CNN on 'Reformer' Elizabeth Warren's Victory: 'Good for Her'

Reacting to Democratic Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren's victory in Massachusetts, CNN's Ali Velshi gushed on Wednesday morning, "I have to say, regardless of party, good for her."

"She prevailed. She got crushed and now she's going to be a U.S. senator," he noted her prior setback, when she failed to become the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. [Video below the break. Audio here.]

This came after anchor Soledad O'Brien termed Warren "a reformer, that's what she ran on." In that same hour, CNN contributor John Avlon showed a completely different standard for Republican Michele Bachmann, calling her a "wing-nut."

"And I mean, look, it was a bad night for wing-nuts last night, but Michele Bachmann is straight through in a redrawn district," Avlon quipped on Bachmann's re-election.

A transcript of the segment, which aired on November 7 on Early Start at 5:23 a.m. EST, is as follows:

JOHN BERMAN: And then maybe the most high-profile race in the country, in Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren becomes the first female senator from the Bay State by defeating Republican incumbent Scott Brown. What a whirlwind two years for Scott Brown. It was in January of 2010 when he really ignited the Republican revolution by winning the seat that had once been held by Ted Kennedy there. But a mere two years later, he suffers defeat at the hands of Elizabeth Warren. And she will be the next senator. Soledad?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It will be interesting to see her impact. She's a reformer, that's what she ran on. It will be interesting to see what she's able to bring to Congress.

ALI VELSHI: You know, the thing about Elizabeth Warren, which is interesting is that she would never have been in the Senate, she wouldn't even have been running if those Republican senators didn't work so hard to block her nomination as the chairman of the CFPB.

O'BRIEN: That's true.

VELSHI: Now, who would they rather be dealing with in the Senate, the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or a senator? They lost big betting against –

(Crosstalk)

MARTIN: Let's also understand with her, when you talk about – she was extremely tough on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner when she over the – the Oversight panel. If you go back and look at some of that testimony, I mean, she was nailing the Obama administration on housing, on many of those issues, because she – I had her on my show several times, she was not all about hailing this administration.

VELSHI: And they kind of threw her under the bus a little bit on her nomination.

MARTIN: It wasn't a little bit, they did.

VELSHI: I have to say, regardless of party, good for her. She prevailed. She got crushed and now she's going to be a U.S. senator.