Joe Nocera’s column in Saturday’s New York Times focused on FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair, formerly staffer to ex-Senator Bob Dole and more recently a professor at UMass. See the whole story here.
This aside stopped me in my tracks:
“The person the administration had hoped to nominate as chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the nation’s primary bank regulator, was suddenly proving unacceptable. (According to the Washington rumor mill, that choice, Diana L. Taylor, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s companion and, at the time, New York’s superintendent of banking, was nixed by the National Rifle Association, presumably because of Mayor Bloomberg’s antigun stance.)”
But a bit of research and reflection suggests that the story isn’t the grim tale of suffering-because-of-spousal assocations (or, non-spouse) it first seemed. The Times’ lengthy 2006 profile of Ms. Taylor when her FDIC nomination stalled also hinted at the possibility of an NRA veto. See the earlier story here.
But the FDIC Chairmanship is subject to Senate confirmation, and the Senate was evenly divided between Rs and Ds back in early 2006. It is easy to imagine a scenario in which the White House congressional liaison advised Bush that no one with anything to do with Bloomberg had a prayer of Senate confirmation. The NRA held tight rein in that chamber, and the White House probably lacked the votes, or the interest in the arm-twisting it would take to counter NRA opposition. Bair, the final pick, had Senate ties, presumably a plus for the 50 Republicans (and several pro-gun Dems) whose votes were key.
Yes, it’s annoying that Ms. Taylor’s nomination was withdrawn because of the actions of her friend Bloomberg, and nothing to do with her views, personal or public. There was no suggestion she ever personally lobbied for or advocated for or in any way spoke out about gun control. She’s no Sarah Brady or Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy. Taylor’s passionate policy pronouncements seem to have run the gamut from denouncing excess banking fees to urging greater access to banking services for immigrants. No, she was the victim of NRA payback to Bloomberg, pure and simple.
But the Bush Administration will happily name persons to influential policy posts irrespective of the politics or alliances of the person’s spouse, or “companion.” Mary Matalin, counsel to Vice President Cheney, and wife of notorious Democratic Consultant and pundit James Carville comes to mind. Josh Bolten, White House chief of staff is another example. Libby Copeland reported in an Aug 29, 2006 Washington Post story last year that Bolten’s live-in girlfriend Dede McClure was a Democrat. Neither Matalin nor Bolten’s appointment was subject to Senate confirmation. And there was no suggestion in either of these cases that either appointee was tainted by her husband or “companion.”
A quick Google search revealed that Ms. Taylor rebounded pretty well from the FDIC mess. She took a job in the private sector, and this June was been named to serve on the FDIC advisory board. Her skills, knowledge, banking experience and formidable talent are already put to good use in helping regulate America’s banks. Maybe the next president, a Democrat, will find a way to keep using her talents, despite her association with a notorious Republican.
