# Elizabeth Warren 2020 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 17, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800 "2019-08-17T17:03:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/321 "2019-10-13T04:24:43Z")
Meh. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/322 "2019-10-13T10:39:33Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Now Warren is getting undeserved praise in my opinion for using a Facebook ad to attack Mark Zuckerberg. Yes, there’s a subsection of Democratic voters who spend their time bashing Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Starbucks, but I think she’s got those locked up except the ones that are hopelessly Bernie. This play isn’t about winning voter support for her candidacy. It’s about trying to pressure Zuck to make Facebook less toxic politically. As **Banquet Bear** said, every single candidate (with the obvious exception of the Mango Mussolini) should be calling this out. Obviously, if it’s just Warren, nothing’s going to change. But if it’s a mostly united Democratic Party field (and hopefully the DNC as well) putting the pressure on, Facebook may have to change its actual policies at least somewhat. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/323 "2019-10-13T14:24:10Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Sharp in a high school or college forensics way. Not in a sunny, charismatic politician way. Given the crowds she’s been pulling in, I’d think the argument of whether she’s charismatic would be settled. But as far as ‘sunny’ goes, these aren’t sunny times. While getting rid of Trump may be Job 1, life won’t magically go back to normal once he’s defeated or removed via impeachment or the 25th. Once we get rid of Trump, it’s roll-up-the-sleeves time; there’s shit we desperately need to fix. She’s spelling that out. Back in 2008, Obama could be sunny. First of all, the crash didn’t hit until that fall, so up until then, it was a sunnier time. And second, he had a theory about how he was going to overcome our partisan divisions and pull us back together; that really kinda required sunniness. We’ve since experienced the massive failure of that theory and the wreck it left behind. I don’t have time for any politician that’s going to try to blow sunshine up my ass in 2019 and 2020. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/324 "2019-10-14T00:03:45Z")
Some polls: 1. [YouGov Blue/Data for Progress](https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2019/10/11/the-role-of-news-interest-in-candidate-evaluation) national poll: Warren 36 Biden 23 Sanders 15 Buttigieg 6 Harris 5 Yang 3 Beto 2 Booker 2 everyone else \<2 Sure, this is an outlier, but think of how far things have moved to make an outlier like this by a reputable pollster even _possible_. 1. [CBS Battleground poll](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2020-democratic-polls-elizabeth-warren-extends-lead-across-early-states-new-hampshire-draws-even-with-biden-in-iowa/) (of the first 4 states + the Super Tuesday states): Warren 31 Biden 25 Sanders 17 Harris 7 Buttigieg 5 Beto 4 If the primaries through Super Tuesday were held today, they project that Warren would come out of Super Tuesday with a 140-delegate lead. They also poll Iowa, NH, and SC individually, but not Nevada. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2019, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/325 "2019-10-14T14:55:27Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > Warren’s “joke” is not really very funny. And why would she not just assume, but make a point of stating her assumption, that homophobic religious dogma is more likely to be espoused by a man? [More men than women are against SSM.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_opinion_of_same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States) But that’s not really the point, is it? Look at the GOP. Look at whom is in power. Look at whom is in the pulpits. What gender does Hannity, Carlson, and Limbaugh have? It’s overwhelmingly men who are pushing homophobia from their positions of influence. And why wouldn’t it be? Christianity as it widely practiced in this country promotes patriarchy, not equality. I don’t think her joke was “haha” funny, btw. Quick witted as hell, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/326 "2019-10-14T20:26:11Z")
Warren is very much a mixed bag as a general election candidate. One the plus side she often does a good job of explaining her positions in a straightforward way linking them to her own life story quite well. She generally seems sharp and in good health which unfortunately can’t be taken for granted in this Democratic primary. Her positioning as a fighter against corruption is authentic and is a good fit against Trump, all the more so after the Ukraine scandal. OTOH her policy on abolishing private insurance will be a huge deadweight if she doesn’t find a way to walk it back. She appears to be picking a fight with the whole of corporate America which will make some swing voters nervous. She showed poor judgment in dealing with the Native American issue with the genetic test; the issue itself is not that damaging IMO but she clearly let Trump get into her head which isn’t a good sign. And as mentioned here, she has generally underperformed other Democrats in her MA races. Trump has huge weaknesses and I would back Warren to beat him but it’s far from a certainty which, given the stakes involved, is rather worrying. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/327 "2019-10-14T22:39:29Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > Trump has huge weaknesses and I would back Warren to beat him but it’s far from a certainty which, given the stakes involved, is rather worrying. Got any certain-to-win candidates? I haven’t seen any. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/328 "2019-10-15T02:04:18Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > She’s underrated on camera, IMO. She’s very, very sharp. Great comedic timing, too, for a politician. I don’t support Warren but I would certainly say, as an impartial observer, that she has had some good moments in the campaign. At the very least, she has a sense of humor. By comparison, Joe Biden’s attempts at humor have been painfully awkward, and the other 25+ current and former candidates in the primary don’t seem capable of making jokes at all. I expect that’s one reason why Warren’s poll numbers have been creeping upwards. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/329 "2019-10-15T06:36:28Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Got any certain-to-win candidates? I haven’t seen any. Yeah I agree. I think Cory Booker is the most solid candidate but he just doesn’t seem to be getting any traction. There is something just off with the Democratic nomination process in both 2016 and 2020. I would rate both Gore and Kerry substantially higher than any of the leading candidates in either year. I would be reasonably confident of both of them in their respective years beating Trump. I think Biden 2016 would have been a solid candidate and beaten Trump comfortably but the Democratic party through some mysterious collective process decided that Hillary was the One. Now Biden is clearly over the hill and he has become a top candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Unreconstructed\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@Unreconstructed\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unreconstructed_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/330 "2019-10-15T12:12:16Z")
I like Warren, but if the Democrats nominate her Trump will just call her Pocahontas for six months and, assuming the economy doesn’t collapse, that’ll be enough. I’m _deeply_ skeptical of her chances. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/331 "2019-10-15T12:44:23Z")
My\* theory of winning in today’s polarized environment is that it’s all about turning out the marginal voters who will vote D _if they vote_. These days, that particularly means minorities and millennials. I don’t think either of those groups will be deterred by Trump saying "Pocahontas’ repeatedly. Nor do I think it will cost Warren many votes among people who already vote Dem regularly, or among the college-educated suburban whites who have recently swung heavily Dem in response to the GOP practically becoming the official Party of Ignorance. \*Hardly original with me, but it’s the one I’m going with. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/332 "2019-10-15T14:07:38Z")
> [@Unreconstructed\_Man](#): > > I like Warren, but if the Democrats nominate her **Trump will just call her Pocahontas for six months** and, assuming the economy doesn’t collapse, that’ll be enough. I’m _deeply_ skeptical of her chances. The only people who lap that up are those who are already entrenched with Trump. Those people would never vote the other way so who cares? If I’m on Team Warren and that’s all he’s got to use then that’s not a bad thing because his rap sheet is too long to cover in six months. He’s got plenty of dirt to be accountable for. ---
**Author:** ![sps49sd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@sps49sd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sps49sd)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/333 "2019-10-15T17:24:53Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > The only people who lap that up are those who are already entrenched with Trump. Those people would never vote the other way so who cares? > > If I’m on Team Warren and that’s all he’s got to use then that’s not a bad thing because his rap sheet is too long to cover in six months. He’s got plenty of dirt to be accountable for. Are you forgetting what she did to open herself to that taunt? It’s okay if you did, because if she is his opponent Trump will remind you. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/334 "2019-10-15T17:54:48Z")
> [@sps49sd](#): > > Are you forgetting what she did to open herself to that taunt? It’s okay if you did, because if she is his opponent Trump will remind you. She claimed Native American heritage, based on family lore. Some are aghast because they think it helped her get ahead. Good thing that her opponent was entirely self-made, and never relied on anybody else to give him a leg up. … It baffles me why people thing this is a gotcha against her. It’s a tired and offensive insult and adds absolutely nothing to the discussion. People would really vote against her because a bully mocks her? How many infantile voters are out there?! (Actually, don’t answer that…) It’s not like she hasn’t had to deal with this in an election before. It was a focus of attack in 2012 when she first ran for senate against Mike Brown. And it was easy to pivot the attacks into a reminder that she is interesting in talking about the voters and their concerns. [Here](https://www.boston.com/uncategorized/noprimarytagmatch/2012/05/25/mayor-menino-criticizes-focus-on-elizabeth-warrens-heritage) is an example: > [@](#): > > “Scott Brown wants to hammer on my family and I think what matters to the people of Massachusetts is how they’ve been hurt by his votes,’’ she said. [Here’s](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/08/brown-continues-offense-on-warren-over-native-american-claims/) another campaign response. > [@](#): > > Once again, Republican Senator Brown is shamelessly attempting to divert attention from his record on the issues that really matter in this election, like the cost of student loans,'… Is that really that hard? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/335 "2019-10-15T17:58:58Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > She claimed Native American heritage, based on family lore. Some are aghast because they think it helped her get ahead. Good thing that her opponent was entirely self-made, and never relied on anybody else to give him a leg up. > ……? Her getting that DNA test, then saying it proved her heritage, was not so smart. But Warren is a decent candidate, I will vote for her. However, we dont knwo what skeletons are in her closet. ---
**Author:** ![Unreconstructed\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@Unreconstructed\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unreconstructed_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/336 "2019-10-15T17:59:01Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > The only people who lap that up are those who are already entrenched with Trump. Those people would never vote the other way so who cares? > > If I’m on Team Warren and that’s all he’s got to use then that’s not a bad thing because his rap sheet is too long to cover in six months. He’s got plenty of dirt to be accountable for. I wish I could agree, but I think the Pocahontas thing is going to do her real, serious damage. Two horse race elections are basically battles between brands. Trump’s brand is Loudmouthed Buffoon. Warren’s brand is Serious Politician With Integrity. The advantage of Trump’s brand is that it makes him completely impervious to attacks on his competence. The disadvantage of Warren’s brand is that she can’t afford to look stupid, and she can’t afford to do anything which makes her look like a phoney. Going to Harvard as a “Woman of Colour” when she’s only 0.0001% Native American or whatever made her look like a phoney. She could’ve survived it if she’d just admitted it and said “Yeah. I did what I had to do. So what?”. Instead, she doubled down. Now she looks phoney _and_ stupid. All Trump needs to do is remind people of that. Which he will every chance he gets. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/337 "2019-10-15T18:15:50Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > [More men than women are against SSM.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_opinion_of_same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States) Uh, not really. According to your cite, they are pretty much even, 30 to 34%, if you pick a homophobe at random there is about a 47% chance that its a woman. So “assuming its a man” is an unfounded assumption. I can’t disagree with the rest of your post though. I would also add that in my experience, while woman may disapprove of what they consider deviant acts, the visceral hatred of homosexuals comes from men who feel a threat to their personal identity. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/338 "2019-10-15T18:43:35Z")
> [@Unreconstructed\_Man](#): > > Going to Harvard as a “Woman of Colour” when she’s only 0.0001% Native American or whatever made her look like a phoney. . I mean, that’s not what she did, so yes, all Trump needs to do is continue to lie. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/339 "2019-10-15T18:57:10Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I mean, that’s not what she did, so yes, all Trump needs to do is continue to lie. Yeah, it’s not like anybody has ever [researched](https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/the-boston-globe-ethnicity-not-a-factor-in-elizabeth-warrens-rise-in-law/) this whole “Native American to teach at Harvard” thing. > [@](#): > > “In the most exhaustive review undertaken of Elizabeth Warren’s professional history, the [Boston] Globe found clear evidence, in documents and interviews, that her claim to Native American ethnicity was never considered by the Harvard Law faculty, which voted resoundingly to hire her, or by those who hired her to four prior positions at other law schools. At every step of her remarkable rise in the legal profession, the people responsible for hiring her saw her as a white woman.” > [@DrDeth](#): > > However, we dont knwo what skeletons are in her closet. It’s not like she hasn’t run for office before. It’s not like she hasn’t been subjected to previous oppo research. The Pocahontas thing is the best they have. ---
**Author:** ![Unreconstructed\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@Unreconstructed\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unreconstructed_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800/340 "2019-10-15T19:33:41Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I mean, that’s not what she did, so yes, all Trump needs to do is continue to lie. Then what exactly _did_ she do? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elizabeth-warren-2020/838800.md?page=18)