Wrapping up a fawning interview with Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren on MSNBC's The Last Word Wednesday night, left-wing host Lawrence O'Donnell couldn't hold back his glee at Warren proposing her first piece of legislation. Like an adoring fan, he gushed: "Congratulations on your first bill. If I could just get your autograph here on my copy of the first Warren bill, this is a very exciting night at The Last Word." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
As she happily signed her name, Warren exclaimed: " For Lawrence, you bet." O'Donnell announced: "This will be framed and then I'll – then I'll get a copy of the one the President signs when it becomes law." Warren replied: "Your mouth to God's ears."
The legislation they were celebrating was Warren's demand that the Federal Reserve provide loans to college students at the same low interest rates they loan to banks. O'Donnell began the segment by playing sound bites of Warren pushing her usual class warfare argument:
If the Federal Reserve can float trillions of dollars to large financial institutions at low interest rates to grow the economy, surely they can float the Department of Education the money to fund our students, keep us competitive, and help grow our middle class....the federal government's going to charge interest rates nine times higher than the rates they charge the biggest banks. The same banks that destroyed millions of jobs and nearly broke the economy. That isn't right.
Here are excerpts of the May 8 exchange:
10:19PM ET
ELIZABETH WARREN [SEN. D-MA]: If the Federal Reserve can float trillions of dollars to large financial institutions at low interest rates to grow the economy, surely they can float the Department of Education the money to fund our students, keep us competitive, and help grow our middle class.
LAWRENCE O'DONNELL: That was Massachusetts senior Senator Elizabeth Warren introducing her first piece of legislation in the Senate today. The bill is designed to give students relief from high interest rates on federal loans which are scheduled to double on July 1st, from 3.4% to 6.8%. Senator Warren's bill would allow students to borrow at the same rate that big banks pay to the Federal Reserve, which is currently about .75%.
WARREN: In other words, the federal government's going to charge interest rates nine times higher than the rates they charge the biggest banks. The same banks that destroyed millions of jobs and nearly broke the economy. That isn't right.
O'DONNELL: Senator Warren, thank you very much for being here on your debut as a legislator on the Senate floor. How did that feel to go up there and do that?
WARREN: It felt good. Yeah, it did.
O'DONNELL: And you're ahead of schedule of the other first-year senators. They usually wait a while in doing this. But this thing just makes so much sense.
(...)
10:25PM ET
O'DONNELL: Senator Warren, congratulations on your first bill. If I could just get your autograph here on my copy of the first Warren bill, this is a very exciting night at The Last Word.
WARREN [SIGNING HER AUTOGRAPH]: For Lawrence, you bet.
O'DONNELL: This is – this will be framed and then I'll – then I'll get a copy of the one the President signs when it becomes law.
WARREN: Your mouth to God's ears. There we go.
O'DONNELL: Senator Warren, thank you very much for joining us tonight.
WARREN: Thank you.
