Elizabeth Warren
Related: About this forumTop liberals call for Warren candidacy - They say that Hillary needs a Democratic opponent.
They say that Hillary Clinton needs a Democratic opponent.
By Gabriel Debenedetti
3/30/15 5:40 AM EDT
Three prominent liberal activists including the president of a large union are calling for Elizabeth Warren to challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, insisting that the Massachusetts senators participation in a competitive primary process would benefit the party.
Warren hasnt budged from her insistence that she wont pursue a White House bid. But the new voices calling for her candidacy represent a new phase in the progressive push to persuade her to run, just days after Clinton appeared alongside two other union chiefs on a panel in Washington and not long before Clinton is expected to launch her long-anticipated presidential bid.
We agree with former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, the Boston Globe, and many others that Sen. Elizabeth Warren would be a strong candidate, and that if Hillary Clinton also declares, the debate between the two of them would be critical for our nation, write Larry Cohen, president of the Communications Workers of America, and Annie Leonard, executive director of Greenpeace USA the environmental group in a new letter published by Run Warren Run, a campaign organized by liberal political organizations.
The letters authors argue that Democrats deserve a lively debate over issues, including the role of money in politics, voting rights, global trade, global warming and workers rights, and that the country needs new ideas and new leaders.
If we end up with a single Democratic candidate and little to no debate in the primaries those of us unlikely to support a Republican nominee will be left voting for a Democrat who may be opposed to the Republican agenda but is not necessarily a champion of the vision of change that millions of us seek and that this country needs, write Cohen, a Democratic National Committee member who endorsed then-Sen. Barack Obama over Clinton in 2008, and Leonard.
Run Warren Run, the campaign jointly operated by liberal groups MoveOn and Democracy for America, will also unveil an op-ed by Javier Valdes, secretary of the Working Families Party in New York and a leader of a progressive political committee focused on Hispanics, encouraging Warren to run for the sake of spurring a debate about racial and immigrant justice.
A significant group of liberal activists, academics and groups including New Yorks Working Families Party and The Boston Globes editorial board have lined up behind the efforts to draft Warren, often citing the importance of a competitive primary rather than any animus toward Clinton. But many progressives regard the presumptive front-runner as being too close to Wall Street. They believe Warren, an antagonist of big banks, represents an attractive alternative despite her repeated insistence that she will not run. At the very least, they expect she could help pull Clinton farther to the political left.
The addition of Cohen to the pro-Warren group is sure to complicate organized labors role in the nominating process. Most labor leaders have yet to weigh in, but many have a long history with Clinton and some have appeared with her at recent events....
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/top-liberals-call-for-warren-candidacy-116496.html
(Props to AtomicKitten for first posting this article in the GD!! )
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)At the rate things are going, Warren could win as a write-in candidate!
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)People before Profits!
She has 4, myself my Husband, and my daughter.
classykaren
(769 posts)RiverLover
(7,830 posts)I really hope she changes her mind.
Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)that a Progressive can not win the General Election thanks to the GOP Court!
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)And you are trolling a protected "safe haven" with your ridiculous drivel.
See ya!
donnasgirl
(656 posts)RiverLover
(7,830 posts)Citi is out to destroy her now, but she's tough & doesn't give a damn. What's important is doing the right thing for Americans. May she prosper, and inspire many other Dems to Stand Up for People.
get the red out
(13,588 posts)I hope she runs.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)candidates.
Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)saying he stands shoulder to shoudler with Pence and Religious Freedom. All the Hillary Haters say,,,, well,, at least Cruz is not Hillary!
Did you post this in the wrong place?
WTH?
Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)RiverLover
(7,830 posts)Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)by equating Warren with Cruz (or insinuating those that prefer someone that is not right wing like hillary are Cruz supporters), you really should do so in the Hillary group where they are blind to such obvious trollery.
This is the Elizabeth Warren group, no one here is buying such right wing nonsense.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Greybnk48
(10,395 posts)We cannot allow any more movement to the right. Not an inch.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)providing a robust, healthy debate on the issues.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)The reality of modern Presidential campaigns is that you have to start very early. People like Bush, Cruz, O'Malley, and Sanders have been doing that work. At some point, "Warren hasn't done it yet" becomes "Warren didn't do it" simply through the passage of time.
We're not quite at that point yet. She could still decide to run, and if she does, I'll be on Act Blue later that day to send her a donation. Unfortunately, it seems likely that she'll continue to resist these efforts at a draft.
Even if she never runs, though, these demonstrations of support for Warren may be useful -- in influencing O'Malley. He has to decide on a strategy:
(1) Run a "nice" campaign in which he doesn't attack Clinton but just tries to demonstrate his own electoral strength. He positions himself as the logical choice to be her running mate if she wins, but if her campaign collapses then he's there to pick up the pieces and be the nominee.
(2) Run an unabashedly progressive campaign in which he tries to win over the Elizabeth Warren wing of the party, even if that means ticking off the Clinton camp and abandoning any hope of being VP.
My guess is that he was originally leaning toward (1), but the continued pro-Warren fervor may push him toward (2).
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)exciting voters enough to get them out. That is where Elizabeth Warren excels.
If you read the story of Teddy Roosevelt, the great reformer (but also a very military man and from a very wealthy family), you learn that getting people excited enough to organize behind you and even in front of you is the secret to reform. Elizabeth Warren has that gift. I don't know whether anyone else does. But Elizabeth Warren is way ahead of anyone else on that point at this time.
Greybnk48
(10,395 posts)donnasgirl
(656 posts)are neck and neck in my opinion, there are 2 others I like but they are not even discussed in any of the discussions and they are Sherrod Brown and Alan Grayson.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)Fingers xd!!!!!!!!!
donnasgirl
(656 posts)All is they are real and do not come across as a phony and are consistent in everything they say.
Greybnk48
(10,395 posts)I'd love to see him chosen as a running mate in 2016. I like Alan Greyson, but he's a bit bombastic for President. Keep him in Congress!
donnasgirl
(656 posts)For the very reason people would learn what he is all about and when the time comes he could take the Presidency.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)donnasgirl
(656 posts)We call it being blunt and sometimes it is what people need to be knocked out of their stupor.
MynameisBlarney
(2,979 posts)He would certainly be entertaining, if nothing else.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)I call for it because I care about what America needs.
starroute
(12,977 posts)This really isn't all about Hillary -- and it's been perhaps the greatest weakness of her campaign to make it seem that way.
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)If Elizabeth doesn't?
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)I couldn't find any info on that with a search, but I'd be ALL for that!
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)Robert Reich
March 24 at 8:13am ·
I appreciate the encouraging words from those of you urging me to run, but I'm way too short, too outspoken, and too unwilling to kiss wealthy posteriors to be a viable candidate. But if Elizabeth Warren remains adamantly opposed to entering the race, and if neither Hillary Clinton nor any other Democratic aspirant is willing to talk about the gross misallocation of income, wealth, and power in America -- and advocate resurrecting Glass Steagall and busting up the big banks; opposing trade deals the are killing American workers and boosting corporate profits; making it easier to form unions; limiting CEO pay; raising the minimum wage wage to $15 an hour; raising taxes on the rich to pay for better schools and infrastructure for everyone else; raising the cap on income subject to the payroll tax; and reversing "Citizen's United" and getting big money out of politics -- then I will have to reconsider.
(Incidentally, I'll be in New Hampshire April 8, speaking at the University of New Hampshire in Durham; and in Iowa May 16, keynoting the Working Families Summit in Ames.)
Seriously, why isn't every democrat saying these things?
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)ps-how short is he anyways?
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)Larry Wilmore's "The Nightly Show"
edit for better link:
http://imgur.com/tEv6Uli
MynameisBlarney
(2,979 posts)n/t
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)Love Elizabeth though too. Really need someone like them.
MynameisBlarney
(2,979 posts)Not only them, but more people like Sanders, Franken, and Grayson as well.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Warren, but alternatives that would make the primaries worthwhile.
LynneSin
(95,337 posts)This guy actually is showing interest in running for President and is a liberal
Thespian2
(2,741 posts)HRC doesn't run for nomination. Wishful thinking, I know. If Warren doesn't run, who do we have? Will someone who gives a shit about America step up? Waiting to see.
K & R, RiverLover.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)Waiting to see too. Its time for Progressives to have real Progressive representation in govt, not just Progressive rhetoric when Democrats are campaigning.
This is a make or break time for all of us.
Joining you in that wishful thinking~
MynameisBlarney
(2,979 posts)She knows what she's doing.
When she's ready, she'll let us know.
donnasgirl
(656 posts)Is I think you are right, but even if she doesn't I will still write her in.
MynameisBlarney
(2,979 posts)If she doesn't run and get the Democratic Party nomination, and someone else does, be it Hillary, Sanders, Sasquatch or the Loch Ness Monster...
That's who I will vote for, because I do not want any republican in the white house. With the GOTP in charge of both houses....
That would be a bloody nightmare.
That's where I'm at.