Sirota goes after former Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt (big mistake)

[ehrnst]

38. Not nearly as much as Warren, who has a much, much shorter career as a politician.

And for Warren, that was never the point. She didn't run for office to sign onto a slew of legislation naming post offices and making insignificant changes to U.S. policy. Her goal wasn't exactly to pass dozens of big bills either; she's too much of a realist for that, allies say.

Warren's real power lies in her outsized influence, not just for a freshman senator, but for virtually any elected official in Washington. Her pen may not have touched many pieces of legislation that made their way to Obama's desk since her election in 2012, but her fingerprints are all over them.

Warren would be a strong spokeswoman for the party in Congress or outside of it; she spurred creation of a federal agency—the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau— without the title of "senator" in front of her name. But allies say Warren's best tool is her seat at the committee table in the Senate. Through hearings on the Senate Banking Committee in particular, Warren's questioning and persistence has lead to rules changes at various federal agencies without needing to get legislation through a Republican-controlled Congress. Most notably, Warren successfully pushed the SEC to require banks to admit wrongdoing in negotiating many settlements.

Even critics acknowledge that Warren's influence, particularly over federal agencies and her Democratic colleagues, goes beyond her fairly brief record of legislative accomplishment.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/is-elizabeth-warren-an-effective-senator/449349/

If someone comes in after the cake is baked, and adds some frosting roses, you don't call that person a master pastry chef.