to rehab their trammeled reps and (2) this will be old news by 11/14.
The War Planner on May 14, 2013 at 12:47 PM
I have to say that the existence of the TEA Party has shined the light on the real leftist agenda, and this time all it took was a search on the word “patriot” from the IRS. Now the mainstream media feels the need to redeem itself to their already shrinking audience. This is all well and good, however, the left and the mainstream media still have all the power, and the only ones who can change that are the Republicans, and that’s a bet I would never take.
lea on May 14, 2013 at 12:54 PM
The media only sits up and pays attention whenever their “ox gets gored”
alQemist on May 14, 2013 at 12:54 PM
She only says what Obama wants her to say. It is appropriate and necessary for a Republican administration to do both of these things against the left. It’s a fallacy to require equal scrutiny depending on politics since liberals are criminals by nature. They want to force a future Republican administration to not scrutinize them.
Even there trasury secretary was a shame;ess tax cheat. The next Rep adminisistration will need to invest most their energy in prosecuting the Obama Democrats. They hope to tie their hands by making a big deal about this incident.
Buddahpundit on May 14, 2013 at 12:54 PM
Damn That meddling Rush Limbaugh! Always getting in the way of the Left’s plan.
Egfrow on May 14, 2013 at 12:56 PM
Hope you’re right, crossing my fingers.
mbs on May 14, 2013 at 12:57 PM
Lol
Fineman upset that gop is being hypocritical on the talking points when bush and Powell lied in their talking points
Desperate
cmsinaz on May 14, 2013 at 12:58 PM
This is what happens when you elect the enemy of the state.
Philly on May 14, 2013 at 1:01 PM
Go on Twitter and Facebook to blame Bush and Rush Limbaugh. That way you are following the parrot drones of non critical thinking.
Egfrow on May 14, 2013 at 1:01 PM
One would think the press would eventually get tired of President “Eddie Haskell”. I guess they treasure their invites to the WH Correspondent’s Dinner more than their integrity.
olesparkie on May 14, 2013 at 1:05 PM
You know Obama has problems when Andrea Mitchell won’t shill for them.
bw222 on May 14, 2013 at 1:06 PM
WHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Resist We Much on May 14, 2013 at 1:08 PM
Did you hear the gasps of painful disbelief when Mitchell said “most outrageous”?
What bias?
PattyJ on May 14, 2013 at 1:09 PM
Kay Carney still calling Benghazi a political circus
Lsm to continue this mantra
cmsinaz on May 14, 2013 at 1:10 PM
Egfrow I’m laughing at fineman…he’s an idiot
Carney will refer you to Doj re ap scandal
Pushing the blame
cmsinaz on May 14, 2013 at 1:13 PM
TODAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE WITH JAY CARNEY:
The 1st Question was a pre-coordinated ‘SOFTBALL’ question – I WILL BET YOU A MILLION DOLLARS – because Carney had a PRE-SCRIPTED ANSWER THAT HE WAS READING RIGHT OFF A PIECE OF PAPER!
easyt65 on May 14, 2013 at 1:14 PM
Carney just parroting dear leaders remarks from yesterday
cmsinaz on May 14, 2013 at 1:14 PM
“Ok, YES, the WH was notified on 22 April about the upcoming IRS report from the Inspector General…but we did not lie when we said Obama / we did not know anything about it. We were told a report was coming out but we had to wait to find out what was in it until after it was released…. (We have to pass it to find out what’s in it…:P )
easyt65 on May 14, 2013 at 1:16 PM
Just heard about the ap scandal
Puhleeze
cmsinaz on May 14, 2013 at 1:16 PM
(Carney coined an Obama phrase: ‘Let me be clear….’ LOL!)
easyt65 on May 14, 2013 at 1:17 PM
Resist We Much on May 14, 2013 at 1:08 PM
Jack boot thugs. Eye are sssss. (hooked on phonics spelling)
SparkPlug on May 14, 2013 at 1:17 PM
Do I smell the faintest whiff of blood in the water? Obama’s gonna need a bigger boat.
totherightofthem on May 14, 2013 at 1:19 PM
Carney calls the cover-up, abandoning, betraying, lying & deaths of 4 Americans in Benghazi a ‘political circle’, a sideshow’, a political issue…”We need to find out everything there is to know about what happened in Benghazi so this never happens again…which is why we need to just drop it & move on’ (WTF?)….
easyt65 on May 14, 2013 at 1:19 PM
WH will be blaming the gop for their second term agenda incompleteness because of the gop politicization
cmsinaz on May 14, 2013 at 1:21 PM
And they want the eye are sss to enforce ObamaCare and death panels.
Eye are sss = maphia
SparkPlug on May 14, 2013 at 1:23 PM
Obama said yesterday that the big deal being made about Benghazi defies logic…yet Carney is saying we need to drop all investigations into Benghazi because we need to find out what happened there so it won’t happen again…..
Ummm.. speaking of defying logic?
And how hard is it to say, “If these IRS allegations are found true people will be fired & if legal acctions / criminal charges need to be filed they will be”?!
easyt65 on May 14, 2013 at 1:24 PM
Personally, I’m not a Tea Party member, but I do agree with them in principle. Based on my observation, the Tea Party just may have saved America from much more grief than we have already sustained. But, one thing really stands out when the Tea Party began to get momentum on their side and how the Press pushed back and began to publish lies about the movement was that FOX News did not stand in support of them. From my perspective they were thrown under the bus by every media outlet for the exception of Glenn Beck, who they push as an extremist.
DDay on May 14, 2013 at 1:26 PM
Just like Friday, today’s presser is turning into another episode of ‘How much shi’ite can Carney Spew before he actually says something that is true’?
Reporter: “Will someone be fired over this (IRS)?
Carney: “We will have to see….there SHOULD be Consequences….”
Again, how d@mn hard is it to say ‘YES!”?! The M.O, of this White House, like in Chicago, is to do the crime, be obscure, when you get caught act outraged – at the crime & the media daring to call you on it, move people around, but in the end no one gets fired, no criminal charges – no accountability!
easyt65 on May 14, 2013 at 1:27 PM
DDay on May 14, 2013 at 1:26 PM
The IRS did not just target the TEA Party – the IRS, to Obama’s benefit, targeted any organization with the words ‘Conservative’, Patriot’, & ‘Constitution’ associated with their names; they targeted any group promoting teaching the Constitution or criticizing the poor way this country is being run under Obama, & even targeted JEWISH groups!
And Carney keeps saying “IF THIS IS FOUND TO BE TRUE”….and a reporter just hammered the shi’ite out of him – “There is no ‘IF’ there anymore – it is FACT now!”
easyt65 on May 14, 2013 at 1:31 PM
Ole Jay still calling Benghazi a
“distraction” and saying repubs are “obsessed”
with the talking points.
:shakes head:
Now says “imagine the story on FOX” if something (?) happens. Notice the constant harping about Fox above all other networks? Oh, and Rush, of course.
wyntre9 on May 14, 2013 at 1:34 PM
Prez has confidence in his AG.
Holder just recused himself from the AP investigation.
wyntre9 on May 14, 2013 at 1:35 PM
Obama set the tone and the drones acted according… It real is that simple.
RalphyBoy on May 14, 2013 at 1:35 PM
I wonder how the IRS would have targeted these con groups if they didn’t have the ‘tea party’, or ‘patriot’ or ‘constitutional’ or related nouns and adj in their registered names. Google search wouldn’t have been of much to the IRS then. Would have been fun if such groups took completely unrelated, deceptive names, much to the IRS chagrin :)
jimver on May 14, 2013 at 1:36 PM
Dear Leader is outraged!
farsighted on May 14, 2013 at 1:40 PM
It is a complete and utter disgrace to watch this Obama Administration mouthpiece repeat his last Friday’s skit of coming out & lying his arse off to the American people, continues to answer the American people’s demand for answers by spewing these OBVIOUS LIES!
It is almost too pathetic to watch to see my President stand beside the British Prime Minister in a press conference and lie his ARSE off, feign anger at these scandals, blame the GOP for politicizing these scandals – essentially blaming others again – and seemingly weeping because he finds himself so bogged down in his own failures & BS….it was despicable watching Obama weep for HIMSELF, not the 4 Americans he abandoned, betrayed, & left for dead – sacrificed for his re-election! He wept for his own ‘bad self-creaated situation, not for the Constitution & Rule of Law he has violated, the Oath of office he broke!
As a veteran, a member of the military, and as an American citizen, It is nearly infuriatingly and nauseatingly intolerable to watch this administration publicly forfeiting the very disguise that it still held in any way any shred of integrity, honor, ethics, morals, and descency!
easyt65 on May 14, 2013 at 1:42 PM
Better late than never for the Press, but it will only be a matter of time before they kiss and make up. After all they idolize this man.
DDay on May 14, 2013 at 1:43 PM
Rush Limbaugh just said:
What’s the over-under for a week?
Fenris on May 14, 2013 at 1:48 PM
After Memorial Day the relationship will be back to normal. Why ruin the entire summer?
farsighted on May 14, 2013 at 1:57 PM
GOP,…stay focused!
The IRS scandal as well as the AP/DOJ events will never touch Obama. He’s got too many underlings (brown shirts) willing to fall on the sword for him at any cost. These two are distractions.
Benghazi, on the other hand, has all the ingredients to bring down Obama AND Hillary and that’s how to cut the head off the snake.
Obama went in front of he UN weeks after 9/11 blaming a video that had been debunked as the causal factor of the attack many days prior. Withholding facts that could reflect negatively on his re-election efforts.
Hillary stood in front of the caskets and family members of the deceased and blamed a video when everyone, except for HAL, knew the video was a non-starter. She is nothing more than a cold-blooded, self-serving, lying c__t and she needs to be held accountable.
Obama will be greatly reduced politically after this week. Hillary is sitting back watching Benghazi news fall to page 5…and regrouping.
JetBlast on May 14, 2013 at 1:59 PM
The IRS issue is not going to fade easily, because even the most politically tuned out citizen fears the power of the IRS.
The idea that they will come after you for political reasons is simply chilling. Even the Obama partisans can imagine a time when a Republican Administration is in power, and realize that what is sauce for the goose…
By the way, if the media gets serious about this, it will be hard for Obama to hide. There are a multitude of quotes from him that make it clear that he wants his opposition destroyed. Remind folks of “They bring a knife, you bring a gun” and it can easily morph into, “They use their outlets to criticize me, and I loose my attack dogs at the IRS and Justice Department.”
Oldflyer on May 14, 2013 at 2:00 PM
So many scandals at one time does stimulate thought. I for one don’t believe it to be by accident, so, I’m guessing over-under will be longer than a week and will most probably carry into early summer.
DDay on May 14, 2013 at 2:08 PM
How many times have you heard political strategist comment that you must get all of your dirty laundry out and behind you before election time? I would say the dirty laundry list is pretty extensive at this point, but 2014 is a long way off. And by the way I would expect Congress to nothing, but feign disgust.
DDay on May 14, 2013 at 2:11 PM
WH: Just because IRS apologized doesn’t mean they did anything wrong…
easyt65 on May 14, 2013 at 2:12 PM
Finally, the completely lame, in-the-tank propaganda spouting media–yes, even them!- has had enough. Wait until they really get wound up on these scandals, the ObamaCare crap sandwich, the politicization of Executive Branch agencies one by one, the warrantless email searches….
With this administration, and progressivism generally, the phrase “I could go on and on” only just begins to describe the attempts at tyranny. A lot of jail time to be distributed here.
The press has a long way to go in bringing themselves back to something even close to respectable. They better roll up their sleeves and get to it.
MTF on May 14, 2013 at 3:03 PM
AP’s right on the money. For the last several days, liberals have been saying as a sort of mea culpa that “your Benghazi stuff is just partisan politics, but this IRS thing is way out of hand, we admit,” as a safe way to say that their side CAN do wrong without the negative side effect of any of their party’s bigwigs taking the fall for a more serious charge.
They’re trying to downplay Benghazi by admitting to a lesser unrelated charge, and by looking reasonable on only one of the issues, which is what a teenager does when he’s trying to get out of a tough spot. But hey, at least they’re not arguing like five year-olds, for once.
mintycrys on May 14, 2013 at 3:05 PM
In other news today, there seems to be a national shortage of popcorn.
There Goes the Neighborhood on May 14, 2013 at 3:10 PM
What has Chris Mathews to say about this? Oh, I know! ……………….. Raciiissmmm!
Herb on May 14, 2013 at 4:13 PM
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