The Savior of The Democrats: Elizabeth Warren
“Now, the President likes to call my mom a liar. What do the facts say?” These are the words of Elizabeth Warren, captured in a mawkish documentary released just last week. As much as it clarifies her heritage, the video illuminates something else: the woman is running for President.
The primaries are more than two years away, but candidates are already eyeing the Democratic nomination for President. Capitalizing on recent political developments, several Democrats have launched themselves into the public consciousness. Take Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, who have used the recent Kavanaugh confirmation as a platform for grandstanding with their political acts of bravado.
A congested field does no favors for the Democrats—after all, winning the general election requires a strong nominee that is unsullied by scandals. Despite the number of hopefuls, such a figure has yet to emerge. By now, the chances of a newcomer emerging are next to nothing. Thus, without the ideal candidate, the Democrats must rally around the next-best thing.
To do so, the Democrats must first cut the dead weight. That means that Harris, Booker, and several others (such as Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Governor Andrew Cuomo) should not even think of declaring their candidacies. For them, the nomination is a long shot, and their candidacies will serve only to weaken the front-runner. These candidates, many of them quite young, will have their time in the limelight. Right now, however, their priority should be to get a Democrat back into the White House for their stances to be even remotely considered. And who knows? The big boys and girls who do dominate the primaries may just make one of them their running mate.
The party must also embrace a staunchly progressive candidate. Today, the political climate necessitates radicals, those who speak for the marginalized and the angry. Let’s be honest, we live in the age of Trumpian machinations, wherein moderation is of the past. The Pew Research Center has found, “based on surveys of more than [five thousand] adults conducted over the summer, [...] widening differences between Republicans and Democrats on a range of measures the Center has been asking about since 1994, as well as those
with more recent trends.” Democrats have taken a hard left turn, and the party must choose a candidate that represents this shift.
Finally, the Democrats must choose a minority candidate, one who plays the game of identity politics deftly. As much as we don’t like to admit it, society has an obsession with labels. There’s us, and there’s them. Liberals like diversity—we like having representatives who are women, who are of racial minorities. After the loss of Hillary Clinton, another minority candidate will probably galvanize the Democratic base. Nevertheless, there comes a point when voters are put off by identity politics. Hence, the Democrats must pick a candidate who treads lightly. They must pick someone who is unapologetic for who they are, but doesn’t make identity a focal point in their campaign. In doing so, they will produce a candidate starkly different from President Trump, even before policy comes into play. I’m not saying this is the most moral of considerations, but it is the one that will get the votes.
At the end of the day, the party needs to pick someone who can win. To me, the candidate best suited to meet these requirements is Elizabeth Warren. In terms of platform, she checks all the boxes. As a firebrand on immigration, social equity and healthcare, Warren will serve as a passionate advocate for the liberal dogma. In fact, she was one of the first lawmakers to call for the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). At a rally this June, she declared, "The President's deeply immoral actions have made it obvious—we need to rebuild our immigration system from top to bottom, starting by replacing I.C.E. with something that reflects our morality.”
While she is a liberal stalwart, she has differentiated herself from major competitor Bernie Sanders. Unlike Sanders, she has distanced her ideology from the socialist movement, one which continues to bear negative connotations. “I’m a capitalist to my bones,” she said in July. Her fiscal policies, which emphasize economic reform in favor of the middle-class, may make her more appealing to the average voter. While she is unquestionably progressive, there exist clear differences between her and the ideologues in her party.
Moreover, compared to former Vice President Joe Biden, she’s relatively unscathed by scandals. As the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden was deeply involved in the Clarence Thomas confirmation of 1991. His comments during the confirmation, which involved allegations of sexual assault, have come under criticism of late, especially in light of the Kavanaugh hearings. In addition to pro-Wall Street economic policies, these comments may make him unmarketable to the party’s base.
Tonally, Warren’s speeches are impassioned. As a candidate, she would likely be both eloquent and fiery, rebuking President Trump well. She has the fire, but she leaves out the vitriol. In 2017, her objections to Jeff Sessions’s confirmation spawned an entire feminist movement: “Nevertheless, She Persisted.” Warren has a knack for getting herself noticed, and this ability will serve her well come election day
Even now, Warren’s potential is clear in the polls. In a hypothetical election, Warren would lead President Trump, according to Politico and Morning Consult. Although this victory would be by slim margins, Warren would serve as a worthy adversary for the President.
Still, she is far from faultless. Her most recent gaffe—the aforementioned video on her heritage—has afforded President Trump a new round of ammunition against her. His character attacks have labeled her as “Pocahontas,” a moniker she may struggle to overcome.
Nonetheless, Elizabeth Warren remains well-poised to take the White House. She knows how to make waves, and her platform may just be what the Democrats need. The woman may not be the perfect candidate, but—for now—she’s one the general population can stomach.