Keller @ Large: Sen. Warren The Same As Steve Bannon?
BOSTON (CBS) - Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) has been called a lot of things by her critics - radical, hyperpartisan, "Pocohantas."
But on Wednesday, the head of the US Chamber of Commerce plowed some new anti-Warren ground.
"We're going to fight back against the extremes in both parties - the Steve Bannons and Elizabeth Warrens," said Thomas Donohue, the Chamber president. "Those people do not represent the best interests of this country."
In an exclusive interview, we asked the senator: "How do you like being called a Steve Bannon-style extremist?"
Her response: "Only a multi-millionaire Washington lobbyist cannot tell the difference between a white nationalist and somebody who's out there fighting to keep working families from having to pay for tax breaks for giant corporations."
There's a long string of issues beyond tax reform where Warren's blunt advocacy has angered business groups. Most recently, the credit reporting industry is upset over a new bill co-sponsored by Warren that would make big companies like Equifax pay big penalties when customer data is breached, calling it an unbalanced solution.
"I define balance as when they're collecting people's data without their permission or even their knowledge, and they're storing it without people's permission or knowledge, they need to meet a pretty high bar on security," says Warren.
And to the senator, being called out by Donohue is a badge of honor.
"[He] has exactly one interest in mind, protecting a handful of giantly powerful corporations. And he is the symbol of what's wrong right now in Washington," she says.
