In government, as in life, it is always easy to take the path of least resistance. “Keep your head down, let someone else make a decision and do what makes everyone around you happy.” But leadership takes courage. It takes a willingness to stick your neck out for what you believe. Over the weekend, I thought of these three very different, yet courageous leaders and wondered who would be viewed as the most courageous:
First, my hero, Elizabeth Warren; she continues to battle Congress – often single handedly – in the name of consumers. Members of the House Banking Committee, having obtained an earful from those omnipresent lobbyists for the financial services industry, blasted away at Ms. Warren last week during a recent Congressional hearing. The congressmen claimed Warren and the nascent Consumer Protection Finance Board were improperly meddling in settlement discussions between state attorney generals and the mortgage servicing industry. Click here for a look at Paul Krugman’s take on the hearing. To what end fellas? To find a new bad guy? Tell you right now, it ain’t gonna work.
Professor Warren and the new CPFB are not the problem. They are not the full solution either but hopefully on behalf of consumers who will ultimately pay the tab, the Board can slow the greed and risk-taking of the financial sector. With courage and grace, Elizabeth Warren soldiers on. She stands down Congressional committee members like a matador viewing the most feared bull
Second, is the outgoing Inspector General of the TARP, Neil Barofsky. Many come every year to Washington to climb the ladder, perhaps to a Cabinet Post, an Ambassadorship, or a lifetime appointment as a Judge. It would have seemed that Mr. Barofsky was cut from the same mold. He had the credentials (Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York). But you have to play the game. It appears Mr. Barofsky would have none of it. He worked incredibly hard racking up convictions and recovering nearly $1 billion dollars. But he did his work without fear or favor. In the process, he made some enemies at Treasury (see Gretchen Morgenson’s Sunday column) and his effectiveness was increasingly compromised. So he did what the brave and selfless do, he stepped aside so another candidate, without his baggage, can grab the reins – tight.
Third, is Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma. Dr. Coburn, a fierce critic of abortion, is no one issue guy. In fact he also cares deeply about eliminating the deficit. Indeed, he is so passionate on the issue, he is willing to accept some tax increases. Yep. That’s courage. Proposing taxes is the new “third rail” of American politics. But Senator Coburn, despite tremendous pressure from his own caucus, is moving forward with a bi-partisan tax plan that would require new and higher taxes. Now that’s courage.