Rich Cordray for vice president? Where did that idea get its start? Prentiss Cox, an associate professor of law at the University of Minnesota, championed Cordray as a running mate for Hillary Clinton in a column for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune a few weeks ago. Union leaders in Ohio have been making the case. Even editorial boards are jumping into the discussion. Whatever the dynamic at work, the thought of the former state representative, solicitor general, treasurer and attorney general filling the Democratic ticket has gained, well, momentum.
Count the Ohio factor in play, both Democrats and Republicans looking for an edge in this battleground state. At first glance, on the Democratic side, that translates into Sherrod Brown. Yet see Brown land at the White House, and Democrats face a steeper climb to gains in the U.S. Senate.
What about Cordray then? He has made an impressive mark as the first director of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a necessary response to the financial collapse. The office serves as an advocate for consumers in the process of policymaking and rule-writing, all in the pursuit of deceptive lending practices. The bureau has returned $10 billion to consumers. It has taken on the usurious payday lenders.
Republicans opposed the creation of the bureau almost from the moment that Elizabeth Warren pitched the idea. Cordray has received his share of criticism. He mostly has navigated well the rugged partisan landscape of the nation’s capital.
Those who watched him campaign across Ohio won’t forget soon Brown, or President Obama or even Clinton on the stump. What is striking about Cordray is his intelligence, thoughtful and quick smart. He knows well the domestic side of the policy agenda. He has earned a reputation for honesty and integrity, for applying and meeting high standards
In his column, Prentiss Cox noted that as a member of the bureau’s inaugural Consumer Advisory Board, he watched Cordray perform. Put all of this together, and Cordray easily fits the description of a sound choice for vice president: Do no harm.
He actually would be much stronger. It matters that a White House knows firsthand how federal departments and agencies operate. That is part of the valuable experience Cordray has gained the past five years.
For those Democrats seeking a running mate to carry a message closer to Bernie Sanders, Cordray should bring satisfaction. He is an ally of Elizabeth Warren. He can be the partisan. He also grasps the politics of the possible. If his campaign style falls short of riveting, the president and Warren fill that bill as surrogates.
Cordray won’t deliver Ohio. Clinton must do that. He would help. More broadly, at a time when many Americans are distrustful of government, he represents much of what rightly is expected from the public sector. No doubt, Hillary Clinton has many names on her list of choices for vice president. Rich Cordray belongs among those at the top.