Feinstein throws her support behind Fed chairman Bernanke

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California Sen. Dianne Feinstein this morning announced that she would vote to confirm Ben S. Bernanke for another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve.Feinstein becomes the latest Democratic senator to announce her support since the White House last week pushed to get Bernanke confirmed despite opposition on the left and right over his handling of the financial meltdown. It also put her at odds with fellow California Sen. Barbara Boxer, who is running for re-election and has said that she opposed giving Bernanke another term.

In a prepared statement, Feinstein said that it would be a mistake not to reconfirm Bernanke.
“To blame one man for the financial implosion is simply wrong,” she stated. “Ben Bernanke has been helpful to the recovery and, for reasons of stability and continuity, should be reconfirmed. I support him fully.”

Feinstein also called on Congress to move on financial regulation proposed by the Obama administration.
Bernanke’s term expires at the end of the month. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, other top Democrats and even some key Republicans have said they expected him to be reconfirmed.

The appointment and fight over Bernanke’s confirmation is loaded with political ironies. Bernanke was appointed by President George W. Bush, a Republican, and renominated by President Obama, who has adopted a populist bent in recent attacks on Wall Street. Financial markets like Bernanke, whose Fed has poured trillions of dollars into keeping the system afloat.

Bernanke and his policies have always been controversial for liberals and conservatives. During the presidential race, GOP candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona suspended his campaign to attend a White House summit on how to deal with the financial crisis. McCain then tried to balance conservative unhappiness with the ideology that government must save broken institutions to keep the financial system afloat, as proposed by Bernanke and Bush.

Ultimately, McCain chose to side with Bush, tarnishing his conservative credentials.

This time around, with the presidency not in play, McCain said over the weekend that he was leaning against Bernanke. Conservatives, including Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, still oppose Bernanke.
On the left, the opposition is led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats. He and other Democrats say that Bernanke’s policies have helped Wall Street at the expense of Main Street.

It is on Main Street that the politics of anger and outrage are playing out, creating consternation for incumbents of both parties. In the wake of the senatorial upset in Massachusetts, even safe Democrats like Boxer have had to re-examine their stands.

To confirm Bernanke, Reid will need to get 60 votes to invoke cloture and the actual confirmation requires a simple majority. Expect the leadership to allow worried senators up for re-election to take a walk on the vote to protect their flanks, but also expect Bernanke to be confirmed.

After all, as the White House said last week, there isn’t any Plan B.

-- Michael Muskal

Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal