It's not that I don't admire Elizabeth Warren. Who doesn't? But I can't be the only person who remember what happened in 2007, when personality politics took over the Democratic primary process, and people's expectations were just wishful thinking. It makes me wary.
Look, electoral politics are still about the possible: Policy, and the effective execution thereof. If Elizabeth Warren is a candidate (and I hope she is -- the more progressives, the better), I want us to push her really, really hard on the other issues (like Gaza, where she sounds like a typical Beltway hawk). How do we know she's not going to support the military-industrial complex? I want more information.
But it's not just that. I'm wary for the same reasons I was concerned about Obama -- has she really been in Washington long enough to understand how to effectively work the levers of power? Does she have the spine to punish Democrats who don't support her agenda? She's been amazingly effective on the consumer bureau, and is certainly a strong leader for economic populism -- but will she know how to execute? Stay tuned!
Liberal activists cheered Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s electrifying keynote speech at Netroots Nation this summer with chants of “Run, Liz, run!” There’s even a Ready for Warren super PAC, formed in July with the mission of encouraging the senator to mount a presidential bid. But the longtime thorn in the side of Wall Street has insisted that she’s not running, and even took the unusual step of formally disavowing Ready for Warren in August. So Warren 2016 is off the table — right?
Not so fast. In a new interview with People magazine — flagged by The Nation’s George Zornick — Warren sounds a different note. Asked whether she’s “on board” with a presidential campaign, Warren replies, “I don’t think so.” But then she adds this: ”If there’s any lesson I’ve learned in the last five years, it’s don’t be so sure about what lies ahead. There are amazing doors that could open.”
“Right now,” Warren continued, “I’m focused on figuring out what else I can do” from the U.S. Senate.Zornick notes that this is “more ambiguous than she’s ever been on the subject,” and while the senator stopped well short of signaling plans to proceed with a campaign, her comments certainly won’t do anything to squelch speculation.
