On 2/11/15 7:02 PM, Robert Naiman wrote: > A poll of 800 likely Democratic caucusgoers and primary voters in Iowa > and New Hampshire shows they like Warren’s economic positions: 97% agree > with Warren’s desire to cut student loan rates, 84% agree with her > objections to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, and 77% agree > with her opposition to the Keystone pipeline. > > http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/02/11/draft-warren-group-says-she-has-support-in-early-states/
I happen to like her myself even if her statements on Gaza are terrible. The real question is whether anybody like that will ever be president of the USA. The answer is no. Her purpose is instead to create the illusion that change is possible within the Democratic Party. Joan Walsh of Salon.com has some interesting things to say even if they are repulsive. As the economic crisis continues in the USA, there will be more and more disaffection from corporate Dems like Clinton. As such the role of Warren, or more feasible candidates as Walsh argues, will be paramount. http://www.salon.com/2015/02/09/the_selling_of_elizabeth_warren_whats_behind_progressives_debilitating_fantasy/ I confess my misgivings about all this crystallized Sunday night, when I heard the news that the Working Families Party had joined the “Draft Warren” movement. I admire WFP; I think they’re doing exactly what progressives should be doing: Working within the Democratic Party and pulling it to the left, not standing outside the party and declaring it no better than the GOP. Predictably, other “Draft Warren” groups hailed the WFP news. Move On emailed to invite me to share a graphic on Twitter and Facebook that thanks WFP for joining the movement. “It’s important that we show them this morning that the number of people who think they absolutely made the right decision far outweighs the nay-sayers” – that would be me, I guess. In addition to advancing the assumption that the Clinton campaign won’t be progressive enough, before she’s even declared her candidacy, the hype about Warren serves to obscure the depth and breadth of the new populist movement afoot among Democrats in Congress. Why not draft Sen. Bernie Sanders, who says he’ll run if he believes he has organizational backing? Or other progressive senators like Sherrod Brown or Al Franken or Kirsten Gillibrand? Elizabeth Warren is a star in her own right; she doesn’t particularly need this kind of help. It’s also past time to observe that in addition to saying she isn’t running, Warren hasn’t done anything to build an organization in any of the early primary or caucus states. Now, presumably “Draft Warren” could help with that in the unlikely event she changes her mind – but Warren’s failure to make any of the moves associated with building a campaign is just one more reason to believe she won’t run. I’d love to see a campaign that popularizes Warren’s “eight point plan to build the middle class” and encourages all Democratic candidates – including Clinton — to back it. Building a movement around a single political leader rather than around issues seems like a recipe for disappointment, especially when that leader has made it so clear she’s not looking to run for president. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
