Warren will never get any of plans accomplished if she isn't willing to mobilize the American people to demand they be enacted. Propping up the DNC and not cleaning house if you become the nominee means you'll be undermined by the fealty of the Party to the big donors. Then there's the fact she's courting superdelegates, which will split the Party forever, if they're used to steal the primary from whoever is leading in the delegate count. Along with her promise to take PAC money in the general election, this shows that Warren will be just another incrementalist if she gets elected. And compared to Sanders, her supporters skew White, Older, and College Educated, all groups solidly Democrat, or ones that Trump will win. She doesn't win over Younger, Blue Collar, or Minority voters the way he does. Which leaves me confident that as Biden drops in the polls, it'll be Sanders moving into the #1 position, not her. South and Midwestern states are going to be a big problem for her with the demographics of her supporters as well. Bernie also beats her on electability, which Democratic voters still say is their #1 issue. But we'll see when the voting starts in January.
11
Warren is not tainted by the Socialist label, and she fights for economic fairness and the structural change Sanders first proposed. She's a savvy, hardworking, realist who has already had BIG success in creating the CFPB that returned $12BILLION to ripped-off bank customers. She's a professor of FINANCE who can outsmart the Wall street RIP off vulture capitalists, and explain it to the public in plain language. She won a college scholarship for debate skills- and will have NO BIDEN FLUBS whether on the national debate stage or on the WORLD stage. I'm glad to see she's building bridges with the Democratic party.
9
Let Tulsi Gabbard take part in the next round of debates.
She has earned the right by serving in Indonesia with the Hawaiian National Guard and has not had the time to work the polls, the donors or the DNC the way other candidates have.
Let's not exclude youth as we rush to embrace the 70 year olds.
6
In Elizabeth Warren I see an ethical, decent person and a smart campaigner who is armed with plans as well as ideas. I devoutly hope that Bernie backers won't sit home during the next election if Ms. Warren is chosen as the Democratic nominee--they are largely responsible for inflicting Trump on all of us.
8
She needs to change from Medicare for all to medical care for all, which will be provided by private health insurance companies charging premiums based on income and not age or pre- existing conditions.
1
The NYT may think they have painted a portrait of a pragmatist, but they have ensured that under absolutely no circumstances will I vote for Senator Warren.
Warren is courting the very same DNC officials/lobbyists who just this week sided with fossil fuel companies to prevent a climate debate.
It's utterly reprehensible. I'd rather have four more years of Trump and try again than have eight MORE years of inaction and half measures on climate change.
Bill Clinton and Barack Obama already wasted 16 precious years with this kind of politics. Think about it: 16 years of no effective action on an existential threat to life as we know it.
13
Elizabeth Warren is a team player. Bernie Sanders is not. The consequences of this in the 2018 election were that numbers of his supporters refused to get on board with the Democratic candidate, Clinton. He may have actually helped Donald Trump get elected with his peevish behavior.
The presidents who get stuff done are not outsiders, like Jimmy Carter. Sanders is passionate, but he is also insufferable. I fear he is unlikely to bow out even in the event it becomes clear he cannot win. That would be a disaster.
6
What she is telling establishment democrats is that if they represent their base they can and will win. Nancy Pelosi, are you listening?
3
I could see myself voting and supporting her in the general election depending on her stance on reparations. I am perfectly willing to throw my support and vote on the candidate who supports reparations for ADOS/Black Americans. I can also vote down ballot and allow others to duke it out for the Presidency. As an ADOS Black man I refuse to support those who refuse to support the urgent issue of reparations.
1
This is leadership, and if not for Warren, the DNC would have no leadership. Without her and AOC, there literally is no Democratic Party.
3
Please, can we have candidates from a younger generation. These 70 year plus candidates are out of touch. Its impossible for them to have the answers to the problems and exact cures that a presented to the new generation and the baby boomer generation. Senator Warren’ huge support for obscene military spending through out her career negates many other subjects she wants to invest money and time on. Senator Sanders has one of the lowest achievement score in successfully getting legislation
passed, and he is still refusing to fully join the party. Just a straw-man. Biden is likable but his warmongering past and his bland politics is a turnoff.
None of these ancients will get out the 12 million extra votes in the general to win against Trump and his attempt to steal the election. Time to pass the torch on as all of them are from the past. Imagine the image of one of these old pols up against another old pol who is already in the Whitehouse. Yuck! How lame and outdated. Talk about a snooze-fest with a couple of old egos going at it. No. Give us someone with a running mate who is younger, represents the future, is in touch and knows exactly where the country needs to go. Anything short of this new generational leadership taking the reins is four more years of Trump.
1
Good for you, Sen. Warren. It'll be nice to have a president that builds bridges instead of one that burns them.
5
Sen. Warren is by far the best of this trio.
Joe is a second Hilary disaster waiting to happen.
Despite all the hype Bernis is destined to lose.....
7
Elizabeth Warren: successful public servant
Donald Trump: failed businessman
Which would YOU pick?
8
I would be overjoyed to have either a President Warren or a President Sanders. I want a President who can lead the country in multiple new directions, especially regarding global warming, reversing inequality, campaign finance reform, medicare for all, curbing military spending, propping up Social Security, and creating a sensible economic policy, not someone who will repeatedly compromise to appease Republicans.
That the Democratic Party's primary concern is money and ensuring that no presidential candidate sets up his or her own campaign finance power base is all you need to know about the Democratic Party is only marginally better than the Republican Party, and why so many will vote for a candidate who happens to be a Democratic, not a Democrat per se.
As for all those campaign finance lists that Warren pledged to turn over to the Democratic Party, it does not follow that those who contributed to Warren will contribute to the Democratic Party. I know I won't.
6
I admire Senator Warren's accomplishments and her determination, but Medicare for All is a deal-breaker. I am a moderate Democrat who believes at this moment we should be building on the Affordable Care Act and include a Public Option. Americans want more choices not fewer, and it is they that should decide if they prefer the Public Option before making MFA the law of the land. There are also many questions that Senator Warren as not addressed, such as what will happen the workers employed by the private health insurance industry. Will they all be employed by the federal government or will they become unemployed?
Moreover, Senator Warren does not seem inclined to listen to other viewpoints; hers seem carved in stone. Therefore, when she winks at the DNC that she has mainstream support for her sweeping agenda I believe she demonstrates a tunnel vision that can be deadly for a nominee.
Senator Amy Klobuchar, who does not have the name recognition or the fiery personality of Senator Warren, is much more aligned with the American people on healthcare and more qualified to be President. While both have voted alike about 80% of the time, Klobuchar reaches across the aisle more frequently to get things done.
It seems that some Democrats (like some Republicans) won't vote for a bill that has been sponsored or introduced by the opposite party. Klobuchar, a passionate pragmatist from the Midwest, is not one of them. I believe Klobuchar will achieve progress where Warren will not.
6
@Jeanne
Warren doesn't advocate an immediate transition to Medicare for All. Neither does Bernie, for that matter. That would be a logistical impossibility. Instead, the ACA would continue, hopefully with some improvements, and the age for accessing Medicare would gradually be lowered. In the process, inevitably there would be negotiations about the role and scope of private insurance. Possibly we would end up with optional supplemental insurance (already part of current Medicare). Workers of various kinds would be required to implement and administer the new system.
10
@Jeanne
If Obama wasn't able to get you a public option then what makes you think it's more feasible (or even legally possible) now?
5
“Building out Obamacare” after the turn the GOP has taken on it for the last four years and after the greed exhibited by health care industry players during this time is akin to saying- “good healthcare for the rich and let’s pay lip service to it for the rest of you”. It - at best- creates a 2 tier system where doctors and other providers flock to inflated payments of established insurers (in a bid for their survival and to undermine political will for the nascent alternative- look at what they did to Obamacare). And I’m not sure who cares for those who can’t afford private insurance or the terrible options (non-options) private insurance leaves us with. Maybe. It once could work. Now it will just be another disappointing bad idea. And don’t look at Warren to blame for that. Look at the GOP players and their greed.
4
Obama wanted Medicare for all, but settled for a downpayment. Warren, not a ideologue on the issue, will broaden coverage provide a safety net if support of a slower approach matches the art of what is possible.
It worth remembering the GOP has ceded health care to Democrats. Repeal without a replacement bill is not a health care solution. 2018 proved instructive as voters are not easily fooled on health care. Long term observers note running for the nomination a different challenge than a national campaign.
Good luck to all believe Warren should prevail for all the right reasons.
6
@texsun
Obama caved on the public option.
Sanders will not cave on Medicare for All.
And he will be explaining that covering All will not only cost the whole of the economy less than the current mess of a healthcare system, but having a more healthy country will mean a more thriving country.
6
I had almost written her off after pocohantas-gate, but now, with every passing week, coming around to her. Hard working, smart, savvy, not afraid, repulsed or irritated by retail politics, she may have what it takes. But still, that Reagan democrat blue collar mid westerner, can she connect?
7
When your opponent has no track record, there's nothing to attack but their ideas. Trump has a presidential track record. Attack his record. I would like to hear more from her and the others about the actual damage Trump has caused--there's lots to talk about--and how that can be repaired.
While a person's mental health is usually off limits, when that person is the president, it's not. The candidates need to seriously and soberly address Trump's mental health issues and the 25th Amendment, not impeachment.
11
please have her stop the "free everything" talk (free college, free child care, paying off all student debt, paid family leave...what's next free funerals?)...of course these things (along with health care) should be much more affordable, but, please stop with the "free" ...this from a long time voting Democrat...I think that's a much more winning message in the upcoming election...
19
Warren is not proposing free everything. Please read up on the details.
1
If the Establishment can't shove a Biden/Harris ticket down our throats, they will groom Elizabeth Warren to be their safe choice when they realize that a "change" candidate is inevitable.
I support the real deal, Bernie Sanders... the Establishment could not possibly groom him into an acceptable Establishment candidate.
https://morningconsult.com/2020-democratic-primary/
8/19 Sanders has top favorability at 73% over Biden's 72%, Warren's 62%
Sanders is the second choice for 25% of Biden supporters.
New Monmouth Poll shows Sanders and Warren each with 20 percent support among Democratic voters, and Mr. Biden with 19 percent.
https://www.politico.com/interactives/2019/how-the-2020-candidates-break-down-in-the-polls-so-far/ about 28% Hispanic voters prefer Sanders, about 25% Hispanic voters prefer Biden about 10% prefer Warren about 41% Black voters prefer Biden about 21% Black voters prefer Sanders about 8% Black voters prefer Warren A recent Pew Research survey says that Sanders has the most diverse supporter mix of any 2020 candidate: Slightly more than half are people of color and slightly more than half are women, which is a combination no other candidate can claim… According to the Sanders campaign, the No. 1 occupation among his 750,000 or so individual donors is teacher. The No. 1 employer among his donors is Walmart, with Amazon, Target and UPS not far behind. No other candidate comes within 300,000 of that donor number.
15
Great! The NY Times continues to try to walk back its support of the-more-hotheaded-the-better Democrats, that began the morning after the first Democratic candidates' debate a couple of months ago. You could hear the horrified realization creeping into their editorial voice, almost in real time. What a wonderful summer it's been for those of us on the other side, hearing the outraged shouts and screams of the Bernie and Lizzie crowds trying to knife each other in the back alleys -- figuratively speaking, of course. I think! In any case, long may it continue -- at least till next fall. Late next fall. Meantime, I think I'll have another gin and tonic...
Elizabeth is great ! One or the other, she or Bernie
are going to do it !!!!!!!
3
Warren grows on you, doesn’t she?
12
@Dickman
Yeah, not so much.
The more she begins to pivot to the Right/Center, the more loses credibility and authenticity with the Left.
We've already run a candidate that has "a public and a private position" on ideas.
Now we know that this one too takes private meetings with Wall Street CEO's and fund-raises at their summer homes on Martha's Vineyard, as reported by the NYT...Deal Breaker.
We've already got a true populous candidate.
One whom both sides of the aisles grudgingly respect and admit to being honest to a fault.
The mensch in the rumpled suit.
8
Sooner or later, by one method or another, Ms. Warren, who has my enthusiastic support, will have to come to terms with the titans of Silicon Valley and Wall Street, without "selling her soul." The best way for her to do this is to continue her campaign largely as is, building her base by focusing on a firmly progressive program, one that will hold the rich and powerful accountable to the rule of law, without demonizing them.
7
@Peter Filardo
Did she not already "sell her soul" on her previous rounds of Wall Street donors? Her private meetings with JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimond; her Martha's Vineyard fund-raiser at UBS Investment Bank CEO Robert Wolf's summer home?
That $11 million donated to the DNC came before she declared her candidacy. It's where she raised her $10 million carry-over from her senatorial campaign. Earned after she'd already won her 2nd term.
Thus the hypocrisy when she attacked and castigated Biden; 'cause she herself went and took from the very same donors.
She's already stated, the "small donor" schtick is only for the primary. It's a campaign gimmick. How else can she attract those on the Left. She's publicly stated if she gets the nod, she'll once again take any and all monies.
Did she sell her soul...?
Only she and her private meetings know the answer.
History says probably yes.
8
I feel like she may be the real deal, and I'm happy to see her rising in the polls. I'd love it if she picked Pete Buttigieg as her running mate.
17
Any Presidential candidate who really wants to make a difference must like Senator Warren take into account how essential Congressional support will be in getting legislation passed into law. By seeking and building a national network of support from within the party which can take years, it appears that Sen. Warren is being really smart, thinking long-term and in terms of years, like two terms in office in order to make lasting changes. Warren is a person that Democrats should take into account when deciding who they want for President.
8
Others are running to win, and she is running to govern.
Winning an election means getting the voters to the booths. Governing means building the coalitions that lead to votes in the legislatures after the election. She's doing both. And obviously has a plan for this, too.
20
AG, what's taking you so long...
Put a brass ring on that finger – she's the only credible candidate in the mix...
Doesn't mean I'd vote for her – but she'd give the Big Guy a run for his money...
Yes – I know it’s other people’s...
PS
If all you do is go negative, you stand the risk of having self-inflicted harm stats like currently spiking through the NYPD, for those in your employ...
Give them a noble cause...
PPS
I think Scaramucci is gearing up for a run for the NYC mayoralty...
Are you going to flame – or fave...
Put it out to your staff – have Dean take a secret vote...
I’ll look for the results on Breitbart...
Warren will show up to work. She will be hustling. She won't be golfing or hawaiing or clearing brush in texas.
18
I got to hear Ms. Warren at a rally in Seattle yesterday. While she didn't wow with 'fire & brimstone', her passion and care for all of us regular people, comes through and it resonated deeply with me.
9
@YReader
Yeah it was pretty exciting for the 29 people that showed up. I don’t see her bringing home the bacon. Sorry.
4
@Sven Gall
I respect your opinion but 29 people didn't show up, it was 15,000. You have to admit that she does resonate with people, there's no denying that.
"Democratic National Committee wants to ensure that its nominee has no designs on creating a competing political entity in the mold of Mr. Obama’s Organizing for America, which aimed to push his agenda"
This is the losing side of Hillary vs Obama, which then went on to lose Hillary vs Trump.
All they ever defeated was their own future.
7
@Mark Thomason - but they blocked New Deal populism in their party and protected their corporate money.
Defeating New Deal populism and keeping their relationship sweet with the 1%, means more to the DNC than political victory, as you can tell by a decade of defeats.
Trump's greatest hope for re-election is the DNC 'status quo.'
12
It is a tough choice between Sen. Sanders and Sen. Warren. I cannot fault Sanders for being as feisty as he's been. His pressure has been fundamental in pushing the Dems towards a more populist agenda and away from the now habitually failed "I'm not a Republican but I embrace much of their agenda setting" that we were forced to sit through since 1992.
Thus my enthusiasm for Warren is growing. If she is the one who can unify Dems, then all the better, because that is a winning strategy. You really do NOT need a few dozen planks that have "Republican lite" written all over them to win a presidential election.
And it's clear now that if you as a voter have a shred of conscience or hope for the future, you can no longer see voting for any Republican as a "lesser evil" given that party's wholesale sell-out of its principles to instead promote government by Trump Tweet.
In other words, Dems have no excuse for seeming to fear parts of their own party more than whoever the Republican is. This has been a factor ever since Nixon initiated his "Southern strategy" of peeling away voters based on appeals to their baser instincts. Enough voters support the Dems that there is little need to reach across to try to also appeal to Republicans. We just need to get all the voters on the Left to the polls.
This article also suggests the best ticket for exactly such a strong turnout in Nov. is end up with a Warren/Sanders or Sanders/Warren ticket.
6
@Mike
Sanders/Warren 2020
Warren/? 2024
Warren/ ? 2028
A Future To Believe In!
3
For the Bernie supporters. If Bernie was really serious about running as a Democrat he's join the Democratic Party and change it from within. One does not highjack a political party.
11
@R. Zeyen
Bernie has already, successfully, hijacked the issues
and the soul of the Democratic Party.
11
@Lucy Cooke . Not really, Warren has always had most of those issues. Bernie's support was suspect last time because of Russian social media meddling to split the Democratic party.
This is why I’ll vote for Sanders in the primary. Warren is impressive, and I’ll say she’s more authentic than the others other than Sanders, i.e., she means what she says. But, I don’t really want another Obama and the only one I can trust is Sanders. #Bernie2020
15
If I were in a life or death situation and had to choose one of the democratic candidates to help me, while I think all of them would, Elizabeth Warren is the only one I believe would risk her own life to save mine.
9
@Deb
Bernie is risking his life now, with his courage, vision, and bold ideas to save our society from the ticking time bombs of colossal income/wealth inequality and climate change.
I hope that his vision for diplomacy instead of military action, will not get him assassinated.
9
So she is telling different groups different things?
Nice.
This is supposed to make me go, Wink, Wink, I know that you really think like me and will do what I want, not what all those other people you are speaking to differently think. Ha, ha. The joke is on them.
Actually, the joke is on all of us.
This lady is a guarantee to have four more years of Trump.
16
The perfect candidate: Talk the progressives' talk, walk the establishment's walk.
9
@Kevin McCloy i hope you are being sarcastic. Bernie is going for broke with his amazing progressive policies that will challenge the dnc to support ppl first policies ahead of corp donors. You can't do both. Sorry.
4
Never too early to start gathering around and support our next President-elect, Liz Warren.
3
This is a slippery slope. She better be careful not to talk out of of two sides of her mouth.
7
@heinrichz - I watch Obama cross this line and it caught my attention. Then he chose Biden as his running mate and I knew the fix was in.
Then the Obama administration refused to create jobs in a depression economy and sided with the bankers against defrauded homeowners. exploding homelessness crisis,breaking labor markets and upward economic mobility.
I've always worried Warren was really a neoliberal in radical drag. I think I need to hear what she said to those guys......
6
My family members have inoperable cancer we have money for everything else but research . Today the NYT had an article about the high cost of prescription we as a people don’t deserve medical care?
We as a people don’t deserve to live?as a minority we were allowed to die in the streets.if our political representatives don’t care about the people they don’t deserve to be elected. Warren should not have to explain human dignity to the party’s leadership
4
@Tony. Dignity is the power driving Bernie Sanders' M4All policy and bill. He is so committed to his plan, it is impossible not to trust him to lead on this issue, as well as a Green New Deal and so many other important issues of equality.
4
What’s promising about Ms Warren is that she’s walked the journey across libertarianism, capitalism and progressiveness. This gives her perspective, passion, policy and stability. She might sound out there, but she’s unlikely to throw the baby out with the bath water while potentially tipping our system toward the little guy. In theory, her platform could have broader appeal. But she’s going to have to figure out how not to be dragged to the far left on social posturing e.g., joining all the Dems in celebrating Al Sharpton as a hero. Of course, what really determines her prospects of winning is how she will react when Trump calls her Pocahontas during a debate. Any candidate will have to really figure that out or they’ll look like Rubio and Bush did in 2016...like loser junior high wimps. Who will keep their cool?
6
So in other words she's being a smart, responsible, well organized, committed Democrat, right?
7
I have nothing good to say about the DNC and the DCCC as they are today, although I know they do organizational work that has to be done. I say to the BOLD and the Justice Democrats that the party needs to maintain a broad base. So this report on the less visible aspects of Senator Warren's well-organized campaign really warms my heart. She is, and has been for some time, my choice for the Presidency, and today I'm more confident that she will get the nomination -- having earned it so many ways -- and lead us to victory.
4
I have been to rallies for both Warren and Sanders and will be glad to enthusiastically support Sen. Warren who comes across as more sincere and with better if not similar ideas.
To the Bernie or Bust crowd I hope you are happy with Trump since you helped elect him.
332
@Albert Petersen
I don't see how you feel Sanders is less sincere than Warren. He has been fighting for progressive values since the 1960s. Warren stood by the Republicans throughout the Nixon and Reagan years.
I also don't get how you think she has "better policies". She either espouses the same policies as Sanders (Medicare for All) or provides watered-down versions of Sanders' plans (student debt relief, Green New Deal, etc.).
And if you want blame anyone for Trump's election, why not blame Hillary Clinton: the candidate who felt she was owed the presidency and therefore didn't have to campaign in Wisconsin and Michigan (states she lost by under 90k votes).
130
@Ben
For an assessment of Bernie's ability to get big things done, look at his record in Congress. His claim to fame after more than 25 years there is his nickname "Amendment King." Not exactly a guy who's good at actually implementing what he's been advocating "since the 1960s."
There's much truth in the saying: Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.
43
@kstewart33c On the contrary, Bernie's ability to get many more progressive policies through as amendments when they otherwise would have had no chance reveals him to have a savvy understanding of the legislative as well as the political process. His claim to fame is not the nickname, it is the long list of legislative accomplishments that it represents. Bernie has often been a lonely voice on issues that matter and has been very skillful in using his solitary vote, first in the House and then in the Senate, to win real changes in the lives of poor and working class people. He has shown remarkable consistency over several decades on politics and that is why I trust him more than anyone else to use the office of the Presidency to push through the progressive agenda we now so desperately need. Warren would be my second choice, but it is precisely her chumminess with the party establishment reported here that makes me less willing to trust her.
58
Warren is playing the long game trying to ingratiate herself to as many voters and operatives as possible understanding this race will soon be down to 5 real candidates and becomes both a game of numbers and pragmatism which would be a great trait for a leader for a change of pace. It would be nice to also have a leader again that is the smartest person in the room as opposed to a "Stable Genius" (or it that stable genus?).
To quote the words of Von Bismarck "politics is the art of the possible" and from what I have seen from Elizabeth Warren as my senator is that she is acutely aware of this. While not giving too much ground on the most important if not existential issues such as climate change. Even though I liked Obama when he negotiated he started from the middle with little room to negotiate from when he had a reliable partner to do so. In the political game it is nice to have someone playing 3 dimensional chess as opposed to have to watch and listen to the bantering of a third rate checker player.
5
What I like about Senator Warren over some of the other candidates, is that she is running on a platform that recognizes the playing field has not been level for years, and that the average worker has not benefited from the huge stock markets gains. People are working harder and harder, but a medical emergency could ruin their finances forever. She also isn't obsessed with identify politics. Fairness and equity are important, but if the entire debate is about race, LBGTQ, etc, I don't think the candidate will succeed. Additionally, if she is criticized for being cozy with the DNC I would say she is a realistic - which Bernie in my opinion is not. I think as she promotes "medicare for all", she should remind everyone that doesn't necessarily mean the end of all private health insurance. There will still be a role that for, as anyone who is on Medicare knows, you still need some kind of supplemental insurance to have full coverage. What could be different is that everyone has access to coverage that is affordable, and the health care system could start working for the customer. I'm tired of feeling ripped off - whether it's through the medical industry, banking industry, big tech companies selling and losing my data - you name it. I haven't made up my mind yet, but Senator Warren is right up there for me.
11
Man oh man I wish EW didn't insist on medicare for all because it has such a low approval rating. It also gives the republicans more ammunition for a “democratic socialist” state. Although I actually agree with medicare for all the number one issue is beating Trump. Win the election first Liz and then worry about medicare for all. Your insistence on medicare for all makes it doubtful you will even win the nomination, much less face Trump come 2020. She would crush Trump if she just dropped the highly unpopular medicare for all. Why does she refuse to understand this? It is maddening because I really like Elisabeth Sanders.
6
Medicare for all low approval ratings? what polls are you looking at???
7
@john
It depends on your definition. “Medicare for all” with no other insurance ie insurance thru your employer, which is what Liz wants- has a much lower approval rating vs. Medicare for all BUT you can keep your already established work related insurance which has a higher approval rating.
Nobody needs to "woo' me. I'll vote for any democratic running against Traitor Trump.
20
I'm now leaning toward a Warren-Bullock ticket.
3
It seems pretty clear, where the author of this article lines up, whitewashing Warren's radical politics, leaning, pushing, pulling, willing voters toward her. Do we not remember how voters treated Hillary Clinton? Voters want a shared vision of success for the country, not the truth and reconciliation campaign, with big leaps forward in government's share of the economy.
In the last election, voters opposed the status quo, seeing insiders as working for themselves instead of for the common people. Many more Trump voters simply want to feel like they're on the same level with all of the variously intersected minorities promoted by factions with the DNC.
Mark my words, a Warren candidacy is a losing candidacy. A vote for Warren in this primary is a vote for Trump in the General Election.
12
@Josh M.
Warren is the only one who can beat Trump. If somebody else is nominated, we will have either four more years of Trump, or a Republican-like Democratic president who will achieve nothing.
1
Where did Warren get the 11 million that she gave to party insiders? Not from me. You? Tells me that her allegiance is to big money and party insiders who like and want the status quo let alone. Warren will do exactly that. She will either lose to Trump (Michigan doesn't like her), or just like Obama, she will get elected and immediately had the keys back to the guys that drove the car into the ditch.
Warren is a conniving and manipulative liar more concerned about Party and her career than the people she pretends to represent. She will never get my vote for nominee or President. If she in Bernie's VP, he'd better hire a taster. #BernieOrBust
11
@dmk: With supporters like you, Bernie doesn’t need detractors. Sanders and Warren always supported each other, so why are you trying to drive a wedge between their respective supporters? You might as well support Trump...
10
@dmk
"(Michigan does not like her)": is your name "Michigan" by any chance? I live in Michigan and I intend to vote for her or Bernie Sanders, and nobody else.
Also, like many people, I make a monthly contribution to her campaign.
3
Call it whatever you want just get us back the government we had before the republicans turned traitor and overthrew it in 1980.
5
News today significantly jolts the equation. Biden has slipped considerably in the Monmouth Poll and there is now a tie with Biden, Sanders and Warren. Last month Biden was far ahead in that poll. One poll so far in advance of an election isn't an indicator but it might be the start of a trend.
For me, Warren is the more interesting candidate when compared to Biden. I've never warmed to Sanders' yelling and grouchiness. Warren has some challenges; being female, being "radical" on some issues. She's very cerebral but can be warm, friendly and empathic. I like the way she's reaching out to Democrats, it's smart. I believe she realizes that her position on health care will have to be modified and clarified, however, to win a general election. If she does so, she will be a very appealing candidate in November 2020.
16
Regardless of what she is saying now, her positions on medicare for all and open borders are there on video tape and they will appear prominently on GOP adds. I hope Democrats don't think that President Trump's very bad two weeks mean that his defeat will be easy. "Socialism" will be the most frequently uttered word during this campaign. I want a centrist who can pull in disenchanted Republicans and Independents. The vision of a second Trump term makes it hard for me to sleep at night. Both Joe Biden and Joe Walsh say the same thing, America cannot afford a second Trump term.
3
I hope that Bernie and his followers take the high road this time, and help the Democratic candidate who wins the primaries in 2020.
America doesn't want a repeat of 2016.
12
@Gian Piero
In 2016 the voters wanted change and the Establishment Democrats were completely clueless...
If the Hillary had not been the Establishment Democrats anointed candidate, Bernie would have beat Trump.
In 2008, a higher percentage of Hillary voters voted for McCain/Palin, than Bernie voters, voted for Trump.
5
@Gian Piero
Over 80% of Sanders primary voters came out for HRC.
Question is, will Dems come out for a Sanders nominee?
Agreed, America doesn't want a repeat of '16.
Vote Bernie.
6
I planned to support and vote for Elizabeth Warren for president, before she ever ran for public office. That has not changed.
9
Does anyone see what I see? Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren together represent a progressive block of voters who outnumber Joe Biden moderates. This Democratic Convention could get interesting.
11
I fear that Warren, like Sanders, would stand little chance of winning back the purple state electoral votes need to expel SCUMpf from the White House, much less win the Senate and keep the House. Massachussets, New York and assertively "progressive" politics are exactly what those voters hate. For all his limitations, Biden is the best shot we've got.
3
@NRoad
It is the status quo loving Establishment that hates
Progressive ideas.
With such colossal income/wealth inequality that the richest .1 % take 188 times the income of the bottom 90 percent... it is time for change!
President Bernie Sanders 2020!
A Future To Believe In!
5
@NRoad
Not with my vote!
2
Elizabeth has the most going for her. She's got experience. She's right-headed. She's clear-minded. She has energy. She's not afraid. She knows in her heart she can help the country heal and restore confidence in our institutions. And lucky us...
She really wants to do it!
17
I like Warren, but her stand on single payer is a nonstarter that will sink her if she is the nominee for 11/2020.
No need to yank the existing, familiar option with a total unknown - it's an electoral gold-plated gift to Trump that could lead to a disaster, i.e., Trump's reelection.
Butagieg's approach to build a Medicare for all plan while allowing private insurance (which currently covers the vast majority of americans) to continue (for now), is a much saner one, and I find it hard to argue with him that people will simply vote with their feet when presented with a parallel alternative that provides much easier and universal access than the current nightmare of a private insurer system.
Unless Warren takes the credibility hit of softening her health care message, she is toast, which would be a shame, IMHO.
6
Elizabeth Warren is my pick. Although I'll vote for Micky Mouse if that is the Democratic candidate. Dump Trump 2020.
With the latest news that Criminal Trump may have some GOP opposition in their primary, things a looking up albeit over a year away. That will siphon votes ultimately from The Criminal.
Plus the agreement among the 16 States to elect the President by National Popular Vote, we only need 8 more States!
7
I have been a Bernie fan for about 40 years. He is owed immense credit (along with some for Trump as a shining example of vulture capitalism) for transforming our politics in a progressive manner. His critique of American capitalism resonates with those of us not buying into racist scapegoating.
But Warren goes beyond the slogans, articulating policies with specificity and reaching people with compassion and intelligence. I am leaning in her direction. With her legal-economic background and her real accomplishment with the Consumer Protection Board, she has proved that she is up to the task of moving this country in a progressive direction. She and Bernie share essentially the same views with different labels. (Why Bernie calls himself a socialist rather than a social democrat, given the historic definition of socialism as collective ownership of the means of production, is beyond me.)
My only wish is that whichever of the two emerges with a lead, the other drops out and they join forces. If the values they share are more important than personal power and ego, they will do that, but ego (as in "I am the best one to bring change," not Trumpian narcissism) is always powerful.
Plus. If Warren gets the nomination, my suggestion for VP is Sherrod Brown. He is a man, he is a Midwesterner from Ohio with a strong connection to organized labor. He would be a good strategic choice to balance the ticket.
5
@Peter Wolf
"He is a man": big deal, men are a dime a dozen.
I hadn’t thought of Sherrod Brown for VP. They would make a great team!
Bernie for President and Liz for VP. The catch is it will come with a prenup that Bernie won’t run for President in 2024. Liz will then be President for 8 years. Hopefully passing the baton to AOC.
Between sanders and Warren, there is no way they can lose to Trump. The two will have tons of clean non-corporate and non-PAC money that come with NO strings attached. That will make a political revolution or what you call “revival” very possible and probable.
On the word “revival,” if what you mean a la new deal fine but anything else is not progressive enough for undoing the damage done starting with Ronald Reagan and ending with Trump. Including Bill Clinton’s damage (e.g. Glass-Steagall reversal).
7
Yes, Elizabeth Warren for President!
Bernie we love ya but we need a woman this time around. Only a woman can beat Trump.
So who is V.P.?
Gabbard, Hickenlooper, Inslee, Bernie?
Tulsi is a war vet. Hick is a well respected Moderate but we need him in Colorado. Jay Inslee is a strong for the environment. Bernie? Harris?
Open to suggestions for VP.
I think Elizabeth Warren is a lock for the nomination.
4
@PC
Trouble with Warren is that she doesn't have enough foreign policy experience to hold her own against the Washington foreign policy consensus and military industrial complex addiction to military intervention.
Trump, like GWBush and Obama before him, cannot stand up to the Washington foreign policy consensus and military industrial complex, and bring our troops home.
I trust Sanders' familiarity with Washington, his courage and vision, plus his long held foreign policy convictions, to stand firm for diplomacy.
Of course, this is one reason the Establishment would like to derail his campaign... but they had better not, or Trump will win.
4
@Lucy Cooke, ‘bring our troops home.’
I’m good with Bernie. How about Tulsi Gabbard for Vice President? She’ll bring our troops home.
2
In “protecting her left flank”, Warren said Michael Brown was “murdered” by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson despite a Grand Jury investigation and Eric Holder’s investigation which both exonerated Wilson, who shot Brown in self defense. It was voter pandering and I can never support her as she is just another politician who will say anything to get votes.
7
@Anne
There are politicians "who will say anything to get votes", and there are people who believe everything they are told to believe.
1
Everyone needs to stop calling Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders socialists...they are New Deal Democrats...echoing FDR. They are quintessential Democrats. The American people are letting their ignorance show. Someone, maybe a newspaper, needs to explain that what they are advocating is nothing new or dangerous. They are simply old school...
12
That the New York Times will eventually endorse Elizabeth Warren is a foregone conclusion. It's such a done deal.
3
Elizabeth Warren is a screecher, who repeats only what the far left supporters want to hear. There's no explanation of how all her giveaways are going to be paid for, how she would handle the economy or foreign relations. There's nothing original in anything she has to say. She's very much a reactionary. Kamala Harris comes across as someone who could hold the office of the President. She's poised, self confident and knows how to attack. She doesn't sound like a mother who's kid came in past curfew and knows how to change up her wardrobe. Sorry Liz you're not riding shotgun.
3
@Kurt Pickard
Kamala Harris? No!
6
Elizabeth Warren loves to campaign.
She loves meeting and talking with people.
She wants to make things better for everybody -- no matter their race or income.
Someone as uplifting as she is would make a great President, and she certainly has my vote.
9
I'd love to see Bernie, Elizabeth and AndrewYang run on the same ticket.
Yes, a three way.
Why Yang?
Because he is an entrepreneur capitalist who knows how to explain why Progressive policies are good for capitalism.
eg
- Medicare for All provides job mobility which helps raise wages
- More healthy people means more people not pulling on the safety net, which means more wealth being created.
5
This is a deft strategy by Elizabeth Warren. We Bernie supporters also support her, and those who think Sanders is going to attack her as a hypocrite may hold their breath until their face turns blue.
The DNC has proven to be a rotten organization in the past. It is always good to engage. I will only point out one thing: what would Elizabeth do if she needs to confront her new friend?
2
DNC rigged the primary for Hillary. They will do it again for Warren. Bernie should fight against political corruption!
5
@jim guerin
As written, it looks like she's kissing the rings of the power brokers and paying respects, not confronting anyone.
5
So surprised by the vitriol in the comments section below. Politics is tricky and regardless of our purist desires, in a democracy, compromise is what is required. Warren and Sanders have a long history together in Congress and have supported one another through some very testy times. They are both extremely politically astute, smart, and understand why America is in crisis and what to do about it. Yes, the DNC has A LOT of work to do to recapture the trust of rank and file, and I personally think they have failed so far on that count. BUT it is what it is, and one can't fault Warren for doing whatever she can to work within the system, and bring about change from that position. This isn't a Warren vs Sanders deal - and they will be the first to remind voters of that; they have always worked to pave the way for one another, and will willingly align with the other should they be nominated, which is exactly what we as rank and file should do. The biggest threat to our Party and 2020 is Biden and his insider track; the DNC needs to stop indulging the Biden "electability" narrative and start aligning with a platform that represents the majority of rank and file. If the DNC were currently functioning anywhere near where they promised that's exactly what they'd be doing instead making stupid decisions like axing a Climate Debate.
6
@Bodhi L
I don't think people are against compromise.
The problem is who are you compromising with, and what are you getting in return?
When your compromise journey starts with kissing the proverbial rings of the DNC power brokers, you're off to a bad start, in my opinion. Your own team shouldn't be asking you to compromise.
4
Warren is taking advantage of the pressure from the party's base that is pushing the politics far to the left of where the DNC want's to go, leaving the other faux "populist" candidates intended to distract folks from Bernie in the dust. Because she has more political substance than the other fake populists the Party is trying to sell, she's saying, "I can corral the base and steal it from Bernie, protect you from a loss of base voters with Biden, while keeping things under your political control". Her message to the leadership is that the Party must really move a bit to the left if it want's to keep things the way they are for their elite backers - in short, to remain the same things must change. She's a clever inside player and party loyalist.
1
I like Warren. She's more dynamic and feisty than Biden and more practical and friendly than Bernie. Most importantly she can eviscerate trump in a debate. Here's to hoping she continues to rise in the polls.
20
@CP. I so hope we have an opportunity to see Warren and Trump square off in a debate. She’s going to eat his lunch, chew it up, and feed it back to his base.
4
Mr. Sander's "confrontational approach" in 2016 was not confrontation for the sheer fun of it. It arose because the DNC had fixed the process in favor of one particular candidate and were hostile to any alternative. "Their" candidate, of course, promptly lost the election despite her opponent being widely disliked, and as Monty Python might put it, since then "those involved have been sacked." By the way, we still have superdelegates?
4
@Mike McGuire: The “DNC rigged against Sanders” narrative has long since been debunked as Russian trolling, to turn Sanders supporters off voting for Hillary Clinton. With great success.
9
Oh, so are you saying Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been a Russian troll? Are you saying scores of corporate lobbyists serving as Democratic party superdelegates were Russian trolls? Are you saying Donna Brazile's book is filled with mere delusions? No, I didn't think so.
8
I like Senator Warren very much, however if she insists on taking away my private health insurance, I will never vote for her.
7
@Millie Worner: Unless you pay sticker price for your health insurance, it’s your employer’s insurance, and it can be taken from you anytime. I never understood Americans who prefer uncertainty and paying much more than residents of other countries for less when it comes to health insurance.
10
@Millie Worner You got to get with the left wing program. Sacrifice.
1
I hope I get to see Elizabeth become President. And hopefully add Buttitgeg as Vice President.
They are both sharp, and have real perspective, along with drive to match. A desire to be realistic, but also empathic.
To me personally, execution is just as important as a bold idea. And she’s got both qualities ready to go.
6
Can someone tell me what the rift is between the progressives and moderates? Do progressive policies take money from moderates? I don’t get it?
1
@rebecca1048 - do they money? Are you serious?
@alan - make that “do they take money?”.
@rebecca1048
The moderates want to protect the status quo by protecting the high profits of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies, Wall Street, and continue to not notice the colossal income/wealth inequality where the richest .1 percent take in over 188 times the income of the bottom 90 percent.
check out https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/
I highly recommend The Atlantic's "The Birth of the New American Aristocracy" https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/06/the-birth-of-a-new-american-aristocracy/559130/
The moderates intend to protect "the new American aristocracy".
Sanders intends to work hard to see that ordinary Americans have quality healthcare, quality education and a more equal chance to thrive.
Of course, Sanders intends to take the actions necessary to make our small planet sustainable for future generations.
2
I attended her Houston Town Hall meeting. It was a full-house gathering. Her speech showed that she is a realistic and down to earth person with good ideas for everything. If I want a person representing our country, she would be the one. The only problem is that she is a female which many conservatives won't accept her.
1
Warren is giving the DNC an opportunity to redeem itself. Personally, I rather see the outreach going the other way. The DNC functioned like an exclusive social club in 2016. The results were predictable. If candidates have felt the need to create a competing organization, that speaks to the DNC’s dysfunction. What is a loyalty pledge to a nest of vipers really worth?
3
There are a lot more former senators who have made great presidents than there are former reality TV stars.
2
We've been through this before. It was Obama then, and it'll be Warren this time around. She's selling her soul to ambition. All talk and no change is what to expect from this Elizabeth Warren.
7
@bradd graves
Big promises based on wishful thinking. Reality involves people like Mitch McConnell or any of the other seasoned political warriors who have spent their entire careers doing battle. She will spend all her time battling Congress and get nothing done.
3
I like Warren but as a center left democrat would really like her to stop the freebies talk. It reeks of desperation. Healthcare for illegal immigrants? Not until you fix healthcare (insurance) for Citizens. Student loan forgiveness? No way. Get reasonable or capped rates but don’t punish folks who worked extra jobs or went to lesser affordable college to avoid debt!
12
Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat. Enough with his expecting voters to treat him like one. He and his supporters can't have it both ways - if he doesn't want to build support among superdelegates, he shouldn't expect they'll choose him over other candidates.
Sen Warren is a Democrat. And she is making the right moves to expand her support throughout the party infrastructure.
10
What Warren is doing here is not going to go over well with the squad. This may force AOC to make an endorsement decision and it could tip her to Sanders. It certainly could split the progressive wing of the party. Many progressives distrust Warren as it is. This will bolster the view that Sanders is the real deal. It has seemed to me that a takeover of the Democratic Party is key for most progressives. I am not sure where Warren is going to get enough support if she is appealing to both sides. Moderates may conclude that she is too progressive and similarly progressives may conclude that she is not progressive enough. There is something to say about trying to bridge both wings of the party but it is a strategy that does carry risks.
4
Warren has long been my choice. She embraces many of the ideas Sanders advanced in 2016, but is far more practical and realistic about what to implement and how to implement it. She has thought it all through carefully, including the practical details.
This article has further convinced me that Elizabeth Warren is the Practical Progressive who will unite the Democratic Party (as much as that is possible), defeat Trump, and lead the nation on a path to healing, and to a fairer form of capitalism.
4
This article reinforces -- with new information of which I was unaware -- that Elizabeth Warren is both the smartest and the hardest-working candidate on the Democratic side.
During my lifetime at least, Democrats have fared best on the national level when they go bold. Warren is bold. She is also not prone to missteps, and while Trump is often (erroneously, I'd say) called a populist, Warren is a real populist -- in the superior manner of, say, a Paul Wellstone.
She's a capitalist who wants the system to work better for more of us, not just the few to whom the most wealth and opportunity are funneled, even though they already have the most of both. She's truly formidable.
It's too soon to be imagining the possibilities, but should the primaries go her way, I wonder whom she's considering as a running mate...
23
I would love a Warren/Buttigieg Ticket but I think a Warren/Booker one would win.
I think Medicare for All is unrealistic and prohibitively expensive. This is my main problem with Warren. She is too far left for me, and if she's too far left for me, what about swing-state voters in states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan?
4
@SC Certain
She has said she supports Medicare for all, but it’s not going to be her priority if elected. What can she do if the Republicans control the Senate? She can focus on appointing people to various regulatory agencies who will enforce the law. She doesn’t need Congress for the DOJ or FTC to bring an antitrust action.
3
I think all Democrats are beginning to recognize that Warren is the safest candidate available. Democrats do best when we have a narrative. When we choose candidates that we can point to as representing progress from the previous administration, we win. When we do not, we lose. Going from Clinton to Obama is progress. Going from Obama to Clinton is not. Going from Clinton to Kerry is not either. Going from Obama to Biden is certainly not.
It is also clear that it would be best for Obama's legacy if Warren were to be the candidate. She is more his creation than Joe Biden ever will be. She embodies the best of the progressive values and ideals of the Obama administration. He represented the same progressive wave of ideals and hopes that she does. He should endorse her. She has the narrative, Biden does not. She has the verve and swag the Biden does not. She has not alienated him the way Bernie has. She represents the logical next step to what he started.
We, as Democrats, can create a dynasty that dominates the next 50 years of politics, and it started with President Obama and --if we want it to continue--then we must choose President Warren. Without her, Obama's legacy will be isolated as outside a progressive narrative and as the presidency whose consequence was Trump.
Obama should back her early, if not for the country, then for himself, and if not for himself, then for the country. She is the clear choice to advance his legacy.
13
@nickgregor
I agree that she is the safest candidate. She’s an economic populist who still speaks with the twang from Oklahoma. That will help her win the Midwestern swing states. Sanders’ 2016 primary victories in Michigan and Wisconsin show what those voters want.
3
The next Democratic president will need a lot of party support to get every last vote needed for healthcare reform, gun reform and climate change action and cram it down the throats of Senate Republicans. Sounds like Warren knows how the game is played. As for that "pledge" she and presumably all the other Dem candidates signed (except Bernie?), that sounds like a very bad idea both for the party and for a Democratic president in these times. President Warren will need a grassroots citizen movement, not just the party faithful, to back her up and get specific bills through Congress. There are progressive voters in many red states, outside the party, who will need to organize to apply pressure to their Republican representatives. Dems should have learned from Trump and his rallies. You have to keep your "base" active, visible and loud between elections.
3
Her real point is even easier to grasp: hide from the less radical Dem voters just how far left she wants to take this country. It is frightening, considering how willing she was to appropriate a Native American heritage in order to feed her career and political ambitions. Fortunately, the GOP and conservative interests groups will not allow potential Dem voters to forget how much closer to the leaders of Venezuela and Bolivia she is than to Dem leaders of the past.
6
@ehillesum
"frightening, considering how willing she was to appropriate a Native American heritage in order to feed her career and political ambitions."
Frightening how this lie has put down roots in the right wing echo chamber. Say something often enough and it becomes true, huh?
6
@Mike Holloway - why exactly do you think she was willing?
1
She's light years ahead of the last nominee I've no problem with her other than a few of her extreme positions. Now is the time for her to start positioning herself to capture the center. Even though it hasn't held in the past, (see Trotsky and Kerensky). Amerkans (hinterland pronunciation) are center-Left so given a choice between a good government type like Liz and Donny from Queens, she can win and make history twice.
2
If Warren would drop this Medicare for All garbage - or at least soften her stance on a public option that could be phased in if it worked - she’d be a shoo-in. But this message should go to the voters, not party hacks.
5
If the Establishment can't shove a Biden/Harris ticket down our throats, they will groom Elizabeth Warren to be their safe choice when they realize that a "change" candidate is inevitable.
I support the real deal, Bernie Sanders... the Establishment could not possibly groom him into an acceptable Establishment candidate.
https://morningconsult.com/2020-democratic-primary/
8/19 Sanders has top favorability at 73% over Biden's 72%, Warren's 62%
Biden leads in polling with 31%, Sanders 20%, Warren 15%
Sanders is the second choice for 25% of Biden supporters.
https://www.politico.com/interactives/2019/how-the-2020-candidates-break-down-in-the-polls-so-far/
about 28% Hispanic voters prefer Sanders,
about 25% Hispanic voters prefer Biden
about 10% prefer Warren
about 41% Black voters prefer Biden
about 21% Black voters prefer Sanders
about 8% Black voters prefer Warren
A recent Pew Research survey says that Sanders has the most diverse supporter mix of any 2020 candidate: Slightly more than half are people of color and slightly more than half are women, which is a combination no other candidate can claim… According to the Sanders campaign, the No. 1 occupation among his 750,000 or so individual donors is teacher. The No. 1 employer among his donors is Walmart, with Amazon, Target and UPS not far behind. No other candidate comes within 300,000 of that donor number.
Don't try to shove a sanitized Warren down our throats.
President Sanders! A Future To Believe In!
10
@Lucy Cooke
People like you will split the progressive vote and give us Biden with divisive rhetoric like that.
3
I have come around and I will vote for Senator Warren, if she leads the ticket. Something obviously should temper concerns. This is she would only be the President, and Presidents get to sign or veto bills. There is no way Medicare for All comes to her for that decision, but for voting her in the Democrats get an intelligent , thinking leader who has a lot of good ideas. Some compromises and who knows, maybe Bills are passed.
The infrastructure in her own state near Boston is a horrible. Harvard etc and MA in general are supposed to be forward thinking. Traffic and transportation are horrible---single drivers in cars in nightmare traffic---, 800,000 gal of raw sewage a day can flow into the Merrimack, and gas lines blow up. We need trains and subways and trams here.
1
She would be just fine. Bernie would be okay. Biden would work. Anybody not on life support running as a democrat would be great. We, as in all of we, must get behind the democrat regardless of who! No more protest votes, Bernie or nobody, Donald Duck write ins. We took democracy for granted and now we’re in the middle of this. If it looks like a democrat, walks like a democrat and quacks like a democrat, that’s our candidate. Four more years of this?
7
A public policy and a private policy. Aligned with big donors and party officials. Assuming Bernie Sanders’ policy positions / platform in 2020 but supported Hillary in the 2016 primary. Same old, same old / Hillary redux/ no thanks. Elizabeth Warren can be bought.
9
Lizzie's only weaknesses are the many Americans not ready to have a woman as a leader and the typical incessant stupid right-wing anti-social smearing taunts and conspiracy rumors that get traction amongst some.
We are electing a team. Not a one person. If Joe polls better still next year I'd enthusiastically support him with EW as VP. Bernie is a cabinet guy. Health and Human Services? Harris, Attorney General...
Trump greatest weakness besides his own incompetence is the dangerously reckless and incompetent team surrounding him. The Dem candidates are a strong team together. They should make 2-year minimum commitments to stay in any position. So that the empty suit revolving Trump administration door doesn't reoccur.
Joe is the only candidate that I don't see a ready-made administration job position for if he doesn't win the primary for POTUS. That says something. After 4 years EW would be a shoo-in. But she would be the strength Joe lacks meanwhile.
Whatever we do let's vet all appointments before they get appointed. And NO exploitation lobbyists allowed.
4
Here is my experience with my Senator Warren: I reached out to her by phone and email on at least 2 occasions. No response. A few months later I received a US mail announcement that she would be in my area, happy to meet with me (and others), answer my questions personally, if I donated $5000 for her fundraising event.
10
@TravelingProfessor
So is everyone in Massachusetts entitled to receive a call back from her?
4
@BK No, not her, but an acknowledgment from her staff would have been appropriate instead of her trying to shake me down for $5 G. What do you think?
3
Warren is my top pick by far. There hasn’t been a Democratic candidate this qualified in years. She is wise to strengthen ties to the Party machine and could influence much needed reforms and greater unity in it. She will need the Democratic Party and it’s nationwide structural organization behind her to win. She will also need a lot of money, as Big Business will throw everything they’ve got at her. If she wins the rich can complain about ‘that women in the White House’, just like they called FDR ‘ that man in the White House’.
Sanders was good at getting the reform ball rolling. But he is too old, too rigid, and not a Democrat - not the same life long relationships with others in Congress and beyond. In the end I hope he will have the grace and humility to throw his support and supporters behind Warren.
She’s got it, whatever ‘it’ is. And she got it the old fashioned way : She earned it.
13
Bernie's the foundation, the heart and soul, of America's upcoming permanent progressivism. Warren is its political torch, carried forward in leadership to all. We all owe so much to Bernie.
10
I really, really like Elizabeth Warren. I am excited about her candidacy in and of itself, not just because I believe she can beat Trump.
I like that she spent so much of her career learning about the plight of the middle class, and only got into politics relatively late in life to put her ideas into action.
Though she may have over-learned some of the lessons, we do indeed need to go in a bold direction. In the push and pull of legislative politics, policies get blunted, so it's better to start out big and end up with some real, meaningful change.
For those who would like to support her but believe that America isn't ready for a woman, please don't turn that wrong-headed assumption into a self fulfilling prophecy. The reason Hillary lost is Hillary, not because she is a woman.
My overwhelming concern about her or any of the Democrats is that they are AWOL on immigration. That is not only a liability to one of them getting elected; 100,000+ destitute, desperate people pouring over the border monthly is a real crisis, a loaded gun pointed at their effort to rebuild the American middle class. It's 2019. Americans deserve more on immigration than lectures about Ellis Island.
5
I will vote for any Democrat with a pulse, and getting Medicare for all is a prize worth fighting for. If a Democratic president achieves nothing else of merit in their term, that would be what we should want.
6
America needs a Sanders more than a Warren but she'd do as well. Without a hard left it's pretty much all over but the crying for America and the world. Even seeing Biden winning the Presidency would be an abject failure in the end.
7
It might be that Elizabeth Warren has what it takes - to get nominated, to get elected, and to do the job in all its aspects.
11
Most Democratic party voters are much more centrist than the loudest voices would lead you to believe.
You don't start a race at the finish line. Yes - revitalize and build upon. We don't need a revolution... we'll lose if we stage one.
5
Warren is the only candidate who combines progressivism, pragmatism, and a solid grasp of what will really take in order to return from the brink of disaster wrought upon us by the Republican party and its obscene, indecent, and depraved figurehead. Count me in. As her running mate, she would be wise to select Cory Booker or Julián Castro.
The sooner Bernie and Joe realize that their time has passed (or never was) and line up behind Liz, the better off all of us will be.
8
@beaujames
Please not Booker, Castro or any other social justice warrior scolding white Americans for the sin of being white. That is political disaster. Warren needs Buttigieg as a running mate.
3
Push that ticket and Dems lose.
Ms Warren, I hope you read this. It is my plea that a Democrat will win in the next presidential election. If you want to win, please appeal to the middle ground, not the progressives. We don't need a revolution. We need a leader who follows our democracy ideals that were established in by our founders. It's not about an individual policy (Medicare, college-tuition, etc.) because that eventually gets determined in the legislative and judicial branches. We just need a leader we can ALL respect.
8
Apparently a lot of policy gets determined by the President or haven't you been watching?
5
@ActualScience
If you know the facts of American citizenry,the colossal income/wealth inequality in the USA, where where the richest 0.1 percent take in over 188 times the income of the bottom 90 percent... just maybe you can comprehend why Senator Bernie Sanders is the best candidate for President.
Sanders, like Warren, is extraordinarily decent and worthy of respect.
Sanders will not be seduced by the Establishment.
He has the courage, ideas, vision and strength to lead the US towards a more just, more equal and more sustainable future...
You, of course, may prefer the status quo.
4
Another turncoat, like Obama. Great.
Why do people hate Bernie so much? Because the rich establishment does, and they ultimately control the message that voters hear and follow, like sheep.
15
@Deeply Concerned How do you read this and see "turncoat"? She's saying she's going to be committed to winning races for Democrats up and down the ballot. How is that being a turncoat? Bernie supporters sound so much like Bernie: everything is an establishment conspiracy.
18
@Deeply Concerned Happy to say that after 2020 we will not hear from Bernie other that what he has to say as a senator. Adios Bernie.
5
@J. Keyser
Let's put it this way: is she secretly meeting with Walmart workers behind closed doors? Surreptitiously calling Amazon warehouse employees during dinner? My bet is no.
The problem with doing things behind closed doors is that you only do them for certain kinds of people. Everyone else gets the public "you", while power brokers get the private "you".
8
Congratulations, NYT, you just cost Warren the nomination.
[You do realize, don't you, that compromising with the likes of Jamie Dimon is not a plus for a sizeable number of voters?]
7
Wow -- a candidate who will work for the party, not just herself! What a breath of fresh air and a relief. I can now hope to see a Democratic Party that is strong on all fronts -- at the Federal, State and Local level, doing what the Republican Party has done for decades.
I was doubtful about Warren's chances but now, watching her in action, in many different settings, I'm impressed.
13
Warren is playing to win and I have no problem with that. She can court the DNC and win them that's fine as long as they come with her progressive platform. If the DNC pulls another 2016 campaign of Pied Piper Strategies, Fear Mongering and Neoliberal Conservatism, they will reap the very same results. The accrued wealth of politicians from both sides of the floor illustrate quiet clearly which team most of the play for ... and it's not the people's. There is little doubt if there is a real danger of splitting the party and the vote. If Justice Democrats feel things have not been above board, fair and honest I would think they'd run a separate candidate and many would vote that way. I would. In an effective democracy striving for effective government people are becoming more aware that they should vote on policy and platform not team colours.
9
Not only committed but wise. Thank God for Elizabeth.
9
sigh. This election is lost if Elizabeth Warren is the nominee.
We might as well set the country on fire right now.
Maybe someone less odious than Trump will rise on the right. But the left is history.
2
Considering Warren’s outrageous Native heritage claim I’m alarmed that there is a public policy and plan that differs from the private ones for the insiders...what a hot mess.
She makes HRC’s Wall Street double talk actually look rather tame. No thanks!
8
To all you Bernie boosters out there. However much you love Bernie, he has NO path to the nomination. Like every protest candidate over the past half century he can, at best, get a quarter of the Democratic Party behind him. Get real and get with Elizabeth.
10
@AJ
And how many seats did you lose over this past half century with that strategy?
Sanders's fundraising diversity shows that he does indeed have a path to the nomination, if the Democratic Party were in any way democratic, which they are not.
Regardless of Sanders's chances, whatever milquetoast candidate the DNC chooses is unlikely to get them the electoral wins they want.
8
You Bernie supporters should acknowledge that after 25 or so years in the Senate he has accomplished nothing. Makes me think that he’s basically a megaphone for policies that are hopeless and resonate with just an ornery few.
12
At this point we'd take a cigar store Indian on 2020. Warren is looking pretty good, thanks to a shove to the left from Bernie. The whole nation owes a huge debt to Sanders on that account.
8
Something that has puzzled me about Warren and her philosophy is that she did not support Bernie in 2016. Now, her 2020 platform is a carbon copy of Bernie 2016. She supported Hillary, all the way, even though their ideas were not aligned. One has to, objectively, wonder did Warren want the Presidency herself in 2020 given that it is most likely, upon a review of polling data, a Sanders/Warren ticket would have won in 2016?
The reality is we could have beaten Trump in 2016 but now it’s time to use that information, review the pulse of America, and save its heartbeat. I hope the ticket is a Sanders/Warren ticket because of their platforms. For different, vastly different reasons, we cannot have another 4-years of Trump and we cannot have another Democrat who dances with the likes of a McConnel, a Jordan, a Gaetz in any way. Compromise is an illusion sold like snake-oil by the snakes & purchased by the wishful thinkers.
Joe Biden, however, his time has come & gone and no amount of self-deceit or political denial can change that. Biden is a politician, not a progressive, the situation is critical, the prize should belong to the Democrats and played without the status quo.
We will be ready for to set the sails after Sanders/Warren breathe life into the winds of change.
"Set the sails, I feel the winds a'stirring
Towards the bright horizon set the way
Cast your reckless dreams upon our Mayflower
The haven from the world and her decay"
The Low Anthem
5
@s.whether "The reality is we could have beaten Trump in 2016..."
Sure could have, if the Stein voters in MI WI and PA hadn't been too pure to vote for Hillary.
3
If there's one lesson from the Obama presidency that people should remember it's that it doesn't matter how conservative a Democrat is, Republicans will still call them a socialist. And the Republican base will believe it. Biden isn't getting any cross over votes. All that matters is exciting the Democratic base and that's something only a Warren candidacy can accomplish.
26
Just read the NYT piece "The Education of Elizabeth Warren." This is a person who went from libertarian-leaning Republican who thought--as a theoretical matter--that tightening bankruptcy rules would protect private, corporate interests from being taken advantage of by freeloaders exploiting loose bankruptcy laws. She herself had experienced economic hard times when her father lost his job due to a health issue--the #1 cause of bankruptcy--but up to that point hadn't really challenged her own assumptions that bankruptcy was a moral failure, not something that happened to hard working people.
Then she actually got down and studied whether that assumption was factually true. Got down in the sense of visiting court houses, xeroxing records of their proceedings, using her shoe leather and doing the math. That led to a complete reversal of her assumptions, to a data-driven AND humane understanding of the facts, and to a lifelong effort to do the right thing for ordinary people.
To me, that ability to reevaluate ideological assumptions after proactively going out and getting the facts is the kind of leadership we desperately need, and the kind of progressivism that can actually work.
64
This article misstates Warren's position on Medicare For All. This article tells readers that Warren is "with Bernie" on M4All. In fact, she has waffled on this issue and has refused to talk specifics (Ask yourself, if Warren is the candidate with all the plans, why doesn't she have a plan for M4All?). In her public life, Warren has never advocated for M4All until running for president, and just a few years ago, in 2012, she argued against it.
Bernie is the only candidate committed to seeing Medicare For All pass in this country. Too many of us have friends or family members who are not insured or under-insured. Too many of us have friends or family members who will die too young due to lack of coverage and the high cost of healthcare.
Enough is enough! We must demand Medicare for All! Only President Bernie Sanders gives the American people a chance at that reality!
9
It is easy to throw out ideas and castigate entire industries when you have no direct authority to change things. When you are one out of one hundred people. When you are the President and your words move markets around the world and impact decisions around the world, it is another thing entirely. We are seeing the effect of an undisciplined person has on our nation and world in President Trump.
My question to Ms. Warren: Are you capable of governing? Are you willing to work with people across the isle? Can you compromise in order to move an idea forward? Are you capable of restoring the trust in our nation and repairing the damage Trump has done? I suspect that our next President will spend most of her time building confidence and teaching people what governance means. This is probably not the time for big, bold, changes in direction. Perhaps in 2024, but now we have a broken nation that needs to be repaired. Are you willing to do that work? Are you capable of doing that work?
As long as Mitch McConnell controls the Senate the Republicans will not work across the aisle with any Democratic president, whether centrist or progressive
7
@Bruce
If all of us get involved we can not only oust Trump, we can take away the Republican majority in the Senate. At that point negotiations will be possible.
1
Thanks for this article.
As for Biden, see my article in Fair Warning at https://www.fairwarning.org/2012/09/a-strange-indifference-to-highway-carnage/
As for Bernie, when I learned he would return Ralph Nader's calls, I stopped my donations to his campaign.
As for Warren, she has a consumer protection track record with her leadership in creating the CFPB, so she is my choice.
5
@louis v. lombardo
Sorry for Typo, it should be
As for Bernie, when I learned he would NOT return Ralph Nader's calls, I stopped my donations to his campaign.
1
This is great to know. It gives me confidence that she can govern effectively and expand the party. Kudos to her!
5
I look forward to seeing the first American Indian serve as President of the United States. The only downside is that the stock market will plunge like a rock if this occurs. Krugman predicted a financial collapse for a Trump election but of course was famously wrong - in Warren's case it is a certainty. Under Warren, the only companies to profit will be firearms manufacturers and the constructors of underground bunkers.
5
Simple, to get my vote ,move to the center so bills get passed if she wants to lead the party and become the nomination
for 2020, think electability.
Forget high in the sky policy’s, free education,Medicare for all, start with health care for all ,by restructuring Obama Care, get an inter-structure bill that employs people and works with states.
Work with Wall Street don’t fight it they don’t want a recession either and a lot of your voters are looking at their retirement packages.
3
Given the fact that the DNC and high-ranking Dem officials finagled with the 2016 primary season, this doesn't speak very well of Warren.
I understand the politics, but this hidden campaign to court superdelegates and the like and her worrisome emphasis on being an enthusiastic capitalist sounds a bit like: "Please ignore the progressive sounds I make on the campaign trail. I'm ready to play ball and basically keep the status quo once in office."
11
I support Biden and Warren in either order, for experience, competence, drive, and policy navigation, who would move us from the nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue to straight sailing.
7
What remains of her stand on immigration and getting rid of college loans? Unless something has changed she is for open borders(de-criminalizing illegal entry and not deporting anyone) and for wiping out student loans.
Good luck winning the general election with that.
5
Does anybody really and truly trust Elizabeth Warren?
7
@99percent
Something that has puzzled me about Warren and her philosophy is that she did not support Bernie in 2016. Now, her 2020 platform is a carbon copy of Bernie 2016. She supported Hillary, all the way, even though their ideas were not aligned. One has to, objectively, wonder did Warren want the Presidency herself in 2020 given that it is most likely, upon a review of polling data, a Sanders/Warren ticket would have won in 2016?
The reality is we could have beaten Trump in 2016 but now it’s time to use that information, review the pulse of America, and save its heartbeat. I hope the ticket is a Sanders/Warren ticket because of their platforms.
3
@99percent
Please answer your question and provide reasons why we shouldn't.
3
In a word: yes.
1
Read Will Bunch's column in The Philadelphia Inquirer about Beto O'Rourke and you will understand why O'Rourke's Bulworth style campaign makes all the others like Warren and Biden and Sanders seem hypocritical and shallow by comparison.
@east coast writer
It's hard to imagine how any candidate could appear more shallow than Beto.
4
Please, please, oh, please let Warren be our next president.
23
Please, please vote for anyone not named Trump!
I prefer Warren, but we will vote for any Dem. who runs against the evil, lying, narcissistic Trump.
And anyone running against his spineless Republican enablers in Congress.
27
I think that the best ticket electorally would be Warren-Sanders because their policy positions are very similar and they appeal (strongly) to different demographic groups. This piece reveals activities which that could make such a ticket more difficult to bring about. Of course it is necessary and good that Warren is cultivating relationships with local Democratic leaders everywhere while not, apparently, compromising on policy positions. But I hope she does not promise them that she will not offer the VP candidacy to Sanders just because he didn't turn over supporter lists to the DNC, which was trying to destroy him politically, in 2016. There have been many caucuses, left and right, within the Democratic party over the years, including Obama's organization, as this piece points out. Sanders' Our Revolution should be regarded as one of them and the Democrats should work with it, not try to destroy it. It reaches a base which was lost to the party before it came along. The fact that the DNC treated Sanders as an enemy was a significant part of reason for the 2016 defeat.
8
As a life long Democrat, I fully prepared to support Senator Warren as the party's nominee. Her grasp of virtually all the issues facing the country and her well articulated plans to address all of those is backed up by a deep working knowledge of business, governance and fairness. Having suffered through the complete ignorance of the current occupant of the Oval Office whose only strategy is to divide and foment hate, wouldn't it be great to have an intelligent and thoughtful leader? The fact that she would be the first female to hold the office would be a real plus as well. I also am confident that she would eviscerate Trump on the debate stage.
24
Not surprising at all that she sings different turns to different audiences. The only constant throughout her life has been naked ambition while her political beliefs and even her background has been “negotiable”. People who rejected Hillary Clinton and favor her are comically naive.
11
Warren wooing labor unions? Wow, I am shocked!
5
Lighten up on Warren! You purists gave us Trump last time. Shooting for two for two? My worry is that Warren is too far left, or can be smeared as such, to win. Left is fine with me but I also voted for McGovern. It is very disappointing that the Democrats could only come up with one moderate front runner. I doubt whether Biden is articulate, smart, quick or exciting enough to destroy Trump one on one. Let’s be clear. Our goal is to take back the Senate and the Presidency and hold the House. That is the only way forward.
15
@Doug Lowenthal
Well said, Doug. And agreed on our goal. That's why I posted a comment here calling (actually, hoping) for Warren / Buttigieg.
I believe their combined intelligence, integrity and well-thought-out policies would resonate with enough progressives and independent purple-state moderates for them to take the WH, the Senate, and keep the House.
Scary as it is, I agree this is the only way forward if we are to undo the damage inflicted upon us by trump and his motley crew.
3
It is a very open secret that the insider-elites that own what used to be the democratic party want to see Biden get the nomination. Harris was their fallback candidate until she wilted under the spotlight.
Now comes their next choice---and the next choice of Fraud Street--- Elizabeth Warren. The so-called titans of the universe (you remember, the parasites that crashed the economy) have been quietly putting out the word that they can work with her.
Dealing with Warren would be seen as just a cost of doing business.
The very thought of President Sanders? That has them soiling their pants. Which is one of a myriad of reasons that he has my primary vote.
11
@Concernicus His problem is his age, not his likability. He is too old!
4
@grmadragon
For their ages, both Sanders and Trump hold more events and have more enthusiasm to share their ideas than people several decades younger.
I don't know if they manage on good genes and coffee or pharmaceuticals, but their stamina is clearly evident, eclipses many. They seem to genuinely enjoy being out there with the crowds. That is commendable no matter what you think of their platform.
6
To all the outraged Bernie supporters in the comments: Do you not see, again, that your candidate does not have the mass appeal you think he does? That a lot of Democratic voters would prefer someone else -- HRC in 2016, Warren in 2020? Why do you refuse to admit that he has a likeability problem?
27
@J. Keyser
You mean the candidate who has 300,000+ more donors than Warren has a likeability problem? Come back to the real world.
2
Reading some of these comments backs up the fact that a lot of so-called “Democrats” are always willing to cut their noses off to spite their face—something Republicans are never willing to do as they’re more interested in the bigger things that winning an election brings. More so than their bruised egos and ideologies. Oy, when we will ever learn?
9
@38-year-old guy
Is voting for Warren cutting one's nose off, or is voting for Biden? I think it depends on how one views your comment.
The far-left think that playing it safe is cutting ones nose off, and the moderates think voting for someone who is promoting issues that are very unpopular in swing states when she is already polling only within the margin for error with Trump- in all of the swing states - sometimes Trump is up 1-3 and sometimes Warren is up 1-3- is cutting ones nose off since she could easily lose the swing states like Hillary did and is not doing that great. Do we really want to take that gamble?
1
I hope this is weong, but it appears that Senator Warren is now providing reasons to vote for Bernie Sanders instead of her.
7
Medicare For All means goodbye employer healthcare. No to Democrats
3
Even though the insurance industry is fleecing every single one of us?
12
@NYC Dweller
Right, you want to keep your employer provided insurance.
Except, next year, your employer will negotiate a new contract with changes. Or with a different provider. Or you’ll change jobs. Or your employer, like many, will decide to stop providing coverage. Or maybe your employer’s religion will restrict the coverage you get.
You want to keep your current medical insurance?
Nobody in the US gets to keep their current medical insurance.
7
@Chickpea and add, "you turn 50 and get laid off and can't find work because you're considered old."
3
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—despite being partially defanged by Wall Street—is the single most effective political accomplishment benefiting workers and the middle class [including Republicans] that has happened in our political system in the 21st century and Warren made it happen BEFORE she held political office.
Warren has proven through out here career she makes beneficial change happen.
Warren knows what has to happen and how to make it happen if we are to reverse the course the last three years has put the nation on.
24
Democrats better keep in mind that only ~40% support Single Payer (and booting people off their insurance which they may like), while if you ask people if they'd like a Public Option to buy into Medicare (including for the poor to do so via Obamacare subsidies), support surges to 70%.
4
Subsidies that subsidize the insurance industry. Why are we working so hard to protect that? The fleecing of America is alive and well.
7
Most people get insurance through their employer, who is free at any time to alter coverage, change insurers or in some cases cease to provide health insurance at all, no matter how much they might like their current plan!
10
@Joe Arena
Boo hoo... people will lose their private health insurance. All the while, ~80 million Americans are uninsured or do not have sufficient coverage. The private insurance industry creates unnecessary costs and inefficiencies within the healthcare system of America. Also, you act like most people like their private insurance... most people hope they never need to use their insurance. It only takes them to not cover one procedure before you're faced with bills you won't know how to pay. That stress should not hang over our fellow Americans and again, healthcare should be a human right in the wealthiest country in the history of the planet.
Side note: Small business owners will save on arguably their biggest cost by no longer having to worry about how to provide healthcare for their employees. Not to mention it would greatly reduce the rise of temp/ part-time work we see in today's employment market, due to businesses not wanting to pay benefits.
7
'...unusually determined', wrote the reporter of this article about Elizabeth Warren. She has been 'unusually determined' since childhood. There is a pure quality to her, which may also be true of mayor Pete and Cory Booker. In addition to her determination, hard, hard work, intelligence, an analytic mind, sincerity, good sense and good nature... she cares, truly cares about us. The presidency requires a deep array of strengths, and the attribute among them that seems to matter most at this dark time is trust. Trustworthiness illuminates character. One of our most formidable problems is the mistrust of government and of one another. I am sold on Elizabeth Warren's character. She will be 'unusually determined' to bring us socially and economically closer together.
20
If anything the parties need more top-down control. As heretical as that might sound nowadays, tighter party control has the advantage of driving both parties' nominees closer to the center (and electability). Tight party discipline and even a return to local apportioning (ie, pork barrel spending) doled out by party bosses keeps rogue players in check and actually forces both parties to work together on legislation. Several political scientists have studied this issue and found the more democratic reforms have resulted in more freelancers and the rise of fringe-y pols and movements. Tea Party, anyone? Trump I would argue, is a prime example of the collapse of party discipline. The realist in me hopes Dems put up a centist; the SJW in me says, no, go with the most liberal candidate. At day's end I will support the Democratic nominee. Just hope he/she is electable. I worry that young people will stay home if the nominee is viewed as compromised. We saw how making the ideal the enemy of the good worked out in 2016 with the sullen Bernie Bros.
1
"“Last year, I was running for re-election, but I didn’t hold back,” she said, reminding attendees that in the midterms she had helped more than 160 congressional candidates and nearly 20 hopefuls in governors’ races."
I keep going back and forth on Warren, whom I love dearly as my Senator and as all-around brilliant, deft politician.
This article reasures me that she's too smart to let the perfect be the enemy of the good in terms of the number one goal of all of us, progressives, moderates, in-betweeners, and independents: defeat the current president.
It doesn't hurt that she's the one female candidate who gets under his skin, and that she's tough as nails and doesn't let any attack get to her.
In fact, I welcome the fact that she's doing this now, before she can get branded by the socialist attacks of the GOP.
25
Elizabeth Warren will be our nominee and will beat Trump. And that’s a good thing.
15
If this tactic of wooing the monied-elite of the DNC is so wonderful, why is Ms. Warren doing it on the sly? Why is she making a progressive face and signaling that she really doesn't mean it?
Those who characterize Sanders as a destroyer are simply uniformed or seeking to mislead.
It seems that he is BUILDING the biggest organization of volunteers, the largest number of voters who actually donate to him than anyone. Over 1 million volunteers. More individual donations (746,000) that Warren (421,000) and ol' uncle Joe (at a pathetic 256,000).
He is building a renovated Democratic Party and returning it to its glory days of supporting the working class. Ms. Warren is cozying up to those who rely on support from corporate and special interest money.
As we have just seen, oil and coal still rule the DNC along with insurance companies and pharma.
7
I've alway liked Warren from the start, and she is still my candidate for several reasons, including her declination from the big money guys, which she now seems that she is willing to accept the big bucks trade-off for the general election. I hope that she won't be "bought" by them.
Furthermore, I would have no problem, with her responding to Trump's deprecating nicknames, with her own for him. In fact, I think it is necessary to do so for any potential opposition candidate to even the playing field.
However,I feel the two major problems that she will have to address is Medicare for all, and remediate Trump's unnecessary 2017 "Swamp Tax Cut" for the richest.
After seeing all of the problems with adopting the ACA, I don't see the practical and financial feasibility of implementing that, especially given Trump's increasingly, outlandish deficits.
Now that many people are finally acquiring reasonable health care via the ACA, a more reasonable and feasible alternative, for those still without would have to be sought.
Finally, I believe that Social Security and general Medicare, still need to be reasonably secured for the next generations which he will cut next!
And that would require that the wealthiest in our country pay their full, fair share for Social Security, and that all capital gains benefits be terminated.
It is time to end the bifurcated double standard for the rich, including the largest corporations, and the 99% of the rest of us!
4
Warren is smart, studious, personable, and persuasive. She has much in common with Bernie where policy is concerned, but unlike Bernie she knows how to get things done. Argue policy differences all you want and complain about political maneuvering, but Warren can deliver the goods. Bernie, on the other hand, will be working against Republicans and powerful members of his own party from day one if elected.
22
So in other words, Warren is letting the party insiders and big donors knoe if she wins the election it will be business as usual. Call me underwhelmed. Unfortunately not surprised however. When she has one speech for the public and another (Very Different) speech for big donors and insiders? Well it tells who NOT to vote for!
10
OK Say hello to Trump term 2.
3
"she is signaling to party leaders that, far from wanting to stage a “political revolution” in the fashion of Mr. Sanders, she wants to revive the beleaguered Democratic National Committee and help recapture the Senate while retaining the House in 2020."
These two things are not in conflict -- a Sanders/Warren political revolution centered on issues like Medicare For All that impact all Americans is the way forward (and the most likely way the Democrats can take back the Senate and keep the house.)
The Republicans have almost completely dominated all three branches of government -- it's going to take a political revolution to dethrone them.
10
I object to Warren agreeing to share my information with the DNC, the home of the corporateDemocrats. This is similar to how private enterprise does it, selling my information to others. I reviewed the ActBlue privacy policy and it says they will not share information to third parties except those involved in the processing of my contributions. However Warren's website says she may share donor data with "like minded entities." How can Warren view the the DNC as a like minded entity when it is the opponent of Medicare for All and virtually all other progressive policies. She should be asking my permission to do so, not just handing it over to the DNC and other parties. I have made several small contributions to her campaign but will make no further contributions to her until she pledges to ask my permission before she provides my information to the DNC and others.
7
Of she provides a statement saying she may share data with the DNC, that is effective asking you. If you donate, you agree to the terms of donating. If not, don't donate. And if you didn't bother to read her disclosure prior to your previous donations, that's on you.
5
Although medicare for all polls well as a general term, once the particulars are discussed, like would you still support it if private insurance was eliminated, support drops dramatically and this is true even among democrats.
"And in a July poll of Iowa voters by CBS News/YouGov, two-thirds of Democrats said they preferred a government health program that competed with private insurance, compared with 34 percent who favored one that replaced private insurance entirely."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democrats-back-off-once-fervent-embrace-of-medicare-for-all/2019/08/19/13c76ffe-c28b-11e9-b5e4-54aa56d5b7ce_story.html
Once again this is just among the Democrats.
Support drops further when tax increases are mentioned.
The opposite is true when people are asked about a buy-in to medicare or medicaid. This has wide support among democrats and republicans.
https://www.kff.org/slideshow/public-opinion-on-single-payer-national-health-plans-and-expanding-access-to-medicare-coverage/
So, is it any wonder that Democratic Senate candidates in swing states are not campaigning on the Warren and Sander's version of medicare for all approach and distancing themselves from it, while promoting the moderates approach instead?
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/25/democrats-health-care-senate-1678301
If we really want to win the swing states and if we really want to retake the Senate, we need to pay attention to what really does poll well and what people really want.
5
Elizabeth Warren has what it takes to defeat Trump and lead our country in the right direction.
12
She is well qualified, intellectually and her character, to be the President. She should gave been President today if not steamrolled by the party and Clinton. To win the election the point is can she win or atleast standup to slugfest with Trump? Americans only understand at superficial level without any depth, no nothing against Americans but a fact starting from Ronald Reagan era. Can she? If she can then she will be the next President.
2
I know, I know, it's way too early, but I'll call it anyway:
Warren / Buttigieg 2020
"We'll see, said the Zen Master..."
10
Please Democrats, don't be seduced by pretty dreams.
Sen. Warren has even less management experience than did Obama. Hey, being President is a huge managerial job! Warren has never had a single executive job; no experience as an elected executive official. Her only elected job is as a Senator & we all know how much they get done. Utopic ideas are easy to come up with. The hard part is to implement them & even harder, to pay for them.
Then there's the imperative of sending Trump packing. He would make mince meat out our her.
5
@Richard Huber Trump doesn’t really make mincemeat out of anyone. He stumbles around, ignorantly, and his zombie followers cheer him on, anyway.
7
If you want a revival, vote for Biden. Warren's positions will be talking points for the GOP, e.g. Joe Walsh talking about the Socialists in the Democratic Party. Move too far to the left and you will give the election to Trump.
4
Good news for Bernie dead-enders. They now have a righteous excuse for when they help Mr. Trump’s reelection by sitting home on Nov. 3 or voting third-party:
“But her hand-written notes!”
4
2008 Hillary = 2020 Biden
2008 Obama = 2020 Warren
A successful president first shows the public what management talent they have by running a smart, well-organized campaign.
5
I support Warren, but I do to support her plan to make reparations to the descendants African slaves and I don't know anyone who does. This issue could be the Achilles' heel of her campaign. I hate to see what Trump will make of it.
1
@Purple Spain,
Why, is she of Greek ancestry?
2
@whatever
Well, her grandmammy said she was part Greek, so isn't that enough? Again.
1
I switched from Bernie to her.
7
Clear message, "I am not the extremist I portray".
2
I cannot lie. I have a mad crush on Elizabeth Warren. I saw her last week in Los Angeles and she did not disappoint. I’m all in with Warren.
13
My dream ticket is Warren and Booker!
4
Sad to see she's playing footsie with the detestable DNC. For me it's Bernie all the way.
6
I read some of these comments and these people want Warren should move to the middle.. Why so she can be Biden or H Clinton? You can keep that Republican lite. She's fine just like she is.
7
She would be a formidable president.
Too bad her policies are so blinkered.
Why is the NYT referring to Senator Warren as Ms. Warren? Even if you drop her title, why wouldn’t it be Mrs. Warren?
2
@James Phillips Her ex-husband, Jim Warren, died in 2003, 25 years after their divorce. She has been remarried for 35 years. She's not his Mrs.
1
She's a fraud . You can't deny that. I'll end it there but she's full of it.
7
Donald Trump is not a fraud? He is lying about everything everyday!
7
For me Elizabeth Warren is by far the best candidate this time around. It's not even close. Bernie is a far distant second place, mostly because I find his take on issues doesn't match the way the world actually works. Elizabeth Warren has a much better grasp on how to move the nation from how it actually is towards what is like to see change. Bernie skips to the end.
Biden and the others are mostly no go for me. I'm just not interested.
30
It appears that Warren, her managers and advisors have studied HRC’s campaign and are determined not to make the same mistakes. Glad to see that. I believe if she gets the chance to take Trump on, it will be obvious to enough voters that Warren’s a far better choice for President.
27
I am confused as to why a candidate needs to be aligned with party officials. The DNC’s candidate is chosen by its members. Hillary was closely aligned with the DNC party officials and look where that got them. The moment there is any indication of impropriety in the primaries (like there was in Brooklyn), or debate questions are disclosed to one candidate, Democrats will leave the party and vote for independents.
7
No, not us true Democrats. Because we don’t want to have another 4 years of Trump.
But of course the Bernie supporters will keep their moral superiority intact and help trump re-win. GROSS
12
The party still matters; especially to people who like to get things done. Get over yourself.
8
When you factor, the percentage approval and support for Senators Warren and Sanders combined, it’s clear where the voters are - not in VP Biden’s “lane” of “same all, same all” Mr. Biden and his adviser are missing the American voter rage: the economic feeble recovery and lack of fundamental regulatory restructuring doesn’t bode well.
Senator Warren’s positions are broad enough giving her ample room to recalibrate for the general election.
17
Her only plan is stealing a contested convention with super delegates. She can’t get enough votes from voters.
8
You must have missed today’s poll where she’s tied for 1st place.
5
The title and subtitle of the article made it sound like this would be another inside look at a typical, hypocritical politician saying one thing in public and another in private. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that it shows instead a competent candidate who understands that we need a strong, (relatively) united Democratic Party if we're going to make big, structural change (yes, her slogan) in America. Reaching out to Democratic politicians and officials around the country is consistent with reducing the corrupting influence of money in Washington. Senator Warren has real plans to address the problems Trump emphasized in 2016 but had no interest in actually fixing. She has the values and skills to be an excellent president.
36
Warrant can beat Trump in 2020 and also make the necessary changes that America needs without burning down the house.
21
“While her liberal agenda may be further left than some in the Democratic establishment would prefer, she is a team player who is seeking to lead the party — not stage a hostile takeover of it.”
If this is true she will win the nomination. People want to see Sen. Harris demolish Trump in a debate but first Trump won’t debate Harris and, secondly, Harris beating up on Trump could backfire the way it backfired against Sen. Biden.
But Sen. Warren can easily beat Trump in a debate and he is too narcissistic to know this so he will debate her. And if Warren is the nominee Ivanka might want to warn her dad to stay away from the Pocahontas strategy. Even Republican women will reject that game.
Imagine a universe where Elizabeth Warren is the president of the United States. I get goose bumps just thinking about it.
67
Good for her. Considering Wall Street came out against her from the get go (we know they do not like or want her) she needs to get the DNC to give her a shot at the position. And she has been a consistent "foot shoulder" while still staying her course while in the senate. I think she can be instrumental in taking back the senate even with Schumer tripping over his own feet at times. Just sayin
5
A gigabyte of plans, staffed by democratic insiders. Putting together the Hillary coalition!
What could go wrong.
6
I like this. I supported Bernie Sanders in 2016 because Hillary Clinton was just too conservative for me and I didn't like that the Democratic establishment put a thumb on the scale for her. But I've been a Democrat all my life and I think both Bernie and Elizabeth Warren hold positions that are, or should be, in the Democratic mainstream. The DNC has been running scared since Clinton's lackluster campaign and subsequent fundraising slump. Lots of Democrats are giving to candidates they choose themselves, not trusting the party. Meanwhile, Warren is poised to succeed. If anybody can refresh the party, she can.
22
Elizabeth Warren is the smartest, best prepared, most articulate, and most empathetic Democratic Party candidate. I'm just not certain a large segment of the American electorate is smart or patient enough to appreciate substance over bread and circus.
28
Warren is undoubtedly very smart and authentic.
But I fear that the 2020 election will be Trump versus Normal, that voters are so tired of tumult and chaos and change that they will just want a return to NORMAL. Boring, staid, don't rock the boat.
I'm afraid Warren might very well lose to Trump because voters will see her as offering extreme change when all they want is NORMALCY
3
@John
And what exactly is "normal"? A president that looks like a Ken doll and is really good at reciting the speeches lobbyists write for him?
2
Warren can naturally assimilate the DNC et al. into her planning and outreach. Unlike Sanders, Warren is actually a Democrat. She's right to imagine and work toward a country led by Democrats on all levels in 2020. Sanders complained about Democratic favoritism in 2016 (and will again), but he is not actually a Democrat (unlike Hillary and Warren). There is no basis for complaints.
14
If the Establishment can't shove a Biden/Harris ticket down our throats, they will groom Elizabeth Warren to be their safe choice when they realize that a "change" candidate is inevitable.
I support the real deal, Bernie Sanders... the Establishment could not possibly groom him into an acceptable Establishment candidate.
Sanders frightens the Establishment because he has the courage, ideas, vision and strength to stand up against the Washington consensus, the foreign policy blob, and the military industrial complex.
A recent Pew Research survey says that Sanders has the most diverse supporter mix of any 2020 candidate: Slightly more than half are people of color and slightly more than half are women, which is a combination no other candidate can claim… His supporters are not just disproportionately young but disproportionately working-class and disproportionately non-college-educated. According to the Sanders campaign, the No. 1 occupation among his 750,000 or so individual donors is teacher. The No. 1 employer among his donors is Walmart, with Amazon, Target and UPS not far behind. (No other candidate comes within 300,000 of that donor number.) Warren dominates among affluent, educated, middle-aged white people who identify as “very liberal,” while Sanders dominates among left-leaning people of color, lower-income white folks and younger voters.
The time for REAL CHANGE is NOW!
7
I see Bernie as all talk and no accomplishments beyond making his first million dollar annual income from his 2016 run. My take is he is happy to spout off as an outsider and take the money, rather than govern. Hmm...remind you of anyone?
4
@Lucy Cooke
"Sanders frightens the Establishment because he has the courage, ideas, vision and strength to stand up against the Washington consensus, the foreign policy blob, and the military industrial complex." - sounds like you're talking about Trump.
@Lucy Cooke: You have your real change already: Trump. And the majority of people of color are moderate, if not conservative, and prefer Biden.
1
Excellent profile of Elizabeth Warren. Her activities in building relationships with Democratic Party officials establish her as a gifted leader.
It’s troubling, however, to see the difference between the Times’s largely favorable coverage of Elizabeth Warren and its largely negative coverage of Joe Biden.
Ms. Warren’s cultivation of Democratic elites is portrayed as savvy politicking. Mr. Biden’s is portrayed as entrenched indebtedness.
Ms. Warren’s evolution from a conservative free-market adherent to a a progressive leader is portrayed as indicating intellectual open-mindedness. Mr. Biden’s positions of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s are scoured in an effort to prove that he can’t be trusted.
I don’t quarrel with the Times’ portrayal of Elizabeth Warren. I do quarrel with its obvious double standard.
4
Exactly. I her case it was an “awakening” while in his case it was opportunism. The NYT biography of Elizabeth Warren sure looked like it was written by her campaign. At some point I am sure someone will write an actual one with a more critical eye.
Warren's successful strategy of building a personal connection with multiple members within the DNC is a harbinger of how she would manage her relations with Congress if she became President. One of Obama's biggest failings was that he did a poor job of managing needed relationships on Capitol Hill. To be successful, a President needs to work with Congress, and, yes, at times to reach out to constituencies that wouldn't be her natural allies to find common ground.
She's also raising money for other Democrats and trying to build up the party, because she understands that you can't get policy done without having lots of other people behind you in the legislative branch and in the states--something else Obama didn't seem to realize in office until it was too late.
She's a smart pol who will understand how to be effective in getting her policies done from day one of her Administration.
Go team Warren!
29
I think this is a smart move. If she is elected, she will need to get all of these people moving toward her policy goals and this is a good way to start. I think that she is strong enough to stick to her views and not be engulfed by the DNC.
If the DNC wants to find someone to blame for its woes, it should look in the mirror and stop blaming Sanders or similar candidates. Talk about self-inflicted damage!
5
Sorry. I can't vote for a politician who was a conservative Republican as an educated adult during the Clinton years.
8
@Observer
We've already seen what purity tests got us in 2016: Trump.
7
@Observer
President Trump thanks you for your support.
2
@Observer False choice. I will vote for Senator Sanders.
1
The purpose of articles like these is to try to show that the Democrats are less left leaning than they actually are. So they are either lying to the public or to their donors. Neither speaks well of them. Bottom line - the current crop of hopefuls are either too old or/and too liberal for the voting populace of the states that count.
1
Thanks for a great article. It allowed me to a bit of a ‘behind-the-scenes’ understanding of Elizabeth Warren. I was surprised to see that the accompanying video does not list medicare for all as one of her top three goals. I’m grateful for that. Because I think improving upon Obamacare and offering everyone a public option has a much broader appeal to voters of all stripes. I’ve admired Warren for a long time. She’s got brains, grit and plug and she strikes me as being one of the very few who really is in it for the little guy.
10
The headline and the tone of this article imply that Warren is somehow compromising the progressive ideals she is promoting to voters. And some of the comments make clear that is the message some readers take from it. Yet the actual content of the article doesn’t show that at all. Warren is cultivating political relationships that will help her win and enact truly progressive policy. She does not accept corporate money or donations from the gilded class. She is smart and dedicated to truly progressive change. She is the real deal.
35
@Bruce Crabtree
Warren has already said she'd taken corporate PAC money if she was the nominee. And her campaign uses leftover funds from her Senate campaign, when she received large donations from now big Biden donors.
8
I admire Elizabeth Warren and will proudly support her if she is the nominee.
But I am not confident that she can dislodge Trump.
Progressives will vote for the Democratic candidate. But the successful nominee will have to appeal to Independents and to those Republicans willing to desert Trump. Most of these voters are moderate to conservative.
My concern is that Warren is too far left to assemble the coalition she needs to defeat Trump. On the other hand, she might be a strong choice for Veep with a centrist candidate for POTUS.
3
@ANetliner
Yes, especially voters in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan at a minimum, states which, unless I am mistaken, are not bastions of progressive liberals.
2
@ANetliner On the other hand, if you look at her 'plans' - they actually make a LOT of sense.
Who knows, the voters might want a person who is stable, mature, and compassionate...and can articulate
a comprehensive strategy to fix our messes.
11
@ANetliner Don't take progressive votes for granted. That's what Hillary did. It turns out that progressives will not vote for a Republican Lite.
3
All in for Warren except for student loan forgiveness. I’d rather the money goes to infrastructure and healthcare so all of us benefit. Forgiving loans helps some Americans not all. How about forgiving my home equity loan? Furthermore, having kids should cost more in this climate change environment.
10
@HowMuchIsEnough? Personally, I'd rather see a law enacted that put student loans at the same interest as the big banks get from the Fed.
Oh, and they SHOULD be dischargable via bankruptcy.
6
This article did a nice job highlighting an essential ingredient for a successful president of the United States: leadership.
Not just leadership, but leadership that seeks to unite and include.
Imagine how different you will feel when we have such a person in the White House. Imagine how relieved our allies will be.
I anxiously await the day when that base level of stress that comes with the present regime is swept away and rational adults once again lead our nation.
But that won't happen unless each of us support and vote for such a leader.
I'm supporting and voting for Elizabeth Warren.
62
"With calls, texts and handwritten notes to party officials, Senator Elizabeth Warren is pushing to convey a desire for a revival, not a revolution."
Well, good. So why in the world didn't she say so during the last debate? And why in heaven's name did she talk and behave during that debate like a Sanders minion? I had convinced myself that Warren shared my aims and values, and was smart enough and pragmatic enough to think of the long game. The 2016 Sanders campaign was brutal, and did considerable harm to the general election chances of Clinton. Since the election was close, that like a host of other things was enough to hand the election to Trump. This voter is more progressive than Sanders on the social issues, and more practical and tactical than Sanders on the economics. Warren is still one of his favorite candidates.
11
Warren, with a pragmatic centrist like Sherrod Brown as running mate, would be a really strong ticket.
I agree with most here, Biden just doesn’t have the energy behind his campaign that you’d like to see. I’m afraid we’d see a lot of young voters sitting another election out if Joe wins the nomination. Trump doesn’t scare this group, so it will take a truly inspirational person to get the turnout we’ll need.
It’s beginning to feel like Elizabeth is that person.
26
@Doug E. I think a lot of people, maybe especially young people, are getting used to the idea that the president can be a total lunatic, with bad intentions, but somehow we keep stumbling along, between amusement and outrage, but surviving... so, you're right, they're not exactly scared, or not any more scared than they are of the future in general. So, you're right, there will be a great temptation to sit out, and this will be what the Republicans (and any overseas allies) will be trying to promote, in the under-the-table half of their campaign. And you're right, Warren is our best candidate.
6
@Doug E.
Warren/Brown?
As opposed to, say
Warren/Harris?
@Doug E. Interesting suggestion of Sherrod Brown. Is it insane to propose .... Warren/Biden? We already know the dude pulls in voters and looks okay in aviator sunglasses.
Warren can run back to the center, but by now we all know she is a progressive ideologue and will govern as one. And we know how that goes. The last time the Democratic Party had a progressive ideologue at its helm, it forced Obamacare on the nation and received one its worse shellackings ever in the next midterm. The remainder of that president's term was spent in constant gridlock.
This is our future with Warren at the helm. Do we really want a repeat of that? I know I don't.
8
@AACNY
A Republican until the mid 1990s "because markets work" is not an ideologue.
If you have to actually talk to broke people to figure out that - much like her own family - they're broke for pretty good reasons, not because they're irresponsible, then you're not an ideologue.
3
@AACNY: Except that the "shellacking" was based on the lies Republicans told about the ACA: but now that people have experienced it, they definitely don't want to go back. Of course, the Republicans will keep lying and whipping up all the confusion and resentment they can, and we have seen that they are very effective at that. So it's going to be difficult.
But remember, Trump's original demagoguery was based on a bogus populism; he actually pretended to be a progressive. Will that work after people have seen his actual policies? Again, lies and demagoguery are very effective. Vamos a ver.
6
@AACNY Obama was black.
Warren isn't.
And that, my friend, is what makes the difference.
1
Not only is Sen. Elizabeth Warren a team player and a hard worker, she is genuine and caring and knows how to strategize to make things happen. I am a huge fan of how she created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which works for consumers who are preyed upon by financial interests. I volunteered for her long-shot, hard-fought, winning campaign for Senator against Scott Brown. I am impressed by her on-the-ground connection to the people volunteering in her current campaign and her focus on creating detailed policies that work for the people. It comes from the heart and her own lived experience.
I have been disappointed by decent candidates in the past (Shannon O'Brien, Martha Coakley, Hillary Clinton) but Sen. Warren is the complete package. Exciting speaker, deep thinker, strategic planner, hard worker, and all around nice person who thinks the best thing for our country is to give everyone a fair chance to live their best lives.
63
As long as the Senate is controlled by a Republican majority and McConnell, none of her plans, especially Medicare for All, will ever ever see the light of day and even brought to the floor, let alone for a vote.
8
@dba
A Warren presidency spells "G-R-I-D-L-O-C-K." If a democrat can only lead with a majority in Congress, that democrat isn't presidential material.
2
@dba Which is why we need to turn the Senate.
On the other hand, I expect that Warren would be much more of a hardball player than Obama...she has no delusions about GOP integrity.
3
If you think that the current system, Dem. party and economy, have some bugs that need to be fixed, then Warren is the logical candidate. If you think that those bugs are actually features of those systems, then Sanders is your candidate.
The rest of them, fugetataboutit.
5
Reminds me of another pol who told her donors and establishment insiders, "I've got a public and a private position..."
As the NYT pointed out, Ms. Warren has also taking private meetings with JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and other Wall Street movers 'n shakers.
Said Robert Wolf, UBS Investment Bank CEO, after a fund-raiser held at his summer home on Martha's Vineyard, “I think Senator Warren’s views are more pragmatic; I think she is very different in a conversation than when she’s on the stump.”
Yeah I don't doubt it Mr. Wolf.
That's my worry.
Another pol saying one thing to her/his base, quite another to those smoke-filled back rooms.
13
So, she’s basically being dishonest with her current supporters. Biden wouldn’t be as strong a candidate if the voters wanted left.
5
@linda
That's my take on her. She's a phony. Her life stories and tales of woe are "sorta" true just not really accurate and factual. Especially her marriage, divorce and marriage timeline. No one ever talks about - nor does the press report on - the criticism she received on her famous bankruptcy paper and book. There was strong intellectual pushback on her research integrity and conclusions. I don't understand those who think she's "genuine" - I don't trust her.
2
@Mimi: Any citations to back up your vague assertions?
3
@Anna
Google and read the various biographies and magazine articles - someone has scrubbed the internet/Google because about four months ago, I found a bunch of old articles on Warren - Vanity Fair, etc. But they are gone.
There's an article yesterday in the NY Times which contradicts other articles. Divorced in 1978? or 1979? I've heard her talk about being a "struggling single mother" (for six months she was single between her Husband No. 1 moving out after she met Husband No. 2 at a conference at a Miami resort and her divorce from him). One story she tells is crying on the phone to her aunt who moved in to help her and another is her parents moved in to help her because her husband didn't like her having a career. I have also heard her say she always wanted to be a teacher and she claims to have been a special ed teacher. But she got her bachelor's in speech therapy and audiology and worked as a temporary for one year as a teacher because she was not credentialed.
As for her bankruptcy paper and book published in 1979 chttps://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/elizabeth-warren-reshaped-our-view-of-the-middle-class-but-some-see-an-angle/2019/05/06/9c434a2e-18e5-11e9-8813-cb9dec761e73_story.html
http://www.celebfamily.org/elizabeth-warren
https://elizabethwarren.com/meet-elizabeth
https://heavy.com/news/2019/06/alexander-warren-elizabeth-warrens-son/
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/elizabeth-warrens-ex-husband-founded-dna-testing-company
1
I admit I fell for this troll exercise. Didn’t catch on til I read the comments.
Circular firing squad? No. Just people who don’t know to play the game or run a play.
One example.
Only a fool will build any democrat up by putting another down. At this point in history it is not just foolish. It is evil.
And yet. Scroll the comments.
10
@In deed
Reagan used to say that 'The eleventh commandment is "Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican."....'
The Democrats need to apply that to their own ranks.
3
I just Googled "Warren immigration" and found her immigration proposal.
It's a plan for national suicide.
And the cherry on top is that she (and all the other Dem candidates) want "comprehensive health coverage" for "undocumented" immigrants.
11
@Thomas Martin Thank you for pointing that out. I cannot vote for a candidate that is for that. I know too many people who can't afford their ACA insurance premiums. I refuse to hold my nose when I vote. I'd rather stay home.
@Thomas Martin The country is going to need an exceptional leader to help us recover from the ongoing crimes against humanity perpetrated at our borders by the Trump administration. I do not mean that hyperbolically; there is no doubt that the concentration camps and family detention centers are going to be revealed as catastrophic horrors for which the US Government will be held accountable.
Elizabeth Warren is by far the most capable of the Democratic contenders to clean up the destruction that this crop of Republicans will leave behind--economically, environmentally, in terms of our standing in the global community, and yes, in how we try to make amends to the human beings we have mistreated so brutally under Trump's direction.
4
There's a decent chance that we go to a brokered convention with the progressive vote split between Sanders and Warren. If so, Warren will likely be able to consolidate a lot of super delegates on the second ballot.
4
I joined about 15,000 others to listen to Elizabeth Warren at her Seattle town hall yesterday. She has so much energy, passion, brilliance paired with a common touch, empathy, and talent!
She's the first candidate to come to Seattle and welcome anyone who cared to show up. She did not ask us for money or require it as a condition of spending time with her. So many of us RSVP'd to say would attend that she needed to find a bigger venue. She talked to a sprawling crowd outdoors in the shadow of the Space Needle as she looked out over children enjoying our beloved International Fountain. We were told we're her largest town hall so far.
Thanks, NYT, for this article that helped me understand what might have been going on while we waited for her to take the stage. She does it all!
And then, she stayed for selfies with ANYONE who wanted one. Incredible!!
80
@kathyb
Your vote for a selfie? Low bar setting. Any politician worth their ilk is personable. An explanation of how to fund her platform will earn my vote.
3
@kathyb
Slefies... with Elizabeth Warren... if only I had known!
1
I knew Elizabeth Warren was running the most compelling campaign for voters. I didn’t know she was running the best campaign for the party too.
I was going to say I was surprised, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense: she is the best candidate on all levels. Go, Warren!
98
Warren/Sanders
Or
Warren/Buttigieg
Watcha think. ?
3
@New World
I think you might as well forget Warren/Sanders if you don't want to lose the majority of moderate Democratic voters who aren't going to swallow a double-dose progressive ticket.
9
@New World
I read those and I see "Trump/Pence" beating both options.
6
@New World Either option .. you lose
1
I think many people are missing an important point. Warren wants Medicare for all. That would be what we all say we want, coverage for everyone. But her strongest suit is that she is also a realist, and would work for the best compromise, which given our fear of taxes and our basic selfishness, would be inevitable. Doing nothing, which is the Trump way, while picking away at the edges, which is the GOP way, will lead to a deepening medical crisis in this country, and many many unnecessary deaths of potentially good-contributing citizens.
529
@SFR
But her strongest suit is that she is also a realist, and would work for the best compromise...
*****
Sorry, nothing in Warren's most recent actions demonstrate that she is open to compromise. In fact, just the opposite.
16
@SFR
Being "open to compromise" is what got you Obamacare And while I'm sure you think that's great, you need to remember that public support for it exists only as long as premiums are kept low and people have choices. Neither of those things are true for more and more people.
Obama is neither politically sustainable nor financially sustainable for a lot of states. Like DACA, it was a political gimmick that made Obama look good for the time he was in office and would have fallen apart right after he left no matter who was elected.
27
@SFR don’t know who you mean by “we”. All of us want things we don’t want to pay for. So we’ll just find a bloc of people who we think can pay for it. Until there aren’t people left to pay because people figure out there really isn’t any incentive to work. We didn’t become the greatest country in the world by embracing socialism.
5
Ms. Warren is on my shortlist and she has mostly been smart- except the whole "Native American" thing.
And thanks for acknowledging that the institutional Democratic Party tried to stack the deck for Hillary in 2016. I saw it first hand when newly active volunteers for the Sanders Campaign went down to the local Democratic Party meetings to volunteer beyond the Sanders campaign and were treated as outsiders and interlopers.
6
Not interested in revival, nope. No, thank you. NEXT!
6
What would you rather have in the office? The current person? Next please!!
1
I would love a Warren/Harris or Harris/Warren ticket.
Warren has serious problems with support from black women, which is also a problem shared by every candidate except Harris.
Without black women voting in record numbers, Donald Trump will be president again. It’s just a fact.
There is no “winning” back the white people who currently support Trump. They’re not the future of the Democrat party. AOC, Omar, Tlaib, and Pressley are the future of the Democrat party. Any candidate that has a prayer of beating Donald Trump needs to embrace that with every fiber of their being.
6
@Austin Ouellette
Wow, so you are saying that black women won't vote for a white woman???!!!
Are you saying black women are racist?
Help me understand what you are trying to say.
5
@Austin Ouellette
If "AOC, Omar, Tlaib, and Pressley are the future of the Democrat party," as you say, then I'm out of here! Plus I fear that if they are the face or future of the party, then Trump will win again. The GOP has moved so far to the right that I couldn't possibly align with them I'll still vote for whoever wins the Democratic nomination, but I feel increasingly lost by the drift towards extremism in both parties.
4
@Midwest Moderate
What exactly is so extreme about “the Squad” and their proposals, exactly?
Clean water and clean air, fair wages for workers, affordable healthcare, respect for human rights... when did THAT become “extreme”?
6
With the nutty Pelosi “Sister Squad” having tantrums on a daily basis now I welcome any good news from Warren.
But unfortunately we know the real Warren by her actions as an imposter therefore they ring so hollow...even her apology.
9
I honestly don’t get the ‘imposter’ charge. An imposter knowingly poses as someone they are not. How does that apply to Warren, who believed her family’s oral history of having an indigenous ancestor?
5
@Weave:And she actually does have an indigenous ancestor. The family lore is true.
3
@Weave
The charge is that she knowingly didn't believe her family lore, because she's obviously not th naive.
Go with Bernie or bust!!
3
@rupert
What does 'Bernie or bust' actually mean? Does it mean that you aren't going to support the eventual nominee. The term 'Bernie of bust' worries me. Senator Warren is very shrewd and I believe she could get us out of the current ditch IF we have a Dem Senate!
27
@Sage
To me it means vote your conscience, instead of who you think is electable. Nobody in the last 40 years won because he was electable.
3
Superb woman with a superb policy,
Odd to read of Medicare for All as a contentious issue in the US when every other major nation in the world has it, but that's par for the course for a nation with the greatest discrepancy in the world between rich and poor.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, despite her many fine attributes and policies, should not be chosen as candidate for president. I'm afraid she would be easy prey for the slanderous trump in debate.
Better Bernie Sanders, ever forceful, bristling with indignation, alive with knowledge of the issues, is far more suited to put trump in his place and rid the country of him.
2
@JFP: The image of Trump being "put in his place" is attractive, but I'm afraid it's illusory. Remember, his great strength has always been the stupid school-yard insult. He and his followers are impervious to indignation and knowledge of the issues: which, by the way, Warren is really good at also. If Sanders points out an important fact, Trump will make fun of Sanders' hair, or something, and his followers will love it. If it's Warren, he'll call her Pocahontas again.
No, the Democratic candidate will win by addressing Democrats and Independents, that large majority who already totally despise Trump, and motivating them to get out and vote, rather than sit home in apathy or resentment. Any of them can do it, with the support of the rest. I like Warren myself, but any of them can win.
Ah, so she admits her plans are all for show. She's pretending to be progressive just for votes. Pretending to be Cherokee and pretending to be progressive, makes sense. Too bad their aren't DNA tests for honesty, I bet she'd score at least 1/1024.
18
Made my second contribution to her campaign yesterday. She definitely is the sharpest blade in the drawer.
63
If the article’s aim was to make me lose trust in Warren, it succeeded.
20
@Farbod Kamiab
Distrust her for what? Supporting other candidates in her party? Building relationships in her party? Working hard to bring all factions within the party--progressives and centrists--together? Adding humanity and a personal touch to the dog-eat-dog-world of politics?
If the way in which she operates within her party is any indication of how she will operate on the world stage, they I say, "We have a winner."
20
To pass bold legislative agendas you need plans and public pressure (i.e. a movement).
Contrary to what you normally hear Sanders has many plans, as does Warren.
What Warren does not have is a grass roots movement to pressure lawmakers, only Sanders does and that scares many in the beltway bubble and corporate media.
Also Sanders is much better on foreign policy.
10
@Matt: That's a good point, but there's a problem if the grass-roots movement is too attached to one person, or a very specialized political vision. Enough of Sanders' followers decided they preferred Trump to a Democratic victory, to give us four years of Betsy DeVoss, Ben Carson and the rest... Not a very useful grass roots movement, so far.
@Matt
Sanders and foreign policy?
Huh?
SMH.
2
Now if she could just learn how to speak, actually speak, to the American public, rather than just recite an endless list of programs. Then she might be electable.
5
I attended her town hall meeting yesterday. She is relatable to all Americans!
9
@Ashley Lyons Speaking to a likely receptive audience in liberal Seattle is not the same as making a televised address to the entire nation.
1
Another example of Warren's smarts.
Now if only the DNC would replace Tom Perez, maybe we'd actually get somewhere.
17
In my view, we are watching a Warren presidency taking shape.
She is the only one I can see who can deal with Trump’s nonsense.
59
So the individual that thought being a Native American could be transactionally useful has also decided that being a 'revolutionary' can also be transactionally useful - who'd a thunk it?
11
Well, I say, "Good on her!".
6
Warren's straining to be perceived as a "team player" is exactly the problem when the Democratic leadership's steadfast refusal to be an opposition to Republican corporatism is what made a President Donald Trump possible. They enable him. Blue collar workers once reliably Democratic are now ruby red Republicans after decades of empty Democratic rhetoric and votes for the interests of their 1% donors. Bernie's great "crime" in the eyes of the establishment is in pointing this fact out.
Progressives know that Trump is not the problem -- the takeover of our democracy and government by an oligarchy of Wall Street and the one per cent (the "owners" of this country, as George Carlin called them) is the problem. Biden is their avatar. Trump is their useful idiot. Neoliberal centrists are the banner-carriers for both, whether they realize it or not. Being a "team player" with them is the last thing we need.
Bernie, unlike Warren, doesn't want to reform or re-organize the capital markets to make them more responsive to workers and consumers -- he knows that has never been the functions of those markets and that our existential problems are actually an outgrowth of late stage capitalism. He wants to overhaul the markets entirely, to rebuild the trade unions, and build a real movement through mobilization of people on the streets, at their workplaces and in communities. He realizes, as Warren does not, that we need real fundamental change, not just a change of "teams."
14
Warren/Mayor Pete 2020. Easy peasy.
19
I am with whoever can beat Trump.
7
So..... She's lying, just like a politician. So...We don't really know what she would try to do if elected.
Credibility: zero.
15
The current one in the office is lying everyday!
1
Elizabeth Warren is not a "new bright shiney object".
She is not a performer or a clown. She is the REAL DEAL! She has plans thoroughly thought out!
She s a best HOPE for the country!
This is not 2016! The country knows better now!
Vote Straight Blue and turn the Senate TOO.
69
The fact that Warren is reaching out to Democratic Party insiders is both unsurprising and reassuring. Unsurprising because she has already displayed a deft and organized approach to her campaign. Reassuring because it further demonstrates that she understands that the campaign for the nomination and then against Trump involves working on multiple levels in a strategic, nuanced manner.
Sooner or later - probably sooner - opponents ranging from Bernie to Trump will call Warren's courting of Party leaders hypocritical. I call it smart, and yet more proof that she has what it takes to win it all next year. She still has more mountains to climb, not least courting black voters and showing that she can win back the Midwest. But she's proving adept at meeting the multiple challenges involved with seeking the presidency.
624
@Thunder Road
That is one take.
You are correct, it is unsurprising to many of us.
You are also correct many of us will call it hypocritical.
When the NYT writes stories telling us a candidate takes private meetings with Wall Street CEO's. Has fund-raisers on Martha's Vineyard at their summer homes...
Yeah, business as usual.
For those of us disgusted with the political system and looking for change, kowtowing and making the rounds of smoke-filled rooms behind the scenes isn't reassuring.
That isn't change.
That's pivoting to the center/Right like so many pol's do.
The typical "private and public positions".
NO THANK YOU.
20
@Dobbys sock, I don't know how many elections you still care to lose, knowing the suffering you'll unleash on human beings when you do. But I've lost enough of them. And hope not to have to thank demanding, self-righteous purists, who are too good to stop the greatest evil, Trump, as they already did once. Can you have learned nothing since then?
60
@jb
That's strange, I seem to remember the Democrats losing three of the 5 presidential elections by running transparent, neo-liberal hacks who bend over backward to their party elders and corporate beneficiaries. Apparently it's you who has learned nothing if you think the situation we're in (which didn't start with Trump, by the way; it's been brewing for decades) is due to the progressives.
24
I'm waiting for my time to vote for her. She has plans for everything.
4
So, in other words she is telling two different stories: hard left liberal for the individual voters and moderate status quo Dem to the party leaders. Lying .. sounds like a typical politician in that regard.
23
@RJPost No -- there isn't a single cited example of her taking a different stand on the issues in private from what she argues in public. Her stated beliefs are her beliefs, period. This merely shows that she is committed not only to her own success, but also to the success of the Democratic Party.
17
@RJPost indeed, despite what we've been told, sold and promised: just more of the same. I'm still voting Bernie.
5
Nowhere does this article say she is lying or telling different stories to different audiences. It shows she is a Warren Democrat and committed to strengthening the party so it can oust Republicans at every level of elective office. She has also committed to supporting the Democratic nominee. Has Sanders?
10
Warren's incredible grasp of how to alter the rules that govern our broken system positions her as the best possible agent of real, middle-class healing change.
American needs someone like her--most importantly, while Biden would lock horns with Trump, Warren's deft intellect would make him look absurd; where Clinton was seen as removed and remote, unable to connect, Warren would be able to place Trump's ignorance in the context of how it makes solving our problems impossible. She has my votes: primary and general...
55
It would be a Dream Team, if Elizabeth and Bernie teamed up! I don’t think I’d stop jumping for joy!
3
@rebecca1048: They should definitely work together, "teaming up" in some sense, but probably not on the same ticket. If one of them gets the nomination, the other should get out there campaigning up a storm, and then go back to being a Senator, or maybe Secretary of State in the new administration. But neither of them have the self-effacement for a VP. Thank goodness. IMHO.
1
@rebecca1048
Yes, that would be a dream come true -- for the Republicans.
1
Warren..smart, prescient and good.
I hope this doesn't hurt her in the election.
8
What I take away from this story is that the primary focus of the Democratic National Committee is to perpetuate the Democratic National Committee. Oh, I'm sure the head honchos who travel to conferences and rub shoulders with bigwigs want to elect Democrats, too. But job #1 is to keep the money flowing and their paychecks coming.
14
Well, it's official.
The Fourth Estate has anointed Warren. By focusing on Biden's alleged gaffes, and ignoring Bernie, and pretty much dismissing everyone else who is running, they're decided Warren is the candidate.
Good luck!
13
@badubois
Biden is a nightmare; this idea that he could 'beat Trump' is ridiculous. Joe can hardly finish a sentence without an embarrassing gaffe; he is NOT the guy for the job. Senator Warren is the one I'm watching.
5
I love Warren's style and class. Conversely, I find Bernie a bit of a curmudgeon. What's more, he used the Democratic Party to advance his campaign in 2016 but before had done very little to fundraise for Democrats and he still straddles when it comes to being a Democrat. He was a very bad sport with Clinton hesitating to call on his supporters to fully support her. I partly blame him for Trump's presence in the White House.
21
@C Hernandez
Stop with this "Bernie didn't help Hillary" nonsense. He was actively campaigning for her in Wisconsin and Michigan, to the point where she sent him a letter thanking him for his work. Maybe if she pulled her weight as the nominee, we wouldn't be living under a Trump presidency.
And Sanders isn't a curmudgeon; he's angry. And he should be angry: we live in a society that stacks the deck in favor of the wealthy elite where people are forced into medical bankruptcy. We should all be angry, because nothing will substantially change until we do.
7
@Ben: Well, true, he did campaign for her, but somehow he couldn't bring along a lot of his followers, who are still resentful and alienated to this day, and may well lose us this next election, too. Not that he should have able to just snap his fingers, and they'd all jump... but still, there it is.
And yes, he's a curmudgeon, there's no getting around it. Nothing wrong with that. But again, there it is.
2
She risks being the next Kamala Harris with this rather blatantly two/faced strategy.
22
@Michael Livingston’s
No. Senator Warren has much more substance than Senator Harris.
2
Nothing two-faced about it!
6
Hey, it worked for George McGovern.
9
@Steve McGovern is a really good guide to use in 2019 because nothing at all has changed in this country - the environment, economy, the electorate, geopolitics - since 1972. Hey Democrats! Let's only pay attention to this one election involving two very idiosyncratic candidates when technology as we know it did not exist and our current senior citizens were college-aged. What could go wrong?!?
I have employer based health care, and want to keep those benefits.That being said I will vote Democratic regardless who the candidate may be.
2
Single-payer doesn't mean you lose benefits, it means the government provides them without the very expensive middleman that is private insurance. To the extent the government plan doesn't offer a particular benefit, nothing stops private employers from doing so.
5
@Cmaize
No single payer system in the world covers all the essentials. And yes, it does mean you lose benefits because you are not guaranteed to be offered affordable private insurance.
See for example this 30-something Canadian man, who was denied a life insurance because he has mild depression. Thanks to information sharing between companies, any other company he applies with for life insurance will know that he was denied. And there's no law in Canada that protects pre-existing conditions for private insurance companies. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/ontario-man-says-life-insurance-application-denied-due-to-anxiety-disorder-1.5238719.
Respect and abiding gratitude for Bernie, who singlehandedly moved the needle to the moral and righteous left.
I would LOVE to see Bernie Sanders in the Oval Office.
and
I would LOVE to see Elizabeth Warren in the Oval Office, just a little bit more.
12
As a Bernie supporter who likes Warren a lot, I find much of this this incredibly disappointing. Though I am for any candidate working with Labor Unions, I think that cozying up to the D.N.C. is a slippery slope towards prioritizing the corporate money that influences it top to bottom.
In the face of a full blow climate crisis, a worldwide rise in far-right nationalists, and economic equality devastating this nation -- I see no middle ground when it comes to dealing with the democratic establishments' corporate interests. Warren is a great planner and tactician, but I'm fully on board with a people powered political revolution.
Not me. Us. Bernie 2020.
160
@JT You don't need to worry about this with Warren. She's sharing her information and she's supporting Democratic candidates in races other than hers. Doing those things doesn't in any way suggest she is going to prioritize corporate money over what got her here in the first place. Leadership means cultivating allies, and that's what she's doing here.
152
@JT Are you voting Blue no matter who the nominee is? Or are you staying home in a pout again if it is not Bernie or throwing a tantrum and voting for Trump?
127
@Colleen Are you settling for a candidate that can beat Trump just like Bernie can but runs on a platform of what we can't do as opposed to what we can? If you plan on voting blue in the general election regardless of who gets the nomination then stay home during the primary please.
32
This is a smarter strategy than the one pursued by Hilary Clinton. However, I still think that the Democrats must, once they select a nominee, throw their unqualified support behind that person whoever it is. And they need to stop scrambling to respond to every little thing the opposition says against them. In other words they need to build an effective machine to get Warren, Sanders, Harris, or whoever gets the nod, into office. If they cannot and Trump wins, this country may not survive another 4 years.
18
Her stance on immigration won't win independents like me, despite the fact that I really like her.
6
@Sarah99
This appears to just be pandering for the primary. This issue has never been one of her priorities, and she would surely enforce the law if elected, similar to Obama.
3
@Sarah99
I like her, too, but she is such a staunch ideologue on certain issues that she could be a real disaster with Congress. Also, when she starts talking about her *plans*, I always get the feeling that she's been dying to execute *her* plans, and the presidency is just a vehicle, while American taxpayers are just a source of funding.
2
She can try to pivot and play conciliatory, and that is smart politics, but she needs to back down from her socialist agenda. She loses to trump once the GOP exposes the insanity of her economic programs. She is almost worse than Trump in trying to command the American economy.
If she wants to play nice and take the VP slot, and wait her turn at the Naval Observatory for four years, that might work.
I give her credit for her ground game, but hate her agenda.
3
@GCM This is why labels are so limiting. She's a capitalist in the best definition of that word -- one who wants thriving, competitive businesses. She simply understands that the status quo of incredibly weak regulation leads to enormous consolidation and puts capital in the hands of an increasingly small number of wealthy individuals. Fixing that is not a "socialist agenda."
5
warren promises to "share all her data" with the DNC.
if you doubted the value of your personal data to corporations and advertisers in general, and the value of your personal data to political ventures specifically ... doubt no more.
5
Duplicitous. That's how Warren's strategy strikes me and strongly reminiscent of the under-the-table sell-out that turned Obama's "Yes we can" into "Well, we really could not." A nominee makes bold statements to the voters and quietly reassures the status quo that she does not mean to upset it. Who will be sold out once this duplicitous candidate is elected? To paraphrase Jesus, who regrettably is not a candidate, you cannot serve the American people and Money. You serve one or the other, not both.
12
@Ivan Light
I think she’s trying to make the case to the party establishment why they need to get on board with her agenda and that it will be good for everyone if they do.
7
Very smart. Winning the presidency without the House, Senate and majority of Sate Houses and Governers races will be an empty victory just remember what McConnell did to Obama’s agenda.
15
@Hoshiar
Correct. We MUST turn the Senate BLUE or nothing will get done. Just more right-wing judges and obstruction! If that is Senator Warren's strategy, I'm with it!
6
Is the New York Times deliberately trying to portray Warren as ahead of Bernie? Isn’t he still #2 in polls and fundraising? I’m pretty sure he is. But all I see on nyt is a new article about warren every day. Also, in articles about the democratic race the focus seems to be on warren and Biden with Bernie as a footnote. I like warren. I would be glad to vote for her. But I definitely have my concerns about her ability to win in the general election. Bernie I truly believe has the power to win back a lot of the votes we lost in 2016. I have a feeling Biden or warren will be a reply of Hillary.
6
Maybe Elizabeth Warren is the one who can beat Trump.
Warren/Buttigieg is an historic and winning ticket.
7
@Alice In Wonderland
Yes it is. In Cambridge, NY, Berkeley, LA, Austin, Aspen, Taos and San Francisco. Elsewhere, not so much.
2
Warren is the most aggressive and, from what I can see, well organized Dem candidate. And unlike Bernie, she has always been a builder, instead of a destroyer. If (when) she is elected President, she would be the first pro labor President since Roosevelt, and that that would be a game changer for the country. The time is right for Warren.
60
@Scott
Actually, I think it will be Biden/Warren on the ticket.
2
Truman was pro-union. JFK had excellent relations with unions, as did LBJ. So do Sanders, Warren and Biden.
4
Sen. Warren, along with Pete Bittigieg, are the brightest and most thoughtful of the Democratic candidates for 2020 but to present herself as a formidable challenger to DJT in 2020 she must:
1. Recognize that illegal immigration is a hot-button issue and a lightning rod for controversy. As can be seen from reading the comments from NYT readers, arguably the best educated and most left-of-center of any voting group, there is near-zero tolerance for ANY accommodation to illegal airlines. Giving them driver's licenses, free medical care, etc, will torpedoe her campaign before it gets started.
2. She must recognize that a universal, i.e., government-centered, national health plan must have sensible limitations on what it covers and the cost for each individual. It cannot promise unlimited health care for all illnesses at all ages and she must be crystal clear with regard to cost estimates and how it will be paid for. Good intentions are not sufficient - she cannot hand wave and ignore the substantial costs that will ensue.
9
@DlphcOracl
Correction: Illegal "airlines" should read "illegal aliens".
1
@DlphcOracl On #2, you are misunderstanding her plan. Universal health care does not mean universal benefits. A sensible single-payer system moves *specified* benefits from private insurers to the government (which generates a huge savings). It's not "unlimited health care" but rather a guaranteed basic health care for everyone.
6
@DlphcOracl
Zero tolerance for illegal airlines is a pretty good policy
2
If Sen. Warren is working this hard now, just imagine how hard she’ll work as our first woman president. The icing on the cake, and my most fervent hope, is that we retire Mitch McConnell. Those of us who want to see real change in this country and are tired of establishment Dems nibbling around the edges need to think hard and vote.
44
Joe Manchin (Sen-D) is not voting for universal healthcare.
The purview of the president is foreign policy not the domestic legislative agenda.
Two facts the seems completely alien to democratic party officials and voters that will cause massive issues for both the party and the country if Warren (or Sanders) are the democratic nominee for president, or even if they win the presidency.
Elizabeth Warren is a train wreck waiting to happen where we will see more domestic legislative gridlock and zero foreign policy vision.
8
I would like to see a progressive like Ms. Warren nominated and elected. My belief is that far better compromises are possible in negotiation between progressives and moderates than between moderates and conservatives, period. At best, the latter will produce only half baked solutions.
The country needs to move ahead and the goal needs to be something other than making the wealthy wealthier. Our goal, the all encompassing one, should be to make the country healthier, which includes addressing income inequality, health care, and our long term infrastructure problems of which there are many, especially when we think about energy and the greening of America and the world.
We do not need a lawyer, nor someone with a track record of being on the wrong side of the issue. Nor do we need to ignore the reality that a good part of the American way of life is dying, nor do we to believe that it can resuscitated, particularly when that means destroying the rest of the country and all of international relationships. We need to move ahead, not backwards as we are doing by giving license to every crack pot idea that has ever existed. We should not be surprised that when all the dust settles and Trump is gone, we find that the damage done is far greater than we could have ever imagined.
Ms. Warren is a teacher, and if our citizens are ever able to get on the same page, someone like this is a prerequisite. Plus, she has the intelligence, energy and compassion needed.
12
Elizabeth Warren embodies the values of study, planning, consultation and flat out work ethic - virtues that Donald Trump so glaringly lacks. We frequently hear lamentation from the media and the polity regarding the lasting damage that Trump is doing to the Presidency and the nation but it is exactly these virtues, combined with Warren’s political and social savvy, and the policy initiatives they engender, that will swiftly rehabilitate the global role of the US once she becomes President.
9
Voters in 2020 will not care if nominee Warren has reassured Democratic officials of this and that. They will simply notice someone as unlikely to be president as Hillary and stay home.
9
@n1789 And get four more years of Trump? Not a chance.
6
@n1789
That bit of cynicism actually belongs to Joe Biden. LOTS of people will stay home, because he is an awful candidate who doesn't inspire, but merely embarrasses. And he is not at all equipt or interested in dealing with the crucial issues of our time: catastrophic Climate Change, wealth disparity and a sane/humane immigration policy.
2
Elizabeth Warren displays all the behaviors of a sneak. Yes, she has the right to contact whomever she wants, that is true, but it is her failure to understand that what she is doing is already corrupting the system, very similar to what Hillary Clinton did in the last election. Making back-room deals about her willingness to concede to the party elite is not only wrong it is dangerous because the system itself with its delegates and super delegates have the power to overturn the people's choice as they did in the last election. She is playing with fire if she attempts to gain favor and support in this way.
Bernie Sanders is the real deal. He has an entire set of legislation that will change the way this government has been doing business with the billionaire class by creating new legislative initiatives that are far-reaching. Warren's plans do not even come close to his brilliant and persuasive policy relocations and his overall view of what this country should look like if it calls itself a Democracy. But Bernie is bad news to the elites in and out of government, and Warren is playing on that to win, while hanging on to Bernie's shoulder in order to gain support from his voters.
7
There’s no ”sneak” here. Warren says in private what she says in public. She’s smart enough to know she needs allies, and while she’ll work with the DNC, you’d better believe that she’ll be the one in charge. Bernie is a protest candidate who cannot win, much less govern.
4
One more reason to like Senator Warren is that her life’s work involves what was to me the biggest issue in the 2016 election and likely will be again in 2020–this is the plight of the distressed middle and working class. Liz literally “wrote the book” on this.
What enabled President Trump ‘s razor-thin victory in 2016 was the support of voters who didn’t even necessarily like him but were taken in by his promises that he would somehow improve their lot—e.g., “I’ll rebuild the steel mills in Pittsburgh!”
We can now see how empty those promises were. But even so, I don’t think the Democrats can win over this group without making a better appeal. And to do it we need someone like Liz who knows their plight. But we also need to quit talking about socialism and instead present this group with an exciting vision of how we use the same powers of capitalism that made our country great to once again provide them with family-sustaining jobs.
One way to do provide these jobs, of course, would be to ensure that as we take on the challenge of climate change we forcefully take the world lead in developing and manufacturing the needed new technology for power generation and transportation. Besides saving the planet, this will also provide the millions of great jobs our people so desperately need. And maybe we’ll even make a few bucks in the process, and what would be so wrong with that?
To sum up—go Liz!
45
@Jerry Schulz
Uh...slight correction.
Ms. Warren was a corp. consultant/professor/attorney for most of her career.
It's been only the last twenty that Warren has flipped what she believed for the first 50yrs of her life.
Yeah, Warren writes many things.
Talking the talk, isn't walking the walk.
3
@Dobbys sock - I'm holding Liz's book "This Fight Is Our Fight; The Battle to Save America's Middle Class" from 2017 in my hand. Adding in “The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents are Going Broke” from 2004, “The Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt,” from 2001,” and “As We Forgive Our Debtors: Bankruptcy and Consumer Credit in America” from 1989. That’s four books on this most-vital topic. And this is probably four more than most of the other candidates have written in their lives, other than maybe the obligatory memoir-like thing in their run-up to their candidacy.
Note that “As We Forgive Our Debtors” was written thirty years ago. Thirty years! That’s not enough of a long-term interest for you? She’s not pure enough for you? Well, if you want you can toss her in the trash in favor of someone who says stuff like what a wonderful time for us to adopt socialism and that sort of thing, and if so I hope you’ll enjoy your four more years of Trump* as this once-wonderful country continues its descent down the toilet. Otherwise I have no strong opinions on this issue.
(* Whose big “Art of the Deal” book was entirely ghostwritten.)
2
It's all about the messaging, and Warren is an expert, way ahead of the pack.
I don't think the left is going to have the support needed to govern or be elected without offering a clear picture and platform to the voters. This means addressing all the voters, this means kitchen table issues.
I generally support most of our concerns on the left but making the election about wedge issue identity politics will not carry the day.
Warren is threading the needle about as well as possible, and better than the rest of the field. She is the candidate who most understands the big picture, and the details, and is able to articulate the who, what, and why.
The thing is, to many flies in the ointment. Starting with the news media, who are so invested in conflict, and horse race stats that they do cause much of the disarray. Prime example the native American bugaboo. Don't forget Clintons email fiasco largely fueled by the NYTs right up to the day we voted.
5
If Warren expects to get the Sanders voters on board, she best stay far left of the center.
3
A "revival" is exactly what Hillary Clinton would want. The people clearly want MORE than what the political and media establishment want. They also want honest, non-opportunistic politicians. This does not seem to include Elizabeth Warren, unfortunately.
7
In my opinion, Warren seems much more likely right now than Biden to get the nomination. She really looks like the front-runner.
There will be a viable left-wing candidate for the presidency in 2020. It probably will a Democrat like Warren. If Biden somehow get the nomination of the Democrats there will still be a viable left-wing candidate running, possibly for the Green Party (self-declared socialist Sanders?), possibly an independent with lots of money like Steyer? This person would get a lot of votes and have an impact on the election results.
2
How delightful to have a candidate who feels she must earn her support.
Contrast that with last time, when the candidate had the finesse of a steam roller driver, who felt entitled, as it was "her turn".
6
Love it. This is exactly what I want from the next president - a progressive who is also a team player.
I don't want a grouch who loathes the party he or she is trying to win the nomination for, I want a hard core blue, left of center Dem that will move us forward and restore sanity.
50
Wow! Everything new I read about her just wows me. She not only clearly identifies the the sources of our extreme and unstable economic inequality lies, but also has the legislative and people skills to push through the necessary legislation. She is the only politician I've heard that presents such a straightforward plan to make taxation fair; just 2 cents of every dollar of wealth over $50 M. Now I read she's courting the DNC and working for a Democratic majority in both houses.
Frankly, I fully understand Sander's split from the DNC. Me, a lowly citizen, I was rallying outside the SF hotel where Pelosi was receiving tributes from the DNC. I am angry and disappointed with the passive DNC. If we win back the presidency, it will be in spite of them. I am reluctant to again travel the hundreds of miles into the California red districts to work for Democratic candidates, since Pelosi fears using the full power of the House majority.
So I give credit to Warren for working with the DNC.
And I'll continue working for Warren.
7
We need a revolution, not a revival. Seriously, only a revolt will get us back to were we were before the Tea Party. No Medicare for all- we need universal health care. No cap on earnings subjected to SS withholding- make everyone pay 3% of their earnings with a match.
1
A revival of the New Deal Democratic party is a revolution. That’s what Warren is aiming for, but she is smart enough not to spook moderates.
3
This article is helpful.
It is nice to know what the Democrats are doing for a change, since Trump monopolizes every news cycle with his outrageous, limelight-seeking grandiosity, without a whit of intelligence, character, responsibility, or accountability. Remember the Mueller report?? Seems like long ago, but it was only in July. And the Democrats' agenda has been eclipsed (partly their fault).
Which brings me to Elizabeth Warren, who seems the very opposite of the lazy, self-serving, harsh and punishing Mr. Trump, who really has no idea what his job is as POTUS. Tump just likes the concept of being president, which he conceptualizes in is own chaotic mind as being a king, potentate, or mafioso kingpin, to the delight of his depressing base.
I was wondering who, of all the jostling 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, would find a way to show true leadership and manage to pull away from the pack.
A lot of the Democratic candidates are smart, bright, motivated, and enthusiastic, but the one who is emerging as the greatest contrast to Trump is Warren.
Trump is a downer and nothing but negative in thought, word and deed. Warren is upbeat, positive, and, as this article demonstrates a hard worker, and most importantly, thoughtful, diplomatic, and caring, yet firm and forward moving. Plus, she engages others & is willing to laugh at herself.
Make America smart, friendly, and sane again!
13
Hello All:
For the first time in my life I am going to knock on doors for a candidate - particularly if Warren gets the nomination. Beating Trump is important but only if the candidate will solve major problems. Status quo will not save us, even if Trump loses in 2020. I have not seen anyone talk about this but unless I misunderstand term limits, Trump will run for president every four years until he wins again or dies first.
Go for the gold America.
Cheers,
Jeff Pucillo
4
I’m a liberal, New York, LGBT, millennial Democrat, and I’m not with Pete or Bernie or Kamala during the primaries: I’m with Elizabeth.
Senator Warren’s passion, persistence, and planning is so captivating. You can hear the care and authority in her voice and the gears turning in her head. She makes me feel excited and hopeful and...dare I say...safe. Her stance on the issues and her delivery of those stances make you listen.
I will support whomever receives the Democratic nomination, but honestly, I feel like we need a teacher right now to instruct us on how to get back on track. And if that requires being lectured to, fine by me. Just help impoverished Americans like me get gold stars on their report cards, too.
21
Something is very wrong with the DNC system of having super delegates decide who the candidate is on the second round if a candidate is not determined by the voters on the first round. The people should be deciding who their candidate is. I am glad that Sen. Sanders called out the DNC for their corrupt practices of using these super delegates in the 2016 election. The rich and powerful super delegates system should be abolished. It is a sad commentary for candidates like Warren to be wooing them, her actions showing that she is willing to be a part of a corrupt system rather than calling it out.
6
To make our whole country great we need to recognize that we are a fabric, not a single point of view or leader.
The article shows that at least one potential President gets that.
1
I am a Bernie Sanders supporter. He does not want to tear down anything. His politics reflect transformation of a cancerous and corrupt system, and he has been instrumental in changing the entire conversation after years of my watching a moribund Democratic party caught in a Clinton stranglehold.
I admire Warren for her metamorphosis from hard Republican to Democrat, but because I am her age, I do not entirely trust it, especially on foreign policy.
How can you have lived through the 60's and have remained apolitical for so long? Yes, I raised a family too. All the more reason for paying attention.
At any rate, the reality is that if she wants the nomination she cannot alienate Bernie's supporters.
What are your "plans" for a definitive foreign policy that does not involve constant intervention in sovereign nations and endless war, Senator Warren? And are we going to continue being champions of Israel at any cost?
12
Readers need to get out of their bubble. Bernie represents lifelong integrity, while Warren only gained integrity in the last 15 years.
6
Warren and Bernie are often spoken of as if they occupy a common left lane. In truth, they appeal to very different sets of voters. Warren's appeal is almost exclusively to upper-middle class college educated white professionals who think that problems are best solved by putting credentialed smart people like themselves in charge. This group votes reliably and engages the primary process early and this is reflected in her strong third place position among the candidates for the Democratic nomination.
Warren's weakness is among the more diverse ranks of poor and working class voters whose less reliable votes are critical not just to beating Trump but to securing majorities in both Houses of Congress, while these constitute the majority of Bernie's base. These voters tend to be more cynical about promises from politicians but respond to Bernie's emphasis on the need for people like themselves to organize and struggle to make any gains.
It is because of these differences that Bernie is more likely to deliver a decisive defeat to Trump than Warren is and why he should be the nominee. Berne speaks to the poor and working class voters of all colors who stayed home in 2016, but also to the small but critical sliver of Obama-Trump voters who are sick to death of the establishments of both parties.
Warren has many virtues, but she would likely lose to Trump. Thats a risk we should not take.
7
@Christopher
So rather than have credentialed smart people in charge, you would prefer non-educated dummies to administer the law? If you want to enforce the law to hold corporations accountable (securities, banking, antitrust, tax, labor), you will need smart, educated people. Warren will appoint people to lead the various regulatory agencies who will actually enforce the law. Look at her support of Rich Cordray to lead the CFPB. He had no background in the industry, but is a very intelligent and competent person. He didn’t cave to the industry he regulated.
5
@Christopher
Surprised that I had scroll through so many comments before finding one that perfectly explained the issue with Warren and Sanders campaign.
2
FYI, Bernie's "political revolution" is all about reviving the DNC, reclaiming the Senate and increasing the Democratic majority the House in 2020. There is no difference between Warren and Sanders in this regard.
3
@Joe
The difference is that Warren's plan to "revive" the Democratic Party seems to be to further enable the party hacks who brought it to the sorry state it's in today.
2
It’s the type of goodwill that is needed once your president. Local leaders need to know they can trust you. I would add that this, and grassroots groups are a great force in politics that’s underestimated. You trust the people close to you and that’s who Warren is empowering.
2
I’ve been a Warren fan since she first appeared on The Daily Show with John Stewart when she was tapped by Obama to create the CFPB. She spoke with dazzling clarity and conviction then as she does now. She will finally break that highest marble ceiling. She will be a superb leader and inspire an entire generation of little girls and young women to reach for the stars. Madame President never sounded so good.
7
Have to admire Ms. Warren's strategic good sense, in making contact early and in a decidedly low-key approach to building consensus. To some extent this appears to be her pragmatism asserting itself as she contemplates the long haul of bringing genuine change to both the Democratic but to the nation's political culture as well. I'm pretty sure most progressives are hoping to bring some form of single payer healthcare delivery to the country as a whole. But it's also incredibly important to realize that the path for getting there needs to be formed in genuine solidarity--whether that's Medicare for All, or an interim process that accounts for how millions of privately insured Americans will fare as a transition to universal healthcare is realized. On top of healthcare there's a long overdue need for radical repair of the nation's physical and educational infrastructure--which includes transforming how college education is financed and supported without crippling successive generations with growth killing debt obligations. Let me just add that Ms. Warren is impressing me with her patience and her intelligence in her effort to lead and not just win a nomination.
12
Though she espouses several policies that are proven vote-losers (eg, Medicare for All if private insurance is abolished), Sen. Warren's work ethic, command of policy, ability to connect with voters, passion, and her ability to inspire are very impressive. She is also both highly intelligent AND clever; for example, she doesn't boast about her being a Harvard professor, which is a turn-off for a lot of people, and lets the force of argument speak volumes.
Politically I'm more aligned with Amy Klobuchar, but Liz Warren would make an excellent president, and I would have no compunction about voting for her.
13
In other words, Warren is assuring the party bosses that, once elected, she’ll scamper back to the center like Obama did. She’s just wooing voters with things the voters want to hear.
It’s called politics, US style, where the media acts as if campaign rhetoric is meaningful- until after the election.
The only ones who intend to pursue the policies they campaign on are Gabbard and Sanders.
7
Among the many positives of the Warren campaign, it is clear she has an excellent staff. A telling thing.
18
Warren is smart, clearly knows what she is doing AND, maybe most importantly, she is able to win populist votes, without which we will lose this election.
This election is not going to be won by a moderate. There is no secret cache of moderate swing voters hiding in the Midwest, but there are a LOT of disaffected people who don’t usually vote who can be motivated.
But these discouraged people will only be motivated to overcome the obstacles to voting put in place by Republicans (with the support of a corrupt Supreme Court) by someone who gives them something different, something big that will change their lives in positive ways— like Medicare for all.
If the Democratic Party fails to understand this, we will very likely lose this election and our country in the process.
Biden has the lead right now, but it’s early and we should be looking at trends in the polls more than totals. Warren might be our candidate.
349
@Chickpea - Do not forget the necessity of winning big, the black and brown vote. Right now, Biden is ahead, perhaps way ahead of Warren. That's sine qua non for election victory.
14
@Chickpea Forgive me as an outsider for weighing in here. Universal healthcare is obviously the best way to look after everyone in a given population but how do you prevent it continuing as a political football: One party sets it up and it's going well only to see the next election cycle bring in a party that will crush it. Healthcare for all only works if it's left alone to do its job. You can't have politicians messing about with it on a whim.
10
@A Goldstein
Clinton being way ahead with these "voting blocks" and winning the 2016 Democratic primaries didn't beat Trump. Working-class voters of whatever skin color interests you simply did not come out and vote for Clinton en masse, especially in hard-hit cities like Milwaukee. Trump won more black voters in 2016 than Romney in 2012 according to exit polls.
Demographics ain't destiny. The South Carolina primary is not the general election. The name of the game is to appeal to all working-class voters across the country. Or lose, again.
14
Warren is trying to convince the establishment to embrace her progressive platform alongside running a grassroots funded campaign. Seems like some type of “Political Revolution”
Hillary received 2.87 million more votes than Trump.
Warren would do well by publicly saying that she intends to fulfill all of Hillary's promises.
4
@A. Stanton
War with Iran and how many more regime change catastrophes around the globe?
Neocon Hillary is toxic.
5
Warren would do well by publicly saying that she intends to fulfill all of Hillary's promises, while going on to other things.
1
That is not what American voters believed.
1
Warren is the clearest speaker of all the candidates. I would love to hear her debate Trump. She will say what Hillary wouldn't.
2
Let's not be fooled again. Elizabeth Warren has been consistent. Her policies, picks for leadership (e.g. Rohit Chopra), tweets and stump speech are clear and unambiguous. She is life-long ultra progressive whose experience is rooted in academia. Her underlying presumption is that capitalism is a necessary evil and must be controlled by government and that it is preferable to have government control the economy and services. Period. If that is your desire, you should vote for her. If not, do not.
@Chris--Who is being the fool? Do you mean consistent in that Elizabeth Warren has continuously evolved her viewpoints over many years to line up in support of solving ordinary people's problems? She has not at all been "a life-long ultra progressive." NYT just published an article about how she changed her mind about bankruptcy laws, from believing in the early 80s that it was mostly people trying to avoid paying their debts, to realizing after extensive research that hard-working people sometimes need help, whether due to unexpected illnesses or corporate layoffs.
Look at how she has evolved in understanding Native American issues, and is now a leader in supporting them.
I don't know what your ax is grinding on, but it's not based on factual reporting.
6
@Chris "Life-long ultra progressive"? Really? If you do your research, you'll see that she was a Republican conservative capitalist for the first half of her life and then has tried to shift her position -- most likely for political convenience -- to appeal to progressives. I'm not sure she has a core position. Her main motivation seems to be getting elected and staying elected, so I don't think she will have any problem working with centrist party insiders to keep "socialism" off the table.
2
@Chris
Any system that pits people against each other or corporations agains working men and women is, by nature, corrupt and anti-democratic!
Capitalism must be controlled and regulated or it will destroy itself!
2
Think any of the top tier Dem Candidates good. Good is not enough tho, need excellence. Always liked Warren for her transparency. Plan for everything. No question where she stands. Don't think Medicare for all is tenable, fix ACA first, and I think if elected, any of the Dem candidates will start there. Problem is who best can beat DT. Warren's tenacity, experience and intellect may win out.
4
Warren may be the right person for either President or VP because she sure does have the Economic background to protect consumers (as she has done forcefully) and every single day we are seeing more and more monopolies....
Big Corporations buying out other Big Corporations.....Every time I hear of this (today in fact) I feel like I’m in high school reading about breaking up the Big Evil Monopolies. Only it’s happening now. No one is stopping this.
6
Elizabeth Warren is on the right track, crossing all the t's and dotting the i's. I will vote for Senator Warren in the primaries.
8
Elizabeth Warren is an indefatigable campaigner. She is sufficiently sincere and conscientious, can think on her feet and an effective debater. These qualities got her high in the polls.
She is also far too progressive. Her ideas are quite good but difficult to get through the majority of the electorate who maybe scared or turned off by the severity or the riskiness of her plans, in the general election.
At best she can be a VP choice. If a Democrat wins the 2020 election she will probably be the best candidate to be the Treasury Secretary, possibly for 8 years to put her taxation & other plans into practice.
We have to have a moderate presidential candidate to win in 2020, the principal reason for Joe Biden to be at the top despite his almost constant gaffes as well as his age, etc.
The four top candidates in the polls, Biden, Sanders, Warren & Harris will have a hard time to beat Donald Trump.
When I watched John Delany at the first CNN Townhall meeting I was quite impressed. He had ready crisp answers to all questions. But he never had any traction in the polls. He looked timid & beaten at the debates.
Pete Buttigieg is highly impressive, in a league of his own. But he LOOKS too young and also gay. Other moderate candidates aren't that impressive, but Steve Bullock maybe able to pull it off against Trump.
Unless Buttigieg gets the nomination and he picks Warren, Harris, Klobuchar, Booker or Bullock, or Mitch Landrieu as the running mate, we may have a problem.
1
@A.G.
Eric Garcetti, the LA mayor may be even a better VP choice as he is quite impressive. He decided, as Mitch Landrieu did not to jump in this time.
1
The problem is that establishment democrats would not support FDR.
3
She finally got it. Instead of running on identity obsession and social engineering like Hillary's campaign did (and the way she Warren started out), the way to the WH is moderate progressive solutions for all Americans to the issues that Trump demagogued re trade, Wall Street, wars, blue collar job loss etc.
If she keeps this up she has a chance of beating Biden (&Trump) especially if Biden falters.
Learn from Obama not Hillary, unite don't identity obsess.
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@Paul
I wholeheartedly agree that taxing the unearned wealth of the rich (rather than low-wage labor) and Medicare For All are moderate progressive solutions. Warren knows she can win on these issues, and she knows how to get things done.
I also agree that a broad majority of voters are united behind such proposals, and reject the disingenuous identity obsession and social engineering they associate with mass media and corporate Democrats.
13
@Paul What are you talking about?
6
@Emily Levine-Exactly what I said. Don't run on identity obsession and social engineering, ie tremendous obsession re small groups of people rather than advancing the great majority of Americans.
Obama did it with ACA, helping all struggling Americans not just special interest groups. Hillary was too obsessed with elect me because I am a woman and the era of the white man is over.
It not only ticked off men but a great many women. A majority of white women voted for Trump.
11
Elizabeth Warren is making the move that could seal the deal for her. She is positioning herself not as a radical but as a "progressive traditionalist" in the Robert Kennedy mold – progressive but working within certain power structures. I expect Biden, with his fuzziness, to continue to fade, and as long as a progressive voice is smart, organized, and empathic, he or she can win the 270+. Warren is all that in spades. And with a proven track record of accomplishments to boot.
53
I think she could win, if it were not for one very important thing.
Revolutions come from the bottom, from what a majority of people want and desperately need.
In order to lead one, a person must tap into exactly what those desires are and promote facilitating that change.
Then the people will give that leader the power at the voting box.
Yes, people desperately want to improve healthcare and reduce those costs. They desperately need to get out from under student loan debt and, yes, they want to be able to tell their kids that climate change and gun violence won't be an issue for them in the future.
The problem is that polls show that a majority of the people do not want to do Medicare for all the way that Sanders and Warren want to do it. It polls polls poorly at only 21%, whereas offering a buy in, like the moderates propose, polls very well at 56%.
To me, the inability to tap into what the people really want, is the difference between leading a revolution and promoting one's own preferred agenda.
What I'm trying to say is that since revolutions come from the bottom, you can't force the issue from the top.
The vary nature of leading a revolution means that you have to listen to what the people actually want
I think Warren could win if she was more tuned into this
Although they are not calling their proposals revolutionary, what the moderates are proposing is more in step with the will of the people, and that is where the power for change or revolution comes from
8
@Meg
I'm not sure what polls you're looking at. Medicare for All is supported by 80% of Democrats, 60% of Democratic-leaning Independents and 60% of Americans at large. The Democrats have tried several ties over the past 20 years to run to the center in presidential elections: 2000, 2004, and 2016 in particular. They lost all those times because there is no large mythical moderate base thats waiting for both parties to move to the center. If the Democrats want to win they need to excite their base and that can only happen with Sanders (and maybe Warren).
8
"The problem is that polls show that a majority of the people do not want to do Medicare for all the way that Sanders and Warren want to do it. It polls [] poorly at only 21%, whereas offering a buy in, like the moderates propose, polls very well at 56%."
Only because Warren's plan does not make employers give back wages deducted from paychecks for premiums. These wages, if given back rather than kept by employers as a windfall, would more than offset any tax increase caused by "Medicare for All". Then employees would stop fretting that their employer-based health insurance would be taken away because they would pay far less overall and get far better coverage (same doctors, paid prescriptions, no deductibles, no co-pays).
3
I am a great admirer of Warren but am concerned about her stance on Medicare for all. I think the opposition to that will be formidable, probably unbeatable (unions, hospitals, other providers, and others with lots of money).
I also think she should tie herself to the Affordable Care Act, brought to us by Obama and Pelosi, the two most revered Democrats in the country. She should campaign on "universal healthcare" with enhancements to the ACA.
The Democrat have given Americans Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA - be proud of these and make them the platform we will build on.
20
@JS I share your concern about doing away with private health insurance. Even France allows private insurance a subsidiary role. I'm actually more concerned about negative reactions from people who are on employer-provided insurance.
So why is she doing it? She knows it has become a litmus test for many progressives and fears she'd be ceding a lot of votes to Senator Sanders if she failed the litmus test.
Does she intend to pivot away from it if she wins the nomination. That seems to be what Senator Harris has in mind but Senator Warren has been much more unequivocal.
I don't think she's released her own plan but keeps saying she's with Bernie. Is that an attempt to keep her options open?
4
@JS***the ACA still leaves insurance companies in control. Why is that so hard to see. Also many middle class people are worse off under it that they were before. It expanded Medicaid and if you have a life threatening condition you will get taken care of after you spend the $5,000 to $10,000 deductible. That's it. There is nothing to build on. The insurance companies have to go. They do nothing but push papers & take your money.
12
@JS
Many Unions signed on to the M4A.
As did many HC workers, ie. doctors and nursing staff etc.
The ACA continues to fund the Insurance Corp. needlessly.
M4A doesn't disallow private insur. It just sets rules upon what they can cover.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/02/union-leaders-rebuke-centrist-democrats-claiming-medicare-all-would-harm-workers
https://www.wonkette.com/unions-are-not-super-happy-about-being-told-they-hate-medicare-for-all
SEC. 107. PROHIBITION AGAINST DUPLICATING COVERAGE.
(b) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed as prohibiting the sale of health insurance coverage for any additional benefits not covered by this Act, including additional benefits that an employer may provide to employees or their dependents, or to former employees or their dependents.
The bill has been endorsed by 63 national organizations and unions including: Transit Union, American Federation of Teachers, American Medical Student Association, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Coalition of Labor Union Women, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Education Association, National Nurses United, National Organization for Women, New York Nurses Association, Service Employees International Union,United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers, United Mine Workers of America, Utility Workers Union of America
2
EW has an innate and clear understanding of how to build consensus and gain support, even from those who hold her at arms length.
How refreshing. We need this type of leadership to move forward.
83
Back before the first Democratic debates I read all I could about the candidates. As a result I bought a "Warren for President in 2020" sign and placed it in my front yard.
I urge anyone who supports another Democratic candidate to please read about the history behind Ms. Warren. What made her decide to enter politics? What does she aim to achieve if elected President?
She has devoted her life to helping people. Now she is devoted to helping lower and middle class, working people, get their fair share of the cake, too much of which is going to the very wealthy.
And the more I continue to learn about her, the more I support her candidacy.
God bless you Elizabeth Warren!
106
@Richard Phelps
I highly recommend Warren's autobiography "A Fighting Chance," especially if you are a middle-class person and/or a struggling single parent trying to get an education while supporting a family of young children.
Warren has actually walked the walk on the path to the American Dream, and she can talk the talk of middle- and working-class Americans better than most politicians. Plus, given her heroic work dealing with the big bankers during the Obama administration and their refusal to let her head the Consumer Protection Board that she conceptualized and structured, Elizabeth knows where the bodies are buried in the financial industry--more than Bernie.
She uses the term all the time, but she really is "the real deal."
33
@Richard Phelps
I'm very suspicious of Warren's commitment to M4A. I'm impressed with her. M4A is the most important issue for me. And there's only one person who can (if anyone can) and will deliver that is Bernie Sanders. He's the original who has a proven track record. Warren is a Johnnie Come Lately. That's very bothersome.
5
@Richard Phelps
I thought this profile was very well done:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/25/us/politics/elizabeth-warren-republican-history.html
3
This is a smart strategy by Senator Warren. And it highlights the one significant failure of Barack Obama. Senator Warren is strengthening the Democratic Party when Obama used his own organization outside of the party, which weakened it.
President Obama and his team also rejected Howard Dean's 50 state strategy to build legislatives seats across the country.
The result was a loss of 1,000 Democratically held seats at every level of national, state and local government.
If she wins the nomination and presidency and continues on this path, she will build long term strength and foundations for the Democratic party.
I actually disagree with her on a couple of issues but this is one more piece of evidence that she is highly qualified to be president now.
161
@Javafutter
Tim Kaine holds much of the responsibility for ditching the 50-state strategy. And look at the reward the Party gave him. This DNC is no better, witness Perez' censorship. I look forward to President Warren - and new leadership at the DNC.
8
@Javafutter. I agree and don’t you hope the Dems are keeping a daily journal of all this; what works and what doesn’t?
6
Well it looks like the Times is coming around. This is a very positive article as well as yesterdays. Elizabeth Warren is trying to say most of her proposals are negotiable, except one. Medicare For All. And she's right. She also along with Bernie is still not taking any Pac or Corporate money, at least in the primaries. I love Bernie & he started it all, but Ms Warren is the best candidate. We are lucky to have her.
165
I admire Bernie greatly and consider him a hero. If he wins, I'm all for him. He started the revolution that's playing out, and Warren has joined it. I see Elizabeth Warren's gestures toward the DNC as further evidence of her intelligence and strategic wisdom, not a sign that she's less progressive than Bernie.
110
@SRF
Read her policy position and read his. He has released several important new ones over the past couple weeks. There is little question that on Medicare 4 All, on free tuition and student loan relief, on climate and the Green New Deal, on labor, and on reforming the racist criminal justice system, that Bernie Snaders's policies are consistently more progressive. Warren would undoubtedly represent an improvement not only on the president inhabitant of the White House but over Biden, Harris, or Buttigieg, but there is a reason the Wall Street aligned party establishment is willing to give her a hearing and they are precisely the reasons we still need Bernie.
10
@Christopher
Thank you for replying. I do appreciate what you're saying, and I thank Bernie supporters like you who speak out in forums like this. You are influencing me and making me waver about voting for Warren. Still, I resist the suggestion that Warren is really a middle-of-the-road party gal. She may be playing the game in a an ingratiating way but, like Bernie, she is clear-sighted and out for root-level reform.
9
My respect for her grows every day. Tenacious, practical AND inspiring is exactly what is needed right now.
279
I share the view that denying Trump a second term is the most important goal for 2020. I am more enthusiastic about some of the Democratic contenders -- including Warren -- than others, but I would take any of them in a heartbeat. Please, folks, let's avoid getting so caught up in our commitment to one candidate that we fail to rally strongly around the eventual nominee, whoever that is.
186
@Monte Agreed. Though I am actually leery of some of the far left candidates. They will not encourage the great number of disaffected Trump voters, on the contrary, they will discourage them.
2
@Ernest Montague You need to give up this magical thinking that any Democratic candidate will win votes from a disaffected Trump voter. They won't.
On the other hand, a Democratic candidate with the right policies and ability to convey a message of hope to voters will "encourage" some of the citizens who infrequently vote to come out and cast their ballot instead of staying home.
Elect Biden if you want to the enthusiasm gap to favor Trump.
14
@Ernest Montague
You might have missed on of the reasons Trump won last election. He wasn't of the "system".
Voters are tired of the typical pol. Both parties work for the corporates. They aren't for the voters.
HRC was a typical bought 'n sold pol.
Trump offered something different. He lied.
Sanders was the true outside politician.
A man of and for the people.
He would have won.
It appears more and more this time around that again, Sanders is the only outsider.
Voters want change. Not the status quo.
Sanders can win this from both sides.
Just as he won the Midwest battle ground states last time.
5
While I'm no fan of the DNC, I see Elizabeth Warren's outreach to them and to the rest of the party establishment as just good politics.
My greatest fear is that there will be no clear winner at the convention and that the DNC will step in and decide for the rest of us leaving no one happy (sort of like they did putting their thumb on the scale for Clinton early on).
That Warren is willing to help build the party and help ensure its success nationwide is just one more benefit she'll bring as a candidate. And she won't have to compromise her values to do so.
Just one more reason why we need to support her and her campaign.
282
@avrds. When you complain about the DNC’s support of Hilary Clinton, just remember that Bernie was not and is not a Democrat. He is an independent. The DNC graciously allowed Bernie to run in the Democratic primary instead of forcing him to run on his own as a third party candidate. He then turned around and bit the hand that fed him. In order to win, a candidate needs organizational support behind her. Warren knows this and will use it to her advantage. Warren 2020!
10
@avrds
Is the party in its current massively corrupt form worth preserving and promoting?
9
@Pelham
I take your point. To me Nancy Pelosi et al. are part of the problem. But we are at a watershed moment in history in this country and we need a Congress -- a Senate in particular -- that Warren can work with. (A House with some commitment to the Constitution and the rule of law wouldn't hurt either.)
I love Bernie, and worked hard for him in 2016, but given where we are today I want someone who can help bring the states and the entire ticket along with them. And right now I see Elizabeth Warren as that candidate.
9
Senator Warren is display all the right moves of a gifted politician on the way to being a highly successful executive.
You have to build the party while you're running for president if you want to have the foundation in place to have a Successful Hundred Days upon taking office.
Most of a successful Warren legislative program, if she is elected, will be decided by Labor Day 2021. After that of course comes improvement from good governance and such. But legislative achievement is stacked upfront.
118
At this point Warren has risen to the top of my list. I’m OK with any of the top tier candidates but right now Warren is the one that generates the most enthusiasm in me. Biden generates the least and that is a problem. A lack of enthusiasm for Hillary contributed to her loss. The candidate who inspires and gets huge numbers of regular folks donating money repeatedly is the one that can generate a momentum that has a ripple effect. And Warren is right, we need big ideas and bold change to turn things around and stop our slide into oligarchy. I don’t think the safe, establishment choice can give us that.
398
@Mary Biden missed the boat in 2016. He lost his son, a tragedy that most certainly had an effect on his choice not to run, but I suspect the final decision was based on not wanting to run against Hillary as she was the chosen one of the DNC.
The DNC stacked the deck against Sanders in favor of Hillary and the voters wanted change, not the most established of the establishment.
I too really like Warren and Gabbard and a couple more but my dream ticket would be Sanders/Warren with Sanders promising to serve only one term then Warren takes over for eight.
33
@Jussmartenuf You are correct that Biden's grief and his reluctance to challenge Hillary were factors.
But the DNC did not stack the deck against Sanders. He lost by a whopping 3 million votes. His spent far too much money on giant rallies and not enough on data and outreach.
A lot of us Democrats resented the fact that he had done very little for the party over the course of decades and used the DNC as a large apparatus that would help in the general election.
Proof of that came after he quit the party following the election and only rejoined to run again.
I think it's past Biden's time. But Sanders is not a Democrat. He's not dedicated himself to the party.
25
Sanders would never make that promise.
1
Elizabeth Warren could be part of a very smart and winning ticket.
Hard work and a soft touch is a sure fire recipe for success -- and best of all, she's got a plan.
471
@N. Smith My thoughts, precisely. Perhaps Ms. Warren, paired with a VP candidate who can flip Texas and Pennsylvania, will win the electoral vote which, we've learned, is the more important issue than who can win the popular vote. I see Ms. Warren's appeal to the four key midwestern states that Secretary Clinton lost as limited at this point.
The Democratic Party has a key job to do: get the vast number of people who didn't vote to register and vote. The 2016 election was decided by a fraction of a percentage of the vote total in a number of states. They blew it big time. They need to demonstrate that the lesson of 2016 was learned.
105
A centrist Veep paired with a very progressive nominee will not be sufficient to swing Pennsylvania, Texas and other swing states.
Independents and Republicans willing to desert Trump are moderate to conservative. They won’t vote for a Democratic ticket headed by a progressive woman.
The Democrats need a centrist candidate, ideally male, to defeat Trump. I’m sorry that this is so... but it is so.
2
@ANetliner It's not "so." It's your opinion.
Trump's net approval ratings in MI, WI and PA--states he won by a tiny margin--are negative. If he drives the US economy into a ditch, or some external factor, such as a hard Brexit, drags us there anyway, he's not going to have a leg to stand on among those who claim to have chosen him because of "economic anxiety."
Being male isn't good enough.
Dems want to defeat Trump. But they also want a president who is going to do something. Centrist is just another name for defending the status quo. Trump won, in part, because people are sick of the status quo.
13
I love both Bernie and Joe, but their time has passed.
I'm torn between Harris and Warren and would proudly support either. Warren seems to be running the smarter campaign though I would still like to see Harris spank "the chosen one" in a debate.
Just vote blue.
223
That is exactly as I see it. Harris more sure-footed in confronting Trump. Warren more on point with policies. I could support either with head and heart.
4
@James I would vote for Harris - she has a good presence, she smiles, she's tough - but I just think she's too wishy-washy on issues and a little opportunistic.
Warren, on the hand, is crystal clear about her intentions and how she's going to get there.
13
Gabbard, and Harris's record, have shown any decision between the two is easy. Harris wouldn't even come close to the compassion with teeth Warren would provide, in compassion nor teeth.
I think the time is coming for either Sanders or Warren to drop out for the other; polls often show a split between them, where combined they'd beat "It is over" Biden[1] and then (of course) the loser. They're buddies, but ought to decide fast—Iowa and New Hamp are aching to decide who'll lead the rest of us.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Iowa_Democratic_caucuses
4
The closer she moves to the center, the better her chances to not only get the nomination but to win the election.
110
@Steve of Brooklyn
I remember when Al Gore, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton hit on the brilliant strategy of moving to the center to win more moderate votes.
28
@Steve of Brooklyn The problem with your assessment is that the country is moving to the left. The center is more left than it's been since the 60s.
The 40 and under demographic has no desire for Reagan-Lite. They know what a failure that is.
17
@Steve of Brooklyn
There really aren’t a lot of moderate voters out there. The US, like many of the developed nations, is experiencing a resurgence of populism. This is especially true in the midwestern states Trump carried in 2016, and that hasn’t changed.
Democrats can either ride that wave, or they can lose.
14
My first donation was to Sanders earlier this year. In the face of Trump and all that is wrong in this country, Sanders' rhetoric of a "political revolution" was appealing to me. How can one fix the problems Trump has wrought, in addition to years of GOP corruption, without scrapping everything? Then, I went to a local event by Warren and heard her speak. My mind changed very quickly. In Warren I saw an intellectual and a fighter who would rebuild, not tear down. I don't want a revolutionary; I want a fixer. Sanders' harsh rhetoric, such as him consistently lambasting the media, reminds me a little too much of the current occupant of the Oval Office...
My second donation was to Warren.
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@Daniel
I was just the opposite.
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@Daniel I give to both as I'm hedging my bets.
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@Daniel My second donation was, again, to Bernie, whose understanding of the sickness or our democracy runs far deeper than Liz "I'm a capitalist" Warren's. Also, he's not talking out of both sides of his mouth. Hope he stays in as long as possible to move the Overton Window as far a possible to the left. However, the Dem party will certainly remain far to the right of Eisenhower on foreign and military policy and "the military/industrial complex." Bernie's contribution to healing our society has been enormous.
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Thanks Jonathan,
Dear Mr. President, or shall I call you Little Big Man? I didn't make it to Ms. Warren's well attended confab in Seattle yesterday; it's too hard to get there. As Yogi says, nobody goes there anymore it's too crowded. But my hope is that you will keep calling her Pocahontas. In fact, the more you do it the better off we will be. You see the only reason you got that job is because the Clinton exhaust and outrage from their decades of dissembling was too toxic to muster the troops. Now, of course, everyone is on to you. It may not have escaped your notice that you lost New York, your home state, in 2016 by 20 points; and that's because they knew you all too well there. So, keep it up, Little Big Man. The more outrage you gin up, the bigger your margin of defeat. You won't have Nixon, er I mean Hillary (and her ghost -- he comes in such a questionable shape) to kick around anymore. And your legacy, so sweet, will be: "He got beat by a girl."
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@Henry Hewitt Just to remind you, Hillary won the popular vote by 3 million, the widest margin ever (of course, the population is also the largest ever) of any losing candidate. The vote was rigged, both by the Dems against Bernie, and then by the Republicans against Hilary in more ways than one can count.
But yes, it would be sweet to have a woman beat Trump.
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@Brad
All the more reason to volunteer, volunteer, volunteer to get out the vote when the time comes.
And you have to admit, Little Big Man is brilliant! For a man who prides himself in finding just the right name for his opponents, Trump may have met his match in Henry Hewitt.
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And this is why it’s Bernie Or Bust.
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Like the last time? That went well.
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@DRB Bernie could have won 2016. The key Midwestern states Ms. Clinton lost would have been won by Bernie, who appeals to the disgruntled working class voters that Secretary Clinton lost.
13
Do you Bernie or bust folks (with whom I honestly have sympathy) realize that it is this attitude that pushes all the other candidates toward the center? Unfortunately we live under the onus of electoral math and if they don’t have your votes they have to find the numbers somewhere else.
15
One smart cookie. Bold ideas, but collegial, and she keeps the big picture in mind. I've been on Elizabeth Warren's email list for five years. When she has asked for support for other Democrats, I have usually responded with a small donation--which it appears many others have, to raise $11 M.
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@Tamara
She raised the majority of her funds from the same donors she castigated Biden for taking.
Big Money, Corp., PAC's and Wall Street.
Those same donor's she's stated she'll tap again if she makes it into the general. The "small donor" schtick is only for the primary. A calculated move. That's it.
Business as usual with the DNC and it's pol's.
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@Dobbys sock
source of statement? evidence for your claim?
7
Warren has a diligent, deft touch with people, both regular voters and party officials. She knows how to build a case for her candidacy.
Biden should be worried. I attended his disastrous Hanover campaign event on Friday and he never asked for people’s vote. There were no signs, no call-and response and barely any applause. I have been to dozens of presidential campaign events in the last few years, and I can say with certainty that it was the worst I have ever attended.
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@Cousy
Just be aware of the 'Circular Firing Squad" when making you comparisons.
The problem isn't Joe Biden.
The problem is already in the White House.
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@Cousy
I think Biden is in for a big surprise in Iowa. Voters there have to literally show up for a candidate, and stand around for hours while the process works itself out. I don't see any of his supporters with that kind of commitment -- they just want the easy way out by picking someone they think others will vote for. That's all he's selling. Even his wife said as much.
On the other hand, I expect Elizabeth Warren (and Sanders) supporters to come out strong.
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@N. Smith
Keep on believing that. You haven't seen a nightmare until you see Trump vs Biden. (No, I'm not a Trump supporter.)
9
Warren is differentiating herself from Bernie in that she's not threatening to burn the he house down. That's a wise thing to do. Her policies and proposals are well-thought out and while more progressive then the status quo, aren't outside the scope of the democratic party.
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@Brad Exactly. Warren is not relying on "the revolution" to get her vision accomplished.
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@Brad
The house Bernie wants to burn down is decrepit.
Most people want Medicare for all, believe it or not.
The minimum wage of $7.50 is disgraceful. Three individuals in the US have a greater income than 50%
of the people.
US students should have what every major country in the world has. free state colleges.
The big banks that destroyed Glass-Steagall and brought about '08 must be controlled.
Isn't it about time the Democratic Party widened its scope?
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@JFP Warren would agree with each of your points. The difference with Sanders is tactical, not philosophical. She is a masterful planner and tactician who knows how to bring about change. Indeed, where Sanders has a complaint, she has a plan.
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