Warren, the architect of the new federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, tapped Doug Rubin, founder of the lobbying firm Northwind Strategies, and Kyle Sullivan, a public relations expert who works at the firm, as early advisers for her exploration of a challenge to US Senator Scott Brown.
Warren kicked it off yesterday with a lengthy and personal blog post on a Democratic site, the Blue Mass Group.
“It’s ironic that a so-called consumer champion like Professor Warren is already taking her marching orders from two well-connected Beacon Hill lobbyists,” Jennifer Nassour, chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, said in a statement - although only Rubin is a lobbyist.
In an online essay introducing herself to voters and inviting input about repairing the political system, the Harvard Law School professor criticized special interests and the role they play in setting policy in Washington.
Northwind Strategies’ clients have included the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, Bay State beer makers, and a lottery technology company, GTECH Corp.
Rubin defended himself today, saying that only “a limited part” of his lobbying has involved public policy advocacy, and that he’s complied with all reporting requirements.
“My work on behalf of Elizabeth Warren is consistent with my work over the past 20 years, and will be separate from my work with Northwind Strategies. It’s unfortunate that my 20 years of working to elect progressive candidates is glossed over so deceptively by the Republican Party. I am proud of my record of support for progressive issues and candidates and look forward to continuing that work in the future,” he said in a statement.
It is time for me to think hard about what role I can play next to help rebuild a middle class that has been hacked at, chipped at, and pulled at for more than a generation -- and that that is under greater strain every day," she continued.
Liberals love Warren and had pushed hard for President Obama to nominate her to be the first director of the consumer agency -- an agency she was the first to propose back in 2007. But most Republicans and much of Wall Street opposed Warren, raising concerns that she could not be confirmed.
Obama avoided a confirmation battle by naming her an advisor in September, allowing her to take the lead in organizing the bureau before it launched last month. But with Senate Republicans vowing to block any nominee unless the new agency's powers were weakened, Obama opted to nominate former Ohio Atty. Gen. Richard Cordray.
Warren has returned to Harvard Law School to teach in the fall semester. And the experience in Washington left an impression on her, she said, hinting she'd like to return to make some changes.
"In the weeks ahead, I want to hear from you about the challenges we face and how we get our economy growing again," she wrote in the blog post. "I also want to hear your ideas about how we can fix what all of us -- regardless of party -- know is a badly broken political system.
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