Elizabeth Warren 2020

Politics & Elections
1

I looked for a thread to discuss her actual candidacy, as I’m interested in people’s thoughts on her, and don’t necessarily want the discussion buried in the Biden thread. I found a thread announcing her exploratory committee and one speculating on a run, but nothing recent.

She’s never been one that I considered to win back the Industrial Midwestern voters that went to Trump in 2016, but she definitely has surprised me in a few ways. I am not willing to trash her or focus on her negatives, rather figure out how she can find a path to the presidency, should her popularity with Dems continue to rise.

Veep pick: I think if she were the nominee, she’d have to be very strategic about her running mate. On the one hand, I feel like there needs to be someone on the ticket that appeals to the white, working class voters in MI, WI, PA and OH, since that’s not her natural constituency. On the other hand, maybe she can overcome that deficit with strong support from suburban voters and women and college educateds. But considering she’s a white woman from MA, I don’t think she can overlook the need to have a person of color on her ticket either. Cory Booker, possibly, but I think he has campaigned too much on race issues, where it may actively hurt the ticket were he on it.

A few possibilities that might balance out a Warren ticket:
Rep. Anthony G. Brown. He’s retired military, former lt. governor of Maryland, son of immigrants and currently a congressman from Maryland. I’ve watched some videos of him speaking, and I like his style. Cons: Like Warren, he’s an east coast blue-stater.

Anthony Foxx. Former mayor of Charlotte, NC, pretty successfully navigated the city from through hard economic times from what I’ve read. Also served as Obama’s Transportation Secretary. He’s in his mid-40s, so not too young, not too old. Might also help pick up North Carolina.

Rep. Colin Allred. Texan, upset long-time incumbent Rep. Pete Sessions in 2018. Civil rights lawyer, former pro football player (Titans), worked in HUD under Obama. Something of a moderate. He’s my least favorite of these three, because a bit young (36) and we’d likely lose that seat back to the Republicans, but he’s an interesting guy from what I’ve seen.

Maybe a Latino like Julian Castro would be a good pick too.

Anyway, I just wanted a place to discuss the Warren candidacy, so here it is.

2

I like her a lot. She is close to the top, if not my favorite candidate right now. I was worried about her political skills, but from what I’ve seen of her so far they’re surprisingly strong, and seem well-suited to retail campaigning like in Iowa and NH. Most importantly, she really seems to be enjoying herself – explaining ideas on how to make the country better seems to be something she genuinely loves to do.

We’ll see.

3

I think there’s at least as much room to be gained by any Dem nominee in the Midwestern states by increasing minority (especially AA) turnout as there is to be gained by wooing WWC voters.

In that vein, I’d love to see a Warren/Harris ticket.

4

She’s my top magic-wand pick (if I could wave a magic wand and make whomever I wanted President, it’d be her). But she has a lot of convincing to do about her electability.

5

This is me exactly.

6

The VP pick does very little I think. Maybe a point or two in the VP’s home state and a bit of signifying. But little impact barring a Palin level horrific. Her choice should be a no gimmick someone ready to step and take over.

She is actually succeeding in connecting with working class whites. It surprises to be sure but she does. She can make the case that under Trump the very wealthiest have gobbled up a bigger and bigger share of power pie, leaving workers vulnerable for when the next downturn comes. And that she will fix that. Real systemic change that isn’t burning the house down.

But while Biden enjoys a default state of being believed to be very likely to win, she is in a default state of not. She’s having to make that sale in the early states. Thing is she’s succeeding. Those who hear her get convinced. Having to prove it makes her stronger.

I’m close to being sold, especially as Biden is not selling his own skills so well. Not quite there but close.

7

I disagree. The Biden pick put Obama over the top as it calmed the fears of working class whites, and the pick of Pence put Trump over the top as it calmed the fears of white evangelicals.

Warren on her own I don’t think is 100% electable, but with the right veep, she very well could be. She’s not gonna be strong with black voters or white working class whites, imo. She needs to fill in that gap somehow.

In Michigan? In Wisconsin? In Pennsylvania? The ones who voted for Obama then Trump? I don’t buy it.

8

I’d vote for her if I could and think less of someone who could vote for her but won’t.

9

Who since 2004 has won the White House by seeming electable? That concern seems a generation out of date.

10

We havent had the NEED to get a trump out of office.

11

That’s a non sequitur. Yeah, we need to get him out of office. But the last two presidents that were elected were quintessentially unelectable: a black man in a country that had only ever elected white men, and then Trump.

Our electorate clearly doesn’t care about electability.

12

She’s a dangerous central planner with major authoritarian tendencies. Her economic plan for large corporations is the single most damaging and primitive proposal I’ve seen from a modern American politician. Basically it’s as if Huey Long was a model for her and not a cautionary tale.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nationalreview.com/2018/08/elizabeth-warren-plan-nationalize-everything-woos-hard-left/amp/

She seems like she just walked out of a dust bowl socialist gathering put on by methodist ministers. She seems like she should be wearing long skirts and a bonnet and telling us Jesus was a socialist. She seems like she should be on a soap box outside a saloon freestyling sermons on demon rum. She seems like she should be handing out pamphlets encouraging Papists to get abortions and driving wagons full of Indians to boarding school.

Is she capable of beating Trump? Yes. Is she the best one to do it? Definitely not.

Her nutty proposals have no chance of passing, which is one positive. She doesn’t talk about foreign policy at all. Where I’m from means I have no input on the next president, but she has very little going for her in my eyes.

The thing about her heritage calls into question her personal character as well.

13

In point of fact Obama didn’t get Black voter support until Iowa whites voting for him demonstrated he was electable.

Many voters have cared each time. And how white voters in Iowa go has long been believed to be a good indicator of how they will go elsewhere.

Do we know that her economic populism message and economically challenged working class Oklahoma roots origin story will connect with non-college educated whites beyond Iowa and NH? No. We each speculate from the facts we have.

I am for now open to the possibility.

14

*We’re going to build a wall and Mexico’s going to pay for it *

15

“The thing about her heritage calls into question her personal character as well.”

Oh, please.

16

Always liked Warren, I’d vote for her if she’s the nominee. I still think she makes a perfect VP candidate. Pair her with Biden and it’s a great ticket.

17

It’s more than offset by the conniptions she gives Libertarians, though.

18

I agree with all this.

The “happy warrior” label that some are using about her campaign style seems both appropriate and likely to be helpful to her. (Who was the last pol that was used about – Hubert Humphrey??)

19

Let’s make it a race to the bottom.

20

I’m going to go out on a limb and boldly declare that a fusion syndicalist/fascist takeover of every major corporation in the United States is worse than building/not-building any wall.