I was there in Washington Park among the 20,000+ Monday eve. All of us from all walks of life, eager for justice, eager for democracy, eager for a hopeful future for all Americans. Ms. Warren is that slow and steady breath of fresh air, teaching, focused, relatable, loving, strong, well informed, and able to connect in a way that Educate us on our past and shows as a way forward at the same time. She was simply put brilliant! There is a reason she is on the rise. Arise I have been personally watching since she became a senator and I became aware of her. I thought I would go see her in person and I was not disappointed. I came away feeling hopeful I learn something I didn’t know and I felt connected. Oh and did I mention I felt like I was looking at the next President of the United States?
I have a plan… To vote for Warren 2020
10
Warren and Sanders are running behind Biden, but their combined poll numbers exceed his. One of them (read: Sanders) should step aside, assuming that they really care about their left-wing agenda.
3
So, “populist” Trump plans to “kill California's Clean Air Authority” and seems to have extracted money at his Turnberry, Scotland club money from the US military who were required to stop and spend money at his golf club.
On the other hand....
Senator Warren’s so-called “populism”wants to extend healthcare, improve education and eliminate student debt. Go figure!
4
Note the 2020 Trump campaign strategy here. “‘Under the Green New Deal,’ Mr. Trump said, caricaturing Democrats as seeking to eliminate cars and airplanes, ‘they’ll call us the hermit nation — we’ll never leave our house.’”
Until now Trump has claimed that climate change isn’t for real. But that just won't work anymore. So he simply switches gears and goes on attack mode.
It pains me to say this, but I have to agree with him on this—a climate change strategy based on denial just isn’t going to work. Even if we could change the behavior of our people we can’t control the other 95% of the people on the planet. But a more basic problem is we just won’t be able to sell this.
The Democrats need to take the high ground! The Green New Deal gang is well-intentioned, but the candidates must craft their own strategy. I suggest we inspire our people by declaring that the way to fight climate change is to unleash the technological and manufacturing power of the U.S. to invent and build yet-unimagined power and transportation solutions that will greatly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Not only will this approach provide a realistic way to attack climate change, it will generate possibly millions of jobs for the hard-working Americans who found themselves sliding downhill in recent years. And, although this approach would require a huge investment, eventually it should MAKE money.
So we can save the planet, provide lots of good jobs, and make a few bucks—what’s wrong with that?
1
What is going on here? The latest Trump versus Warren poll for California shows Trump losing to her by 22 points. Sounds pretty good until you remember that Trump lost California in 2016 by 30 points. This is the link: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/ca/california_trump_vs_warren-6756.html
If Warren is the nominee of the Democrats, which it more and more looks like she will be, and she only wins California by 22 points, she would be in lots of trouble in most of the rest of the country.
1
In their speeches, Trump made a total of 26 certifiable lies while Warren a total of zero. In a sane world with a responsible media, THIS would have been the story.
10
Three words: President Elizabeth Warren. Get used to it.
7
Elizabeth Warren has no chance at beating Trump, because she can't win the Midwest. She doesn't even understand the working-class. She's an academic and a career politician. Trump gets it, because most people who work at his properties are working-class people. He's been listening to them for decades. Most likely Biden will win the nomination, because Democrats who vote in primary elections have one primary goal: Beating Trump. And they know Warren has no chance.
4
@Mark, if you want a read on Trump's great empathy with the working class, you might want to check with the busboys at his Florida resort who had to sue him to simply get their overtime pay, or the ma-and-pa contractors on his Atlantic City project who he systematically stiffed.
As for Senator Warren, "She doesn't even understand the working-class?" Huh? She literally wrote the book on the woes of the middle class. Actually, she wrote several, but you might want to start with "This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America's Middle Class."
7
I’ve worked my whole life. I never taken home less than a full paycheck. I have never collected unemployment. And I understand Senator Warren. I support her. I understand that if we don’t take care of our economy, our climate, our healthcare, our education and our future then we won’t have any.
Get a job. Get an education. Get you stuff together!
2
@Mark. Don’t be coy: Senator Warren is from the Midwest and is the daughter of a working class family. The Senator worked her way up through hard work.
5
It depends on what the meanings of "both" and "populism" are.
Warren and Sanders each trail Biden in the primary polls, but "both" together (or progressives) beat Biden by double digits.
"Populism" usually implies candidate views based on attitudes (like racism) and emotion, as opposed to well thought out policy positions. This hardly applies to Sanders and Warren, who could more aptly be described as popular based on the size of their rallies, which compare well to Trump's.
2
I don’t agree that the choices are limited to, “appealing to voters with a soothing promise of returning to normalcy or with a more activist message about economic and social injustice.”
Trump has certainly moved away from “normalcy” but that doesn’t mean we must choose between removing him or having social and economic justice. In fact, I would contend that the compelling reason for removing him is to restore a sense of greater social and economic justice.
The point is that the Republican establishment supports Trump not only because of the bloc of Republican voters he has won over, but precisely because he is corrupt. They are all in on magnifying the advantages of the business and corporate class as well as enjoying the fruits of that corruption themselves.
There isn’t enough space here to list the examples, but clearly the Republican Party has enthusiastically embraced the spirit of corruption Trump champions. That transparent greed is their Achilles heel, and the D’s ought to exploit it. The fact that Trump is pointing out how left wing excess can also lead to economic distress is precisely the reason that the far left of the party should focus on Trump’s corruption, not the progressive wish list of “The Squad.”
Trump is blatantly corrupt, and he tars the entire R establishment. Running against that is the winning ticket.
5
I'm still amazed that I heard nothing about this rally until reading about it today -- and I'm HERE!
2
A sign declaring “Women for Trump,” held aloft by a female voter and visible in the photo accompanying the story, is a stark reminder of just how politically divisive we’ve become. This is the king of sexual abuse who says women (at least those beholden to Trump) “just let you do it.” He is part of the “swamp” that everyone speaks of, and he must be voted out for our country’s sake.
2
The reporter went out of his way to try to describe a political philosophy for Trump, and failed. He hasn't drained the swamp, but filled it. He hasn't taken on corporations, but kowtowed to them. He hasn't helped the little guy -- the forgotten American -- but lied to them repeatedly. Trump is an abject failure as President, with but one achievement so far: a tax plan of immense benefit to himself and his cronies in the real estate business.
Elizabeth Warren can be criticized on any number of points, but she is not out to enrich herself by using the levers of power for personal gain. Her ideas are progressive, but only in the American context; among the Western democracies, Warren would be mainstream.
Should these two face each other in a debate, I think Warren would embarrass Trump for his absence of issue detail and intelligence. For that reason alone, should she gain the Democratic nomination, it would not be at all a surprise if Trump refused to debate her.
5
Republicans accuse Democrats of doing what Republicans do, and declare it an abomination.
It's true, the Banana Republican party IS an abomination, and David Frum had it exactly right.
"If conservatives become convinced that they can not win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy.”
They already have.
5
Now really, are "They are both trailing behind Joseph R. Biden Jr." Or slowly gaining on him? The election is still some time away.
Difference is, Warren doesn't tell a lie every other sentence.
24
@Virginia - every other?
2
We can now see where this is going. Former VP Biden's candidacy has plateaued, and he will fade away. Bernie Sanders is a great patriot, but he comes off as too angry and his message is too extreme, and he will also fade away. Senator Liz Warren will be the Democratic candidate, maybe with Senator Kamala Harris* as her VP, and the campaign will be fought along the battle lines discussed in this article.
I'm not sure that's good; I think the country would be better off with a more centrist Democratic candidate, and I think such a candidate would be more certain to defeat Trump. Except there doesn't seem to be someone like that who’s still a viable candidate; I liked Governor Jay Inslee, but he's gone. So this is what I see in the now-clearer crystal ball.
By the way, Trump would be wise to let the “Pocahontas” thing go, but he’s not smart enough to do that, and every time he brings that up again he will dig himself deeper into his hole.
* Some may say, "OMG, we can't have a ticket with TWO WOMEN!" But I believe all but three of the 470 or so tickets since 1788 had two men, and that was always OK. A ticket with Senator Harris would also only the third with a person of color, the others of course being the two with President Obama.
3
@Jerry Schulz I am a senior citizen & have no interest in a moderate candidate. We have been waiting long enough to catch up to the rest of the industrialized world with universal healthcare, education beyond high school, real gun control, criminal justice for low income folks, and the wealthy paying their share whose wealth has been made on the backs of employees receiving non livable wages.
4
Exactly how is Lizzy going to execute her version of "Drain the Swamp?" - most of the swamp is elected. I'm sure she's got a plan for removing elected officials, along with everything else.
1
@Ben Hopefully the voters will drain the swamp by voting out all the bought & paid for congressmen & senators.
3
45 is a liar, has accomplished only division and hatred and tax breaks for the already rich. He himself is corrupt and the truth will win out.
8
Trump is crushing the Democrats in language. Will they never learn? The snapshot of the two quotes in the second and fourth paragraphs here is like a Tyson fight.
Dems, this is a battle for the soul of Earth, not a community picnic. "We're battling a failed ideology of white supremacy, slavery, and Naziism. There are forces in Washington that feel more like the Axis powers of WWII than America. Fascism is rising on the right and it's destroying this sacred 232 year-old treasure called America. Trump and the polluting industrialists are packing your courts, packing your legislatures with stooges for the fossil fuel industry. They're blocking the creation of millions of new jobs so they can kill us all with cancer. They're letting the Kremlin pick your government. Bowing down to Kim Jong while he develops the weapons to destroy us." And on and on and on. Take the gloves off already. He's shown you how over and over. I know, I know, Michelle said "go high." That doesn't always work. See Ft. Sumter 1861 and Poland 1939.
5
"Populism" is lazy term being used to describe anything from fascism to social democracy.
3
On the right you have the choices of fear and bigotry and a political party who will caress your prejudices and confirm your fears.
On the left you have the choice of a center left grandpa who believes the status quo holds the answers and two candidates who understand that rebuilding a foundation for democracy, capitalism and preserving our planet is paramount. Candidates who understand that you must dream big in order to reach satisfying compromise are desperately needed.
Warrens approach speaks of practical application while Sanders still speaks in platitudes. He brought us to the mountaintop but may be destined to be modern America’s Moses.
trump on the other hand is determined to pull our country deeper down into a morass of spite and resentment and preserve his place in the fetid one percent (in which I reside, btw).
The choice is getting pretty clear to me.
6
The big difference as far as I can tell is that Trump has learned what a valuable partner Mitch McConnell is; while Ms. Warren lives in a world where there is no McConnell. Think big, but govern in a world where you have a partner who can get things done. So Democrats if Ms. Warren is your candidate and you want real structural change, remember there are three branches of government and gerrymandering is alive and well all over the US as is voter suppression. If you can't turn the Senate blue, these big ideas will remain just that, ideas.
3
@Elinor I live in Arizona but have donated to a candidate in Kentucky running against Trump. I hope others will do the same.
6
We keep hearing that Biden is the front-runner. But Warren's and Sander's poll numbers are higher combined than are Biden's. That shows that much of the Democratic base is more excited about the candidates who are taking liberal policy positions.
9
@Paul Smith
Bottom Line.
At this point, Biden has the majority of the Black vote.
Neither Sanders or Warren can say the same -- and without it, they're toast.
1
For citizens who wonder which side is telling the truth, all you have to do is look at the numbers. The wealth gap has never been wider. The vast majority desperately want gun reform, but congress can’t get it done. The globe is in peril, but we seem to be going backward as we consistently break records.
Warren’s speech was enthusiastically received because her message rang true. No one in the audience came away saying they forgive her for lying but support her anyway. We know she’s telling the truth. And her message was so meticulously solid, it’s easy to see why she keeps gaining ground.
7
"the 2020 election could be the first in a generation to be fought without an ally of either party’s centrist establishment on the ballot."
On the Republican side, there is no centrist establishment anymore. Anyone who is less extreme than Trump has either declined to run for re-election or has become an obsequious lackey and apologist for his administration. It's the Trumpublican part now.
4
please, Bernie step aside and allow Warren to rise. you will always be remembered as the grandfather of the 21st century progressive movement. but it is time to gracefully let Elizabeth Warren take the helm
7
@cory
Sanders will always be remembered by some as the self centred loner who undermined Hillary's campaign with baseless accusations and unfounded innuendo incessantly repeated at high volume over a period of eighteen months. Trump and the Russians really couldn't have won it without Bernie - an object lesson in the wages of overreaching for the ages.
I have never heard of a populist whose primary constituency is the campus and the intellectual elite who never leave the ivory tower but now style themselves as “social democrats.” I don’t think any of them even imagine themselves to be populists, but have found in Warren a kindred soul who offers a social agenda which substitutes for actual participation in the real world.
1
The Santa Ana Star Hotel and Casino where Trump spoke is neither in Albuquerque nor in Rio Rancho (as reported by the Times) but in Bernalillo, a lovely and very old Hispanic (not Latino!) town 27 miles north of Albuquerque.
Ironically I suppose, many of the families living in Bernalillo and nearby Placitas were living in the lands stolen by the U.S. from Mexico for hundreds of years before the Trumps made their way here from Germany.
It is tedious beyond words to read the comments below that equate Warren (and Sanders) and Trump as "extremists" or "members of the far left and far right." Read some history!
Warren is a old-fashioned liberal, as is Sanders, and Trump is the embodiment of a GOP conservatism dating back to Barry Goldwater. Neither "extreme" is extreme at all, but mainstream. Politics hasn't changed that much since 1964. If you think Warren is a radical, what was LBJ? Again, read a book (try Jill Lepore).
And the vaunted "moderates" are just a bunch of hacks who, once in office, will no doubt continue to support a status quo that will--Ms. Warren is right--kill our planet, destroy what's left of our moribund democracy, and keep the oligarchs in charge.
6
Trump hates freedom and he hates fairness. Dem nominee should seize high ground on Liberty and Equality—GOP has abandoned both. Tiffany Muller sees the issue of framing clearly.
"Competing visions"? In that Warren's is actual populism and Trump's is outright fraud?
5
Bernie/Warren and Trump are political extremists.
We will only get rid of Trump if we nominate a centrist progressive like Mayor Pete, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, Yang, etc.
Americans will never run to support another extremist especially one who campaigns to outlaw private health insurance.
Trump will only be defeated by nominating someone who is non-threatening, not proclaiming Democratic Socialism or other leftist invective.
Get rid of Trump by going center, not left extreme.
3
One thing is clear here - the 2020 elections will be one with no prisoners taken.
Why did we get into this situation? Why are we so shortsighted and antidemocratic and why we have zero respect for people and politicians not on our side?
A huge part of the blame for this goes towards the media who really, gladly pit people against each other, unfortunately, NYT being one of the prime examples of this.
1
I don’t care if the devil himself is elected president; I will never support a candidate who funds billions to Israel while it continues after more than half a century to illegally occupy a land and brutally oppress an entire people.
Bernie Sanders is the only principled US presidential candidate out there in at least a generation. He is Jewish but that doesn’t prevent him from calling out Israel and acting on it.
My vote will go for Bernie Sanders, as a write-in if he doesn’t win the primary. Principles trump country, you see.
2
@Yasser Taima Please don't do that. We need all the Democratic votes we can get. Any democratic on the ticket would be better than letting Trump.
4
Warren gave a major speech attended by tens of thousands of people--can't the Times give the CONTENT of the speech the attention it surely has earned? I can't wait to vote for Warren, and I think the dems battle cry has got to be "Do Something!"
7
Only one of the speeches was advocating a "populism" that actually cares about people - Warren's. Trump was advocating some variant of predatory autocratic fascism.
4
Let’s not conflate populist Fascism (Mussolini) with a movement for more democracy, which is what Senator Warren is calling for.
Capitalism with rules (FDR) is not dumb populism, except for the Sackler family and vulture capitalists who crashed the economy and destroyed the American middle class.
The flexibly ethical, former Trump Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski is testifying before the Judiciary Subcommittee about his role and misleading statements around Trump’s shenanigans. The WH is claiming executive privilege. And, Lewandowski is turning the hearing into a circus. No wonder the French Revolution exploded
3
The litmus test between Trump and any candidate should include the ability to read and interpret the content which Trump is either unwilling or incapable of doing. There are a handful of unqualified people defining policy and holding power behind Trump including Kushner, Mulvaney, Pompeo, Miller, Mnunchin along with McConnell, Graham and Grassely. Trump fails to remember what he is supposed to say and also what he said the day before. This is an American tragedy and resentment is building for those of us who are living with a sense of gloom by the destruction, erratic and corrupt behavior shoved in our faces on a daily basis. It is absolutely criminal for a person to hold the position of President and speak like a third grader, it is painful, embarrassing to hear Trump speak, incoherent rambles that are broadcast over the world. What happened to our country and the Republicans who have chosen to destroy all credibility domestically and internationally over their personal power? Warren and Sanders have knocked their heads against the walls of corruption for years, we need that candidate. Biden navigated through it, big difference.
10
Interesting, but SO OBVIOUS, contrast.
Trump IS THE EXEMPLAR OF THE CORRUPT ESTABLISHMENT. The credibility of his minority election is very questionable, he lies and abuses his powers every day, he is ignorant and a narcissistic sociopath. He has NO POLICY, no planning and no structure. He's running a corrupt game show and isolating our country from the rest of the world while catering to tyrants, obstructing in every way possible to prevent his exposure and REGRESSING socially and culturally.
Warren, on the other hand, represents what is necessary to stop and reverse the lawlessness of Trump and his cabal. She presents workable ideas, a REAL plan, truth and humanity - backed by a REAL education and decades of experience; none of which Trump has.
Warren understands that, in order for our children to survive, change is necessary - and it is necessary NOW. Those who have their feet stuck in aged concrete will be passed by by progress, just like the coal miners who refused to see the handwriting on the wall. Some people hate change, but it is necessary, now more than ever, and it will take a WISE leader to help it happen - a peacemaker and an honest intellectual. Again, Trump is neither.
Trump demonizes Warren and everyone with whom he disagrees (which is eventually everyone). Warren must not bend to this - Trump is a cheap, make-believe tycoon who has conned a lot of Americans - that must stop and we must eliminate this swamp of corruption at our highest levels!
11
@RealTRUTH bravo, very well said and truthful!
4
@RealTRUTH What a well written comment. I am always so impressed by the intelligence & writing skill of the people who write comments. Many times I have to admit I spend more time reading the comments than time spent on the article itself.
3
These extremes and Trump's lies and hostility are so depressing.
6
““Corruption has put our planet at risk, corruption has broken our economy and corruption is breaking our democracy,” Ms. Warren said Monday evening. “I know what’s broken, I’ve got a plan to fix it and that’s why I’m running for president of the United States.”
Take “corruption” and replace it with “immigration” and you have a Trump statement.
Both do “us vs them”. Both claim to speak for regular people who are victims. Both offer easy answers that they are uniquely qualified to deliver.
Populism grows upon division, ignorance, and intolerance. We have plenty of all of those now.
1
@Yuri Vizitei: None of Warren's extremely detailed policy proposals offer easy answers.
3
@James S - wealth redistribution is the ultimate easy answer and one which has failed repeatedly.
However, my central point remains the similarity of appeal by Trump and Warren to respective demographics.
@Yuri Vizitei It hasn't failed. Virtually all prosperity in western democracies was created by redistribution of wealth through taxation. Why do you think Europe has much better quality of life metrics than we do? They pay for services.
2
Trump invokes an imaginary conspiracy with buzzwords meant to elicit an emotional lizard brain response. Pure fear and divisiveness. Warren suggests not a conspiracy, but a system corrupted in the favor of an oligarchy. But it is all false equivalency for the headline writers who must protect their precious neutrality above anything else.
6
If some voters cannot tell the difference between Warren's genuine disgust with political corruption and her plans to fight it, and Trump's empty rhetoric, constant lying and single handed raising the bar on historical levels of corrupt behavior, then maybe we need to rethink the right of every citizen to vote.
Maybe some people are too easily conned, too easily duped, too naive to vote? Maybe there should be a test? Democracy has to protect itself from the clueless.
9
I challenge any Trump supporter to show us one example of Populist legislature coming from the Trump White House. All I see are laws and deregulation that favor corporate Interest.
I haven't see any power sharing, the swamp has more money interest than it ever was. Corporate America and foreign interest spend to get Trump's ear.
The biggest GOP and Trump lie. Trump is a Populist. Trump doesn't share power, care to share power and certainly doesn't legislate for his voters.
Sorry tormenting asylum seekers and caging children is not populist it is just Immoral and deplorable.
16
it is alarming to see the NYTs conflated Trumpism with populism—in what world is the GOP's tax break for corporations and the .01 percent populism?—with the authentic populism of Elizabeth Warren which has the same DNA as Mary Elizabeth Lease and the People's Party.
7
The "but both sides" stench is strong in this piece. Reader beware.
10
Looks like The NY Times is doing the same thing it did in 2016 - deciding which candidate(s) won’t win and giving them no coverage. Why not cover Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Andrew Yang, and Kamala Harris with the same degree of seriousness? They are very smart, viable candidates. Help people get to know them.
7
A vision of hope vs hate and the woman wins by a landslide.
6
Should I even read this? Elizabeth Warren comes to New York, gives a well received, well attended speech and you got to make it about Trump? Why not two separate articles?
On what planet are these two even remotely alike? Sorry. I'm gonna pass here.
14
Trump paid off politicians when in business, including bribes to quash investigations, appointed lobbyists when in power, refused to release his taxes, funneled government business to his privately held properties. He is the face of corruption. He is the worst of it.
5
Anyone who thinks that Trump is an advocate for the working and middle classes in this country just needs to look at the recent tax giveaways for the super rich that Trump championed and pushed through.
If working class and middle class people cannot see that those windfall tax giveaways for the rich are what Trump and his ilk are all about, and that those giveaways raped the treasury and exploded the deficit, they are just too ignorant to deserve economic fairness, and deserve to starve in their retirement, without decent medical care...
3
Trump’s idea of populism is to say and do anything to make himself popular.
10
Make America Crude Again- that is the cultural battle cry from Trumpopulism.
They reject:
-effete intellectual nuance (wisdom)
-scientific expertise
-democratic diversity
-pragmatic economic realism
-government protection&oversight of financial system ---environment/air/auto travel/infrastructure
-universal healthcare/social safety net
-fair tax code (carried interest, etc)
- global alliances
Trumpop embraces:
-white nativism
-anti-governance exploitation
-amateur agency & cabinet heads
-demagoguery
-medieval walled nations
-trade protectionism
-religious hegemony
-environmental nihilism
-Orwellian double talk
-relentless chaos
9
@Sara well said, I would put Orwellian Doublethink at the top of the Trumpop embraces list, because that’s what enables, or sells, all the rest of what you list.
"Corruption in the Flesh" -- definitely a line to remember (and reuse).
3
Populism has always had problems addressing race.
What is most shocking about this article is that its author, Mr. Burns, does not see the difference himself between Senator Warren and this flagrantly corrupt president.
There is no equivalency here and hopefully his millennial voice is not symptomatic of the apathy that made them the largest non-voting age group in modern history.
17
The 2016 vote for trump as a ‘novelty’ is somewhat understandable. If after 4 years of catastrophic mismanagement he wins again, the US democracy will need collective therapy.
2
Trump names the malefactors as the ‘liberal establishment’ and Warren names the malefactors as greedy corporations. Both appeal to the people to take back their government by leaving it up to them.
The real adversaries are the people who vote for Republicans and who vote for Democrats. The respective political leaders are appealing to fear and loathing of symbols instead of honestly confronting opposing beliefs and priorities. Both seek totalitarian authority to achieve their ends. Both are destroying our liberal democracy by deepening divisions and preventing any consensus among the people.
The only difference is that Trump cares not while Warren cares so much she cannot step back to see the consequences of her efforts.
Hoo boy, does Elizabeth Warren have Trump's number. She would be able to ring him up and string him up! It's disingenuous to say Warren is trailing Biden; the press insists on that but I don't believe it. Warren is a force and she's got a plan for becoming President in addition to her plans for getting the country moving in a healthy, moral, and just direction once she's elected. Trump markets himself, sham that he is. Warren has vision and heft. There is no contest between the two; just a lot of hysterical mudslinging and dirty tricks to defend against from Trump.
5
Be real: The 2008 Great Recession was caused by the looting and elimination of FDR era regulations dressed as “free market economics” courtesy of the neo-Meritocrats. The American middle class was essentially destroyed. It’s recovery has been anemic and feeble. Even with two jobs, American families are barely making it. Most jobs are contracted positions without benefits, including healthcare. For all the great work
President Obama did to mend the economy, he didn't reinstate regulations, nor jailed the looter of the economic crash. This is why we have Trump. Hilary Clinton was a status quo, centrist as is VP Biden. Both campaign as if it’s their divine right to land in the White House.
Trump is charlatan, lier who’s promised the moon and blamed immigrants for all that’s wrong in the country.
Senator Warren is campaigning to rebuild the country and against the Trump corruption, thievery, lies and incompetence.
Senator Warren is proposing, cogent, well thought out proposals to right the law and economy. Not an “array” or “battery” of proposals. Her followers are young, educated voters. She needs to grow it by attracting more ethnic working class voters. Senator Warren’s supporters are well informed and not easily persuaded. Trump’s five adjective discourse is empty, but full of racism and blame against Blacks and immigrants. Populism indeed!
10
“They want to erase American history, crush religious liberty, indoctrinate our students with left-wing ideology.”
This is not Populism!
This is demagoguery.
Call it what it is.
11
I am old enough to enjoy seeing "Trump Win Again" -- won't bother me a bit. I enjoy watching the witless follow the Pied Piper.
@EdwardKJellytoes How sad! Makes me wonder if you are an elderly man. Well I am an elderly woman, and I want everyone in this country to have an opportunity to succeed, and they never ever will with Trump at the helm. Unfortunately Trump is only interested In Trump succeeding.
2
A couple of points of correction here. First, Biden is not center left, he is, like Clinton and Obama, what used to be called a “moderate “ Republican- slightly center right.
Next, while Sanders and Warren’s position might reasonably be called populist, Trump cannot. His actual position is racist demagogue.
9
When McConnell and his acolytes refused to confirm Elizabeth Warren as head of the CFPB, he may have sealed the fate of the GOP. You cannot stop her. She is a force of nature, brilliant and with the right message and plan. And, assuming the DNC doesn't put their establishment thumb on the scales, she will be the next President of the United States. We need to rent a huge Dumpster to toss the garbage this administration has piled up.
And as far as that "Pocahontas" nonsense is concerned, calling her names is not refuting her policies or plans. It's the act of a desperate little man with no ideas but his own self-aggrandizement. She could kill it in a debate with an offhand and dismissive "That's cute."
5
Why do you guys insist on changing what Trump says into something that you can vilify, instead of directly challenging his very widely supported arguments with the failings of the liberal order. One example is your continual us of tropes about our supposed attack on immigrants, even though he and his supporters like me focus almost exclusively on migrants who enter the USA illegally. Illegal immigration is a problem - Democrats know this, but prefer to conflate the issue with legal immigration and then use the race card. Let’s try having an honest debate about why 60,000,000 voters supported Trump in 2016, because in my book, he will gain significant support among the Latino population (I have a significant extended family of first generation legal immigrants from South America who support the Trump line on immigration), and among African American men. Depending on who is up against him, I think he has a solid chance of winning the national popular vote by a solid margin. Perhaps then you will join us in a respectful debate - and stop calling us racists.
3
Is this what it's going to come to - a choice between two populists? And name calling bullies to boot. Lord help us.
There are a lot of things that this nation has to deal with. The problem is that we have too many one-person solutions and almost nobody acknowledging that actually solving our national problems will require listening to all sides and coming to a working compromise. This "Only I can solve it" thinking deepens the divides in the nation.
Not one of our problems can be solved by one party or one person and the sooner we realize that and start bringing all the issues to a common table the sooner we will have workable solutions.
No it won't be easy and getting people who actually want to bring us together elected will be difficult. But we have to start talking with, and not talking at, all of America.
2
Elizabeth Warren's version of populism is "about attacking concentrated wealth and economic power and breaking its influence over government."
Trump's version of populism is attacking "the establishment" while bringing more corporate grifters to Washington to fill their pockets with taxpayer's money.
The difference between Warren supporters and Trump supporters is that one group is discerning while the other is deceived. Care to guess which group is which?
11
With all due respect, now is the time for Bernie Sanders to withdraw from the 2020 field and to throw his full and active support behind Elizabeth Sanders.
Bernie should and always will be revered by the Democratic party, and by the country, for reminding us of what is right, imploring us to pursue those goals, and sowing the seeds of true progress and advancement. However, his time is just a bit past.
Now is not the time to split the progressive wing of the Democratic party. We need to unite. Biden would be for us in 2020 what Hillary was in 2016: highly competent, civil, thoughtful, and careful; but uninspiring, overly cautious, and non-responsive to our growing clarity about the need for serious change.
Sen. Warren is the clarion call of this change. Other progressives in the hunt (O'Rourke, DeBlasio, Gabbard, Castro) should get behind her candidacy now, too.
This article is excellent in spelling out the clear choices and alternatives represented by and between Trump and Sen. Warren. Let's start the critical process of weighing and understanding these differences, in order to make our case to the (sadly) many voters who once voted for President Obama but then voted for Trump. That is where salvation will lie. We need to inspire these voters and others who chose to sit out the 2016 election. With most of the Democratic party rallying to both the significance AND the reasonableness of her plans, Warren can carry this off.
13
It’s also both possible and likely that Warren and Sanders will be better judges of the right timing to concede to the other than we are. I believe both of them want to beat the centrists (and Trump) more than they care about which one of them does it.
I trust them to make the call on timing. The evidence we have strongly suggests it will be Sanders conceding and endorsing Warren at some point, but something could change at any time. Maybe it is smarter to have two standard bearers for the left as long as possible, in case of an unforeseen event taking one of them out of the race or eroding their support before the critical point in the primaries.
One thing I’m sure of: Warren is smarter than I am, and she’s run a near perfect campaign so far. Another thing I am sure of: Bernie wants what’s good for the country more than he actually wants to be President himself.
2
What is inexplicable to me is why 45% or so of our fellow citizens still support Trump after everything we’ve all seen and been through with him. What do they think he’s achieved for them? How can they ignore the madness?
3
Competing visions of populism, you say? Hmm, let's see: one version of populism helps everyone, the other only helps Donald Trump and his donors.
I wonder which is real?
12
When reports about Trump diehard supporters reveal a blindness to his nature and frivolous handling of the serious and sacred office he holds, that’s one problem. But when highly paid journalists with close access to him and the sophistication to recognize the harm being done by his words and acts, that’s quite another.
The gulf between him and Elizabeth Warren is immense. What each offers is a cancellation of the other. I know where I stand. It should not be a difficult choice. Reporters don’t have to write biased reports. By writing the facts, the quality of the candidate is revealed.
I think the time is well past for these attempts to “balance” the platforms offered by Trump and anyone else. He is a destructive force, by his own words.
5
Interesting that both are presented as "addresses." Trump's word salad, is just that. Meanwhile, erudite Warren makes the well-crafted policy speech of the election so far. But the bar is so low, what does it matter? Maybe pointing out the lies in Trump's speech would also be helpful to the reader. Reading the Times recently, I've noticed that the President has been threatening to go to war for Saudi Oil. Sort of contradicts his line about independence from foreign oil producers in his "address" (but why be concerned about current events?). Trump has a record, but the Times in an everlasting both-sides endeavor, writes pseudo-academic analysis based on an invented symmetry and does so without backing it up with actual reporting. Indeed, having been present myself at the Warren "address," I can confirm she made more than a passing reference to our current President. But again, we like a nice neat essay, don't let's get bogged down with facts on the ground. The rest of the country (those who don't attend Trump rallies) are living with the reality of Trump's America. Maybe tell us about that. It just might help to explain Warren's address.
11
There are no centrists left in the Republican party, the few left have retired or are quitting office and any still left in congress are stone silent. So after letting the tea party run roughshod over the GOP, they are now the party of trump.
4
The corruption of our democracy is clearly the result of massive corporate money that pours into the campaign funding and lobbying that supports the "legalization" of bribes. There is not one single serious problem that we face that is not either caused by or whose solutions are impeded by the disruptive influence of big money.
The fundamental nature of equality is defined by "One Person, One Vote". Anything that disrupts the process of political engagement with the people is anti democracy.
I'm in. I am supporting Warren. Some might say that she can't win against trump but that is a matter of a unified democratic and independent rally to put her in the White House. As much as I have gotten the impression that Biden is more electable, it would be a waste of our efforts to back such a lack luster candidate with no substantive ideas.
This is war, World War Trump. We will win with a unified effort to defeat trump and reverse the disastrous course that he has taken.
7
It seems almost as if American is experiencing
birth pangs. What will the baby be? Warren's vision of fundamental change for the public good or Trump's vision of greed for the wealthy and punishment for any who dare disagree with him?
6
People are getting excited about Warren. I hope this continues. I don't want Biden to run. Hillary lite isn't what we need now.
4
Trump’s isn’t a “populist vision” but pure demagoguery. The “failed liberal establishment” hasn’t been in power since the days of Ronald Reagan. The “corrupt establishment” can only be him and his cronies, as they have been the only power for more than a generation. If right wing dogma and voodoo economics was actually “populist”, it would have helped those worried white workers at some point in forty years of power.
6
It’s clear Warren is riding a wave that could carry the election. She represents what most Democrats want, and she is able to connect with voters of all kinds and offer a vision of hope instead of hate.
The only thing standing in her way at this moment of time is Bernie Sanders.
If Sanders is really about seeing his vision for this country happen, he would drop out of the Presidential race now rather than later. He is only serving to split the vote and to secure the nomination of Biden by staying in the race.
It’s time for Sanders to step aside gracefully and do what is best for his country, instead of what’s best for his ego and ambition.
It’s not politics. It’s math.
85
@Chickpea I think we shouldn’t demonize Bernie here, and I think we should think about timing strategically. I’ve done it too, but I looked at it from a different perspective this week. What are the facts?
Bernie and Warren have not attacked each other. They acknowledge a long term friendship. They believe in similar policy agendas. They both have strong passionate bases of support. Is it unthinkable that they could be working together against the forces they both know are arrayed against them? I’d argue that it’s almost unthinkable that they aren’t.
It may be that they are playing the long game here. Neither of them know how the race is going to shake out in the primaries. What if Warren wins Iowa, Bernie wins NH and Nevada (with Warren a strong second), Biden wins SC, but then Warren and Biden start to run pretty evenly when Warren takes California and Biden takes the South.
If Sanders drops out then and endorses Warren, does that put her over the top? Timing is critical for momentum stories in the horse race. I’d bet they time it very strategically, and I’d argue the right time might not be now.
16
@Chickpea I think Sanders should keep challenging her until the primary is decided! I supported Sanders in 2016 and I'd support Warren now but I think everyone should go through a rigourous process of selection. Whatever else you can say about Trump, he did deal with over a dozen R candidates on his way to the nomination. So I think this kind of a test/trial is good for you. Warren should be able to overcome the conundrum you mention. She should be able to make the case to Sanders voters of your logic, etc. etc.
Competition is good.
10
Sanders has a million donors, who are also actively pushing his campaign and pledged to not only vote but take the progressive agenda to DC. It's what we thought Obama would do! We expected him to call on the people to March on Washington to demand a heathcare public option. But, instead, he caved to the corporate "New Democrats" of the party in spite of a vast majority of voters calling for a public option. I only trust Bernie Sanders. Besides, Sanders leads in fundraising by almost double the money and almost triple the numbers of donors.
12
The writer says Sanders pioneered this kind of economic populism, but isn't it a lot older than that? The Democratic Party I was raised in, ca. 1960, had always been for "the little guy" vs. Big Capital, Banks, Merchants. (In my case it was farmers vs. Republican owned railroads and grain elevators.) I switched to Independent after the 2010 election, by which time the national Dem party, in the name of avoiding "class warfare" ceded populism to xenophobes and their ilk.
2
Trump and his supporters are "rewriting history" as they ignore that our nation's founding democratic ideas and principles were formed during the "age of enlightenment" and "liberalism" that spread across Europe at that time.
Warren and Sanders are closer to the ideas and expectations that took us to declare our independence and fight for it from behind every tree and stone wall as the British army like today's corporate politicians march in lockstep with their superior force and inferior intentions to protect the prosperity of the king and royalty.
Trump's supporters are misled into thinking that the wealthy will always look out for them. This has never happened. Not even under King George. Trump's boogeyman is some abstract smoke screen that politicians have used forever, while Warren and Sanders are addressing politics, organizations and conditions that Americans have dealt with over our lifetimes and the life of the nation.
Every improvement in our nation has come from progressive action based on our original age of enlightenment and liberalism, not from being afraid of our democratic ideals and multicultural values.
48
Kudos to Senator Warren for putting corruption front and center and for having real plans to attack it.
I really hope Bernie is prepared to step aside at the appropriate moment. He did a good job highlighting the rampant inequality in our country. He's not the right choice to try to end it.
Why you ask? He's a bit of a johnny-one-note, doesn't seem to have thought thoroughly about most issues, and would actually be a weak candidate once the Republicans get to work on him. Notice how concerned Trump is by Warren. With good reason.
7
My company requires annual ethics and compliance training, rolled out in a variety of videos over the years (with a must pass test) and has a written policy we must train on; training compliance is monitored and reported transparently. (Ditto for discrimination, sexual misconduct, etc., etc.)
Is this required of our public servants?
1
Trump is about putting people down, an attitude of, "If I feel bad, I'll make you feel bad too." Elizabeth Warren, in contrast, is about lifting people up, an attitude of, "If there is somewhere you want to go in your life, we'll help you get there."
58
@CH Nope, the Pres. is fine.
I can only hope that Sanders and Warren can come together and not divide the progressive vote. I don’t know how that looks in the end, but with the Dem rules for delegates after the first vote, we need to make sure their delegates get together for the win.
10
So Trump is campaigning against the "failed liberal establishment." He succeeded, thanks to non-liberal institution of the Electoral College, in portraying Hilary Clinton in those terms, and the Republican establishment has rewarded him with their loyal support. And if Joe Biden is his opponent, he may succeed again, because he is even more obviously representative of a squishy centrist liberalism.
Elizabeth Warren is not, I think, any kind of "populist." That label is better suited for Bernie, and that's why they split the votes of progressive Democrats. I believe that Warren will have a broader popular appeal, and better answers to the charge that she will govern as a "socialist." She can also lead a deep reform of the Democratic party's sclerotic organizations nationwide, and that will be better than the revolution that some of Bernie's supporters are crying for.
17
@Jon Quitslund
So is non centrist liberalism a success, or is that what we must now call progressivism?
1
back in reality:
here in NM, we are already 20 years into the process of converting our electric grid to 100% renewables.
the renewable sector is employing more individuals than the fossil fuel sector,.
at the same time, we use the taxes collected from fossil fuels to fund education and research.
by the way - that crowd in rio rancho was full of people from other states. check out the license plates.
94
@bob lesch
20 years into the process, does not imply progress.
What percent of your electricity is produced by renewable sources, and what are they?
1
@Raz
I looked it up just now for you. 14% wind energy, but primarily still coal and natural gas. I was surprised to see very little mention of solar considering I would have thought that would be major in NM.
4
Thank you, for the reality check and congratulations on your state’s green progress, delivered with socioeconomic justice!
1
This article falsely makes an equivalence between Trump and Warren, as “populists”. Trump is nothing more than a conman and charlatan, which hopefully people can see now if they didn’t in 2016. He has stuffed the government with people who only want to tear it apart to clear the way for corporations to profit even more (except Amazon of course). He in no way represents the interests of the common man (which is what I thought a populist is). Warren is his diametric opposite, in both integrity and in her aims. She does genuinely want to wrest power back away from the greedy and powerful and restore it to the people.
198
@Treetop Thank for calling the false equivalence between Trump and Warren, solely because they both criticize the globalization political consensus of the past half of a century. A populist bases their message on ignorance and hatred whereas Warren has taken the time and applied her vast expertise to develop well thought-out political solutions. We may disagree or agree with her, but she is in no way appealing to race, ethnic, sexual or religious hatred!
5
@Treetop - I think Trump is a populist, but really only for white middle America. He appeals to their concerns over immigration and gun ownership. He's a populist to the kind of person who uses the term "I'm not racist, but...."
@Treetop Yup, the more appropriate term for Trump would be "demagogue." He's practically the dictionary definition of it.
2
Signs say "Keep America Great". Do these people have any idea what Trump has done to our stability, reputation, civility, economy, manufacturing jobs, democracy and deliberation, environment, and laws protecting us and our environment? He is destroyed them all.
What we have is a failed GOP that has enabled and supported Trump because all they care about is power, taking away freedom from religion, and making America white and afraid.
54
If I could amend your comment, it would be to say that the GOP is succeeding by its own metrics. The party is going about destroying government to make the point that the government doesn’t work. It’s a perverse logic, but their success is creating the conditions of a failed state.
6
@Mama bear
No they don't have any idea what Trump is doing. Fox and it's sisters do not tell them this.
2
@Mama bear LOL 50% like Trump don't read they listen and listen to FOX and Donald. The 50% that reads has serious doubts about Trump in 2020.
3
“What we’ve seen is that Trump actually maintains strength on this issue — that, frankly, voters don’t know who to trust on the issue of corruption and cleaning up Washington,” Ms. Muller said
it might help if New York Times columnists could tell who to trust on the issue of corruption. It seems as if Alexander Burns can't see any real difference, or just doesn't care.
33
Congratulations to Joe Biden on leading in the latest Politico poll for the Democratic nomination for President. Joe polled 32%, Bernie 20% and Elizaberh Warren 18%.
In last week's Economist/YouGov poll, Joe was leading Trump 55 to 40.
These results are showing that a "movement" is underway - led by one who was once described by Trump as being taken off the trash heap by Barack Obama.
It's both exciting and adrenalin pumping!
4
@Mike Edwards
Let's hope that's true, because it's still early and people lie because they are embarrassed to admit voting for Trump. Biden is our only hope because the election will turn on Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Florida, hardly bastions of liberal, woke progressives.
The response to this must be disappointing.
1
@Gerry A.
"The response to this must be disappointing."
Not really, Gerry. Maybe it just shows that pollsters don't contact NYT readers. The Biden movement will grow because Joe connects with people on an individual and personal level.
It's not always easy to be super precise when you draw on over 40 years in public service in order to give an answer.
No, both sides are not talking about corruption, in the sense that, at least, Democrats think about it. Democrats are trying to fight corruption, taking advantage of a political position for personal gain. Republicans want to “drain the swamp,” which simply means getting rid of Democrats.
The NYTimes does a disservice to its readers when it tries to make them equivalent.
81
@M Let’s not pretend that all Democrats are the same. They aren’t. There is one Dem candidate who has really been pushing against corruption, which is the real problem in this country. There is one Independent candidate running for the Dem primary who has. There may be others, but I’m not sure who they are.
There are even about 5 Republicans left with integrity too.
It’s not Republicans bad, Democrats good. They both got us here.
1
The claim that Trump is an evil racist is wearing thin. He is attacking an overwhelming white group of affluent liberal Democrats, who run the major newspapers and universities. You may not agree with his policies and views, but the position he takes does have a wide appeal to blue-collar workers of all races.
8
@Jonathan: What has he actually done to help blue-collar workers and don't say employment or falling unemployment -- those started under Obama and the trend has actually slowed. Trump has done nothing comparable to the Consumer Financial Protection Board and Warren wasn't even in the government then.
1
@Jonathan
As Trump attacks "an overwhelming white group of affluent liberal Democrats", he is helping an overwhelmingly white group of extremely affluent, conservative/capitalist Republicans (now Trumpers!) who run FOX and many other news outlets and they may appeal to the so-called blue collar workers, but they are all about keeping the uber wealthy rich and the average worker stuck where they are now. These conservative entities promote division among the masses to divert their attention from the damage of capitalism run amuck.
1
@Jonathan Any blue collar workers who think Trump is going to do anything for them except stoke their misplaced resentment are seriously deluded.
So, Trump avoided displaying his bigotry and racism, and the crowd ignored the fact that many in that crowd are the targets of his racism.
But, all of that aside, it was refreshing to see he, Trump, has not lost his skill in baffling the crowd with, well, a substance we see in cattle corrals.
14
“We’re battling against the corrupt establishment of the past,” Mr. Trump said, warning in grim language: “They want to erase American history, crush religious liberty, indoctrinate our students with left-wing ideology.”
Anyone who thinks Trump can put that many words together in a row to form a coherent thought hasn't been listening to him for the past three decades.
That is so obviously a mantra created and disseminated by the conservative think tanks who know that while half the country is riled up about America becoming brown and Muslim, their corporate overlords and billionaire donors can rob us all blind.
Is there a cure for stupid? We need something, fast.
44
Corruption. The thing that comes to mind is that old saw, "no one is above the law". Baloney. Trump is. When he, or any of his sycophants is subpoenaed, he just says, "no". That is followed by pundits and democrats saying, "he can't do that!". But he did. And he does. There is absolutely nothing this president cannot do. Foreign or domestic. Period.
18
@Shack
And that is the very reason that he must be stopped. Trump is acting above the law and if he continues to get away with that we will have lost our nation, our civil rights, and our once-important dignity. Trump's vision of tomorrow is one in which our lives are completely owned by corporations. One in which each one of us becomes simply an easily replaceable cog in the corporate machine. One in which the People have no rights and no say in their lives. Trump must be stopped.
2
@lynchburglady - Exactly. Thanks. I hope with all my heart that he can be stopped. But frankly, I’m not sure.
I am thrilled that Warren is focusing on the heart of the problem with our government and why it's not working for most of us. The corruption that has been done in plain sight since Trump took office is enough to clog the justice system for many years. I heard someone say on tv recently that 'The Trumps corruption and graft moves so much faster than the justice system that it enables them to get away with it.' This is the horrifying truth.
We must have major changes in our laws with real accountability and checks and balances. The president can just say he won't release his taxes?! The president can just demand that people don't respond to a subpoena?! It has to stop and Warren knows how to put up the first meaningful changes.
144
@Gina
While it's hard not to agree with Warren's goals, there has been precious little said about the all important how. Unfortunately Sen. Warren has virtually zero experience at getting anything done. She has never held an elected executive job, indeed never run anything other than a classroom.
Many people could come up with as appealing a list of policies as does Warren (she does express them quite well) but far fewer have any experience implementing them. That's an all important difference.
4
Mrs Warren, Mr Trump and Mr Biden all have valid points. Unfortunately there is no one candidate that belies the valid points without the partisan baggage that comes along with each one individually.
1
The big difference is that Warren is addressing a real problem and trump is addressing a right wing fantasy. She wants to solve problems and he just wants to divide people more.
88
@Bill Trump believes he can win by dividing US. He has did it in 2016. Have we learned anything YET?
Warren accurately describes this country as it is, Trump describes it in the lies he would have the country believe. A Warren painting of America might be "American Gothic", of stoic but honest people, and Trump's would be "The Silent Scream" a panic frozen in place where no one can see what causes the scream of the workers, only the reaction to the torturing of truth and traditional vales of hard work and integrity.
34
“Heritage” is kind of interesting in New Mexico: there are plenty of people there, many with indigenous roots, whose families date back to the days when the land was held by Spain. Many New Mexicans are bilingual in English and Spanish. I wonder what they thought of Trump’s speech as it was covered by local news.
(So Trump goes to a traditionally multi-cultural State and talks like this: seems very sinister.)
9
Just the fact that so many people continue to applaud Trump's rhetoric, to me it means our country is over. We will never be the United States again.
17
@scott k. Nonsense. I was on the buses getting out the votes in 2018. Thousands of us traveled hundreds of miles to turn the House of Reps. blue. And we exceeded beyond all expectations! We'll never get everyone to see how vile Trump is, but we don't have to. Instead of sitting and moaning, JOIN US!! Enlist with a local group and help take back our Democracy. We are working, right now, on 2020. Just imagine how good you'll feel when the new president, a Democrat, is sworn into office and you know you helped make it happen.
1
Trump forgets that "Religious Liberty" includes freedom to eschew religion. I don't seek to prevent anyone from following their beliefs or the doctrines of their religions. I do vigorously defend my right not to have those beliefs and doctrines forced upon me. It's clear that the current administration's concept of "Religious Liberty" is tied up in building an America where there is no religious diversity, really any diversity. What kind of liberty forces the beliefs of one group onto the body of another?
25
For godsakes, NYT, will you please give equal extended coverage to other candidates?!?! I see the media going down the same path as 2016 when Trump dominated candidate coverage. In this day and age, media coverage holds sway over our electoral process through familiarity to millions. If the majority of coverage is focused on one or even a very few candidates, of course he/she/they will be favored “in the polls”, thus completing the never ending, narrowing circle of focus on the the favored candidate.
We are incredibly fortunate in this election to have such choices. Please don’t shut out some of the best.
16
Once again, another false equivalence.
Large corporations that dominate the economy and are only interested in profits, regardless of whether it destroys people's livelihood, are real. Elizabeth Warren is right to attack their disproportionate and corrosive influence on our political and economic system.
A "failed liberal establishment” that "attacks the country’s sovereignty and cultural heritage" is an imaginary idea that only exists in the mind of Donald Trump and cynically nurtured by FoxNews, part of a big corporation that's only looking to profit off of people's fears and insecurities.
40
Both Warren and Trump have claimed the system is "rigged," and much of the public failed to distinguish between the corruption that Trump fosters and thrives upon and Warren's criticism of the influence of wealth and greed in American government and politics. Trump uses the rhetoric of populism to attack the establishment and politicians, meaning not only elected officials but any public servant. Sanders called for the need for a revolution in this country, and this is what we unwittingly got with this administration.
3
Saying that one is "against corruption" is like a preacher saying "I am against sin". It's meaningless unless that speaker explains the moral standards which he is promising to enforce.
6
This is the most corrupt administration in the past 100 years, if not ever. The President and his family are using the Presidency to make money for themselves and their businesses; cabinet members and White House employees are misusing taxpayer dollars to glorify and enrich themselves. The financial conflicts of interest are astounding, especially in the Commerce, Interior and Treasury Departments. If any good comes out of this sad era, perhaps it will be serious and comprehensive ethics reform.
15
Warren is the only candidate that has a clear message. She has a proven record of taking to task the giant corrupt banks and their executives. Corruption runs deep in this country and I hope Warren will be the one taking them all. Most of these Democratic candidates are trying very hard to stay centrist and that is going to drive young and frustrated voters away.
19
trump in Rio Rancho is the height of irony.
Rio Rancho is the model of a place sold by fraudsters from the big city pushing empty lots to rubes.
Almost every executive in the company that developed Rio Rancho went to jail for their marketing practices.
Remember the play and movie Glengarry Glen Ross? It's actually based on the sales pitches used for Rio Rancho.
The perfect place for trump to pitch his con.
35
@Paul’52 Yes, I lived in Abuquerque at the time RR was just getting started. When I saw that Trump spoke there, my first thoughts were much like what you wrote.
1
@Paul’52 That's great to know. Wouldn't it be nice if the paper of record knew it too?
5
The breadth of corruption within Trump's administration is unprecedented in American history. Profiting from holding government power used to be the definition of scandal, but today Teapot Dome would be a one-day story. Trump's extremism is the designed destruction of political norms, staffed and financed by Corporate America. To suggest that Warren is extreme in her promise clean it up is ludicrous.
11
It would have been interesting for Mr. Trump to try his speech in New York City, and Ms. Warren to try hers in Albuquerque. But, of course, it's primary season, not the general, so it is "pander to the base" time in American politics.
Equally obvious is the fact the Mr. Trump found a way to do the electoral college math without shifting toward the center in 2016. This tells me that the general season will be just as strident, argumentative and extreme as the primary season.
(Sigh.)
Perhaps this is the only way to beat the Trump movement. But, as I have repeatedly said in these Comments, I fear for the American Experiment. "Extreme Ways" might have been catchy theme music for the Bourne movies, but they bode ill for the nation in our history.
When we lose the smoothing effect of the moderates, we lose the ability to work things out. Progressive policies have not translated automatically into a better world; reactionary policies have not magically transported the nation back to a more romantic era.
When parts of the country are diametrically opposed to something, and that is the only choice they are given, they rise up or drop out. The Tea Party and the Trumpistas rose up; Sanders, Warren and AOC have risen up.
Nobody seems to be interested in those of us whose views do not fit these media-driven molds, views that recognize that no one movement has the corner on the wisdom market, on the fairness market, or the patriotic market.
Is this really the best we can do?
7
@Steve Feldmann The electoral system in the U.S. only allows for two candidates; this is the problem you are noticing. In European countries, diverse Congressional parties are allocated based on the percentage of the popular vote, and Congress then chooses the President.
Seems like the U.S. doesn't read the transatlantic cables, or this would have been changed a while ago.
1
@Steve Feldmann Elizabeth Warren would be welcomed with open arms in New Mexico- our entire state government is Democratic, as is our entire Congressional delegation, including one of the first Native American women. Not sure why Trump thinks he can flip New Mexico where pride in multi- culturalism is part of who we are.
24
@Steve Feldmann
It's pretty obvious that Donald Trump doesn't like to come back here for ANY reason.
Why?
Because we didn't vote for him.
11
It is enough to run and be anti-Trump... and that’s it. In fact, it’s probably smarter. And here is why:
I live in Colorado. Our roads are a complete disaster. Traffic in Denver feels like rush hour goes from 6am to 8pm. Our freeways were undersized for the volume of driving population a decade ago, and nothing has kept up. Colorado desperately needs massive new investment in infrastructure.
So, in 2018, lawmakers put two infrastructure bills up for a vote. One of them included a slight tax increase to fund new construction. The other simply re-allocated already allocated funds. Both measures failed.
It turns out, voters are terrible at voting on policy. Most people don’t know enough about any given policy to speak with a well informed perspective about it. Hillary had all the policy in the world, and look what they still managed to do to her.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have the policy chops sitting in the pantry because whoever does defeat Trump is going to have to put the country back together again and govern. But to win the election, it’s enough to be anti-Trump. Hammer home all of his corruption every day. Challenge reporters who refuse to confront it. Challenge religious leaders who refuse to confront it. Point out their hypocrisy. That is the thing that will fire up the Democrat base and get people to the polls.
Because as popular as Medicare for All is, and as much as we need it, policy doesn’t win elections. Policy is needed after the election is won.
34
@Austin Ouellette
Denver and the Front Range need to slow the growth freight train down. I read just yesterday that there are more attempts at taking water from the drying up aquifer under the San Luis valley, disabling poor farmers who are already under threat and transporting the water across the divide to feed water thirsty, unbridled growth. The nation is not responsible to fix Denver's infrastructure problem. Colorado is not responsible to fix Denver's transportation and infrastructure problem. Denver is. Denver already soaks up more than half the transportation budget in Colorado.
We should be talking about growth, how we grow, how fast we grow and how much we grow. This growth is not necessary or healthy, primarily benefits developers and real estate agents while we lose quality of life and we have limited water supplies.
With TABOR, we get to vote on tax increases, unlike other states, so perhaps there needs to be some better crafting of marketing and policy before the vote.
2
@Austin Ouellette
A transportation bill failed in my city recently too, but for a different reason. Several years ago the Transportation Department persuaded voters to pass a referendum authorizing building of a tool road, with a term limit on toll collection. When the due date passed, the Transportation Department didn't want to give up their cash cow and kept charging motorists. The next time the Transportation Department asked for a referendum, they were overwhelmingly defeated, and exit polls indicated that it was because voters suspected another trick. Actions have consequences.
9
@Mama bear
Our water, the source of life, is being sold to mega-corporations to do with it what they will.
10
"Both sides do it" will be the death of us.
To characterize a speech by a highly intelligent, qualified, and experienced senator, and one by an amoral swindler and liar as equivalent is irresponsible journalism.
To position both stances as equally "extremist" flies in the face of the political history of the past 40 years.
As authors Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein—political scholars with solid Republican resumés—have written, "The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition...While the Democrats may have moved from their 40-yard line to their 25, the Republicans have gone from their 40 to somewhere behind their goal post."
There is no Democratic equivalent to the radicalization of the Republican Party that has taken place since the likes of Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist, and the Tea Party assumed control of it. It is now an ideological monolith in which the slightest deviation from the party line is seen—and punished—as heresy.
As for the other side...well, I often said in defense of President Obama, "Give him a break. He's the last Republican moderate in Washington."
109
@Zak44 You are right Zak and this is how the media continues to help trump. trump's speech was divisive and Warren's was addressing a real problem. Huge difference!
25
@Zak44 Thank you for this intelligent, and spot on, comment. Your Obama quip is apt: I wish someone at the Times would sort out the whole business of "left" and "right" so that readers wouldn't be making category errors that blur their political judgment.
22
An interesting point to be made is recent polls which indicate that many of Trump's supporters will vote for him despite serious concerns with his behavior. Some hate his divisive rhetoric, while still enjoying his policies. Alternatively, some view his tweets and rhetoric as a major strength.
This is important because the idea of a perfect candidate is a myth. We expected a mass rejection of Trump based on his unethical behavior and disgusting tweets, and it did not happen. Liberals will do the same on policy in this next election. Conservatives do not believe it, but we will hold our noses and vote for a good candidate based on values and 20% alignment.
My problem with Biden is that he is a lukewarm candidate meant to appeal to those who want a more traditional candidate, such as an aged wealthy white male. He has a history of behaving like a republican and doesn't seem to have the capacity to see his mistakes in a timely manner. In essence, liberals are being forced by republican rhetoric to pick a more conservative candidate to appeal to people who MAY NOT even defect from the Trump machine. Let's have the faith and the courage not to do this.
28
I like her policy for dealing with corruption.Everything leads back to the corruption. Paul Ryan now living in D.C. as a ? Lobbyist. We the people can't be heard but a business can slip a few million into some pockets. A policy or law that hurts people.
31
It is very disappointing that the New York Times hasn't covered, in depth, the contents of Ms. Warren's speech. I think this would be very helpful to undecided Democrats and Independents. Thoughtful readers expect thoughtful articles and indepth coverage.
65
The "corporations and extremely wealthy" are the same as the "liberal establishment", witness Hillary and now Biden.
And these elections are a demonstration of their jockeying to remain in power. On the right they use racial prejudice and immigration as a rallying cry. On the "left" it's go along to get along with fossil fuel money, pharmaceutical money, big tech and the military/industrial behemoth.
So along comes Bernie and now Elizabeth telling us the emperor has no clothes and hasn't for a long time. They are like David against the establishment Goliath, with one lucky stone in their slingshot called morality. Let's see if they can slay the monster; or if it will slay us by war or more slowly as the planet becomes uninhabitable.
We have evolved to become human; can't we go further and create a peaceful world?
11
So Trump wants to get rid of opposition and Warren was to get rid of corporate influence on government? It does not take much foresight to see that Trump is trumpeting the divisive corporate propaganda that pits citizens against one another.
21
One need not listen to the speeches given by Elizabeth Warren and Donald Trump to take note of "two versions of corruption." One need only open one's eyes.
Trump is the very personification of corruption. He lacks any empathy, integrity, or decency. His professed populism is nothing more than a charade, a con. Behold the Great Corruptor.
Warren is his complete antithesis. She does not seek power merely to benefit herself and the privileged few. She desires to better the lot of all Americans, to slay the dragons of greed and corruption that hold us in their grip. That is her populism.
The choice is clear. Just open your eyes.
221
Have we reached the point in America where a blatant liar and incompetent demagogue can rule like a quasi-dictator based on the dog whistle of grievance, while decent scholarly-types cannot get a majority of support?
It has become easier to hurt and destroy than to heal and build.
It does not bode well for our country.
44
@Greg Bradford
The scholarly type can get a majority vs the demagogue. The main problem with the last battle between those two types in 2016 is that deserved or not, Clinton was viewed as corrupt herself, by enough voters to matter. Otherwise she would have trounced the charlatan.
3
“They want to erase American history, crush religious liberty, indoctrinate our students with left-wing ideology.”
So, according to Trump, when I taught my high school US History students about the Trail of Tears, the stolen youth of the Native Americans of the late 1800s, the flat out rejection of the Catholics in the middle of the 19th Century, the anti-Jewish rhetoric of the early 20th Century, and the bombing of a church that killed four little girls in 1963 Birmingham, I was trying to “erase American history, crush religious liberty, and indoctrinate our students with left-wing ideology”?
And when I told my students about the Teapot Dome Scandal, the influence of the various trusts in the Gilded Age, the packing of the Supreme Court with Southerners in the Antebellum period, the legal rapacious behavior of Standard Oil under J.D. Rockefeller, et al. I wasn’t pointing out how much the wealthy have corrupted the “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” in the past?
I know what I never did. I never told them what political party I was a member of, what my religion was, or who I voted for. Instead, I told them to get the best information they could find, not to trust everything I said because I could be wrong, to use logic in reviewing information, and to make up their own minds.
145
@AS Pruyn OTOH if that’s ALL you told the students it was a little one-sided.
3
@Richard -
I worked very hard to make sure what I presented was reasonably balanced and covered all the material. I believe that this is demonstrated in that in the time that I taught Advanced Placement U.S. History, over 60% of my students received an overall score of 3 or better (passing) on the test administered by the College Board. When I taught that course, the test varied from year to year and they adjusted the scoring each year after the test is done and initially graded. It was almost always set up so that just under 50% of those who took it received a score of 3 or better.
5
@Richard
Funny thing about truth...it only has one side.
6
This is politics 101. You find issues to separate you from the opponent. You use wedge issues to split off some of the other side's voters. If you have a vulnerable candidate, I say go full on with your message and not worry as much about being too "different" from the middle ground.
2
It seems that there are many forms of capitalism out there - Russian Oligarchs, the Chinese State, Indian Oligarchs, American/International Corporations, etc. And while they appear to be in competition with each other, they often play well together. Excepting China, each is stronger than their host state. A few are no better than the Mafia. Each is stronger than the voice of the people.
I believe Warren aims to change that and Trump does not.
27
@DMO trump is part of it and they love him. He's being showered with money from them.
1
Warren and Trump demonstrate the political extremes in our modern politics, and yet the unaffiliated and independent voters in the middle represent a greater majority.
If Hillary had picked Bernie as her running mate in 2016 they would have likely won. Yet the DNC conspired to thwart the Sanders campaign, while the venality and dog whistle politics of Trump struck a chord with white grievance across the country.
Elizabeth Warren has built her career around the themes and ideas she continues to uphold, but for all of this the majority of her base remains mostly among the far left of the Democratic party.
Trump is a political arsonist and demagogue, but does he really have broad appeal outside the 90% of the 33% who comprise his own GOP base?
We will see in 2020.
8
Elizabeth Warren is not a “political extreme. She is solid middle class.
Trump, however, is an extreme never seen before and, we can all hope, is never seen again in American history.
6
@Greg Bradford Do you think Bernie would have said yes to HRC choosing him to be her VP? I am not so sure
1
@BronxTeacher He endorsed her. He would have said yes. And this is why I didn’t vote for Clinton (demonize me however much you like, but I’m an Independent unless and until the Dem Party throws off its corporate shackles).
So, at least in this anecdotal case, @Greg Bradford is right.
The choice couldn’t be more clear. The centrists are going to have to declare their values at the ballot box.
“...The messages Ms. Warren and Mr. Trump delivered underlined the possibility that the 2020 election could be the first in a generation to be fought without an ally of either party’s centrist establishment on the ballot...”
Good.
18
Warren is smart to hammer home the corruption angle. This concept is easier for many voters to grasp. In the last month or so, she has done a great job in honing her message, something that Democrats often have trouble doing, to their detriment.
271
@W
Is, and always has been Bernie's message.
12
@s.whether Yes, and thank you to Bernie, and to Warren. We don’t need one Democratic candidate carrying this message, just the candidate who shows the most ability to grow his/her support in the current election climate.
But more importantly, the People need it to become the message of the whole party. It should be one persons message. It should be ours.
8
@s.whether
Agreed, that has always been Bernie's message. But Bernie does come off as only having this one note whereas Warren's plans cover just about everything. Either one of them would make our lives better, however.
12
Populism (right or left) is just mob rule (one of the two great fears of our Founding Fathers). A pox on both their houses...
3
@WD Hill: "Mob rules?" You mean, democracy, right?
10
@WD Hill
Yes, populism to bring us social security, medicare, fair wages, etc. What a pox!
2
From NYT article yesterday: "the regulated cannot be the regulators". Greed, corruption...Trump's presidency embodies it. Warren wants to fight it, but does America?
21
The most immoral president in history is obviously lying about liberals.
Jesus was a liberal and Christians are supposed to heal the sick and feed the hungry! Where are all the Christians in America? Why aren't they standing up for what's right, why are they obsessed with acting like Pharisees, concerned about other people's sins more than their own? Why aren't we a welcoming nation, a nation of Christian values, anymore?
66
Thank you for stating the obvious that doesn’t seem to be obvious to those who invoke Christian values for their purposes.
5
@mjw Wedge issues have been masterfully used to separate them from any real ethical foundation. It seems that most of them read anti-abortion culture war screeds more than they read the Bible. It’s the death of mainstream Christianity, which a lot of atheists on the left will cheer for reasons I understand, but I won’t.
For all its ills, we should also remember that many of the great liberators of humans were also people of strong religious faith.
And to answer your question? Warren is an unabashed Christian whose faith is very important to her. So there’s one.
4
For what it is worth, right now there is no one candidate that stands out as a clear cut favorite to defeat Herr Trump. Extremism is all fine and good bout will likely not get the votes in the states where it is needed to reverse 2016.
As such, DNC should be putting a very strong push on bolstering the majority in the House and regain the majority in the Senate.
5
@Ellwood Nonnemacher Where’s your info coming? I checked poll stats yesterday and the three top Dem candidates were beating Trump with good margin, Biden, Warren, Sanders included (also Harris and Pete but the margin may have been slimmer). But I agree that Congress is an important battleground too.
11
@Ellwood Nonnemacher Your final point is right on, but where is the extremism that you mentioned? Medical Care? Voting rights? Workers rights? ??
2
@j: Same polls in 2016 said Hillary had a 95% of victory and Trump would get under 10% of the vote, be humiliated and destroyed.
Not only has Warren stood against the imbalance and corruption of big money, she's a compassionate capitalist. She's braved the wrath of the powerful in both the Obama and Trump administrations, giving voice to the struggling and powerless.
Trump has never stood up to power. Instead, he boot licks authoritarians and hid under a table when the mafia ran his real estate business.
The idea that we're considering Trump and Warren different sides of the same coin is absurd.
168
I find the “two versions of populism” and “two versions of corruption” description highly misleading. It’s like “two versions of the truth” or “alternative facts” that we have been hearing from Trumps supporter. This is designed to confuse and articles like this probably unwittingly help the cause. Better approach would be to define what is genuine populism and what exactly is genuine corruption. Then put forth what the candidates are saying but even more what they have done or propose to do. One side is clearly lying and an analysis in the Times that does not make it clear, through a recitation of actual facts, who is real and who is fake does readers a tremendous disservice. There must be a better way.
113
What about those of us who think that Warren and Sanders are right and Trump is also right about the things that HE says?
One problem with our system of elections is that the voters get divided among two blocks, each of which utters half truths. And that means that no matter who is elected, the country will be run with half truths.
Warren and Sanders are right that there is too much income inequality and there is indifference to climate change.
And Trump is also right that our borders must be defended and our immigration laws must be enforced. We do want immigrants, but in an orderly fashion.
Of course Trump is wrong about some other things like his siding so much with the Saudis. But about immigration, he is absolutely right.
3
@Ludwig -- Trump is "absolutely right" about immigration? About separating families, caging children and deporting critical ill patients whose lives depend on US medical care? This is not "an orderly fashion," this is pure cruelty. We may need better enforcement of immigration laws, but it must be tempered with compassion and respect for human rights, and that will never happen under a Trump administration.
14
@Ludwig I seem to recall the Trump companies were found to have used foreign workers too. This immigration issue rings hollow when stacked against the issues facing the US the environment being a big one - a huge one where T fails utterly.
7
@Ludwig "T" doesn't want to enforce our immigration laws: he wants to prove that he is manly enough to be cruel.
1
What’s needed to rein in corruption is transparency. The current administration obscures facts and persecutes those who cross its path or threaten to reveal its secrets, which is the antithesis of transparency.
Integrity is also essential. A candidate with no principles (Trump is a perfect example) is unlikely to fight corruption.
Of the current major candidates, who embodies transparency and integrity? Elizabeth Warren.
56
So, once again, Trump distracted and smokescreened the very real issues Warren points out consistently. Voting for him is voting for corporate oligarchy (see his Cabinet), rampant income inequality, and waiting for the swamp to drain the country.
68
@Henry But, the bigger the swamp, the more alligators Trump can send to his luggage and boot factories.
The difference is that Warren (among other Democrats) really would "Drain the swamp". Trump hires the swamp creatures for his administration.
189
Elizabeth Warren did more than outline a plan. She reminded us that when Americans focus and organize, we can address the cancer of corruption in sweeping ways and return power to the people. She didn’t incite anger, fear, blame; Senator Warren reminded us that the real power to do good in this country is in each of us. That’s a future I want for my children. Facts are facts: she knows how to make positive change in this country because she’s done it. She’s my choice for President of the United States.
277
@Mindful: She has also developed programs to help consumers, particularly the Consumer Financial Protection Board. She describes it as the financial product equivalent of the Consumer Protection Bureau. Of course, Trump and Mulvaney are now dismantling it bit by bit -- obviously because they so care about the average American.
12
Warren’s “populism” is absurd though, because her base seems to consist mostly of upper income middle aged white women, and political junkies on the left. She’s essentially Hillary 2.0. Instead of the Walmart board seat and the hawkishness (Hillary’s progressive hypocrisies), Warren has identity-based hypocrisies that are just as crippling, namely the fact that she claimed minority status for decades in order to climb a career ladder, which ended with her earning 400K a year as a professor, and then turning around and attacking academia for price gouging on tuition.
In short, she’s going to get crushed by Trump if she goes head to head with him, because her version of “populism” is an affect and pose struck by the online left. Biden will most likely lose too, but he’ll still be the better nominee.
If we run Warren now and she loses, the argument will be that a leftist can’t win, and the Dems will pick a moderate for 2024, when chances of winning should be better regardless.
So I say we sacrifice Biden in 2020, and claim that moderation is the loser, not leftism.
2
@Ben Interesting argument, but I think you fail to accurately comprehend the scale of the damage to our democracy that four more years of Trump would cause. At this point, there is little reason to believe the 2020 election will be fair, much less a 2024 election (should it even happen) after four more years of Trump destroying our institutions.
@Ben: There is no evidence that Warren ever benefited by claiming minority status. Her collegiate posts were based upon articles and books that she had written --- this is particularly true at Harvard as she had amassed a cartonful (or more) of writings on bankruptcy.
Elizabeth Warren speaks of equality and fairness while Trump talks about liberals erasing "our heritage" in history books (which is false, needless to say). If half of this country is so fearful and hateful, and wants to deprive anyone else of a decent life, then we are doomed. How long can you maintain the hate?
43
@CarolSon
As long as AM radio entertainers broadcast to millions, the hate will live on.
13
I think there should be real concern over the fact that because Warren and Sanders’ platforms are so similar, it will split the progressive vote and help Biden win the nomination. A majority of democrats might want a new progressive candidate with big ideas and the passion to make it happen, but because there are two of them and only one old guard candidate it may end up being a barrier that is impossible to overcome.
14
@Seán I love her, but there are still people in this country who do not think that women are fully human. However, I think as the VP candidate, either with Biden or Bernie, the Dems would win. Let's start there and then think about a woman as president later. The main goal here should be to get that ....out of office and ameliorate the damage he's done.
I hope that one of them will eventually cave and endorse the other.
1
@Lois I had an epiphany the other day. I’m not sure Sanders is just in this for himself. He serves a dual purpose for Warren’s campaign by helping her to appear relatively more moderate, and also by siphoning off some of the vote from Biden that’s influenced by sexism (conscious or not, and hardly the majority of his support, just reality). They are behaving like allies and acknowledge a friendship. It’s not unthinkable to wonder if they aren’t coordinating at least on some level already.
Does anyone actually think Bernie would rather have Biden than Warren? I think as she continues to prove she’s the strongest candidate, and his polls continue not to move up in a big way, he will do what’s right, because at the end of the day, I do think his beliefs are more important to him than his ego.
It shouldn’t be hard for Elizabeth to make her case when the current administration is corrupt at every turn. Can anyone think of anything Trump has created that is above reproach?
Also, when Bernie drops out of the race and his supporters get behind Warren, she will be the clear front runner. Klobuchar is the only one running whose supporters might go to Biden. She might be a great VP pick!
21
@JM "Can anyone think of anything Trump has created that is above reproach? " Unemployment for African Americans is lower than it has been in decades.
Also, Bush invaded Afghanistan and Obama left us still in Afghanistan. Trump wants OUT. He may not succeed but it is obvious that what he wants is good.
I do not agree with everything which Trump has done, perhaps not even with most of it.
But "nothing good about Trump" is basically a lie.
3
It’s difficult if not impossible to tie anything Trump has done to black unemployment. You might as well credit him for the sun rising in the east.
Obama wanted to leave Afghanistan, too. He did leave Iraq. Trump, like Obama, fears the consequences of actually leaving, namely a resurgence of al Qaeda. Except that Obama understood the actual threat, and Trump’s only concern is his popularity.
21
@JM Klobuchar is not a great VP pick. Clearly doesn't know how to treat human beings. Not a good quality in a leader.
6
Trump is openly profiting off his job. He spends taxpayer money to travel to his private for profit properties almost every week. He openly calls for the use of his Miami hotel for the next G-7 meeting. His lackeys (Pence, Pompeo, “evangelical” leaders, etc.) spend big money at his hotels. Foreign and domestic special interests lavishly spend huge money on Trump’s properties. His foreign policy favors countries he either is doing business with or wants to. No president in U.S. history is more openly corrupt than Trump.
The next Democratic president, whether it’s Warren, Biden, or someone else, along with the next Democratic Congress, will have massive clean up. They have to make ethics legislation the first order of priority. Our nation demands it.
124
Warren is a deep thinker and formidably hard worker, and has viable plans for our country’s ills, from climate change to the rampant corruption in DC. What’s better, she is excellent at explaining her plans to the masses. She fights for the common people as tirelessly as Trump fights for his own benefit. And that’s saying something. I will be devoting all my energy to getting her elected.
324
This article sounds like a prophecy of what we will hear and see in the fall of 2020. We can hear the Warren train coming down the tracks to steamroll Trump out of Washington!!
189
The failure is not "the liberal establishment". The failure is the establishment of politics bought by the "donor class" through the aegis of campaign cash. All voters hate that corruption. Trump promised to drain the swamp, he lied. Warren is currently running her campaign on small donor money. She is on the right track. I trust her more than I trust the carnival barker president.
353
@mr. mxyzptlk Let's just face it, Trump is the biggest liar in known human history, barring none! He makes the old jokes about how lawyers lie seem very tame. If there are words emanating from his general area, you can be sure that a lie is being told.
It is insulting to all people of color what some of his supporters of color do accept, like his statements about his favorite Hispanic American in the NM speech saying he, the supporter, looked more like a WASP than did he, Trump. When will some stop stomping on their own people trying to curry favor with DJ Trump?
16
@mr. mxyzptlk
Why can Trump supporters not see that the failure is not "the liberal establishment", the failure is the plutocratic establishment.
Yes, "the liberal establishment" may not have any relevance to the lives of Trump supporters, but they are not actively working to make those lives even worse.
The plutocrat establishment, the greed establishment, keeps on taking more and more and leaving less for the 99.9% and the Republican party is responsible for all the changes that make the 99.9% lives worse.
If Trump supporters would only listen to Warren and Harris and Sanders, they would understand that the Liberal establishment is there for them.
Elect progressive Democrats and change your life.
3