Friends and colleagues from Ohio, including some bank regulators, have been beating me about the head and shoulders (with wet noodles, but it's still annoying) for the past couple of years about how I'm too tough on Recess Richie Cordray. They tell me he's a smart guy (no debate from me) and, more critically, a reasonable guy, who isn't going to push an ideological agenda to the point that certain other "committed" (unnamed) alternative Directors might be eager to do. As the crowning argument, they all point out that he's never claimed to be the "real" Last of the Mohicans.
Now that even die-hard opponents of the CFPB have blown air kisses to the Director, maintaining utter snarkery towards Cordray has become nearly impossible. Thus, I'll concede that the man is no Tin Lizzie.
[Lightning Bolt Sheers Sky Over North Texas]
Whew, that was close.
At this point, however, the fact that some influential Republicans think that Cordray is doing a good job as Director of the CFPB seems to be irrelevant to Cordray's future as head of the Bureau. Those same Republicans still want to drive a stake through the heart of the CFPB or, failing that, hobble it to the point that they can reduce its potential for "mischief" (as they define it). Cherokee Princess "She-Who-Bites-Ankles" would describe their desire as being one that seeks to turn a stallion into a gelding, but why quibble over the finer points? Republican Senators have stated that they will continue to block
confirmation Cordray's appointment as Director until "structural changes" are made to the Bureau. The Obama administration currently predicts that it will agree to such changes on the day that Megan Fox stars as Ophelia in the next film version of "Hamlet" directed by Kenneth Branagh.
Given the ongoing litigation concerning Cordray's recess appointment, and the potential uncertainty over the effect of the recent D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision on Obama's NLRB recess appointments on the legitimacy of Cordray's recess appointment, this drama has a long way to go before it's played out. In the interim, however, even CFPB's opponents admit that Recess Richie is a good egg.
For all the good that will do him.
