In a video released this morning, Senator Elizabeth Warren announced she is forming an exploratory committee ahead of her now-all-but-guaranteed run for president in 2020. The committee allows her to start raising funds and fill positions on her staff before officially kicking off her campaign, but essentially, this means one thing: She’s (almost definitely) running.
Every person in America should be able to work hard, play by the same set of rules, & take care of themselves & the people they love. That’s what I’m fighting for, & that’s why I’m launching an exploratory committee for president. I need you with me: https://t.co/BNl2I1m8OX pic.twitter.com/uXXtp94EvY
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) December 31, 2018
Warren entered politics after the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, and before that, she was a professor with an expertise in bankruptcy and commercial law. She’s always been driven, then, by the desire to protect working and middle-class Americans from the corrupt institutions that allow giant banks and wealthy politicians to trample them. As she puts it, so many of America’s problems were caused because “Billionaires and big corporations decided they wanted more of the pie, and they enlisted politicians to cut them a fatter slice.”
The video Warren released is a powerful one. It tells her story and lays out her priorities. It also tackles one of the most pervasive criticisms of the Democratic Party: that they’ve abandoned white working and middle-class voters. Warren clearly operates from the belief that focusing on the needs and struggles of some demographics doesn’t automatically equate to ignoring others.
Here, she specifically speaks to racial economic inequality and calls out bigotry in politics and conservative media. But I don’t think she leaves any doubt that she’ll be fighting for all people. (Well, except the corrupt billionaires.)
This video was so good! For someone who didn’t know how Warren got to Washington, this catches them up quickly. It clearly lays out where the she stands and what her top line message will be on the campaign trail. And she spoke specifically to the issue of race! https://t.co/3OHyYoiDnh
— Symone D. Sanders (@SymoneDSanders) December 31, 2018
This is exciting from @ewarren.
Elizabeth Warren’s message of multiracial populism is exactly the right way to take on Trump’s divide and conquer agenda. https://t.co/qlrmuZj0n9
— Waleed Shahid (@_waleedshahid) December 31, 2018
We still have more than a year to go before the first Iowa caucus, and the Democratic primary race is sure to be an incredibly crowded one. That means we have a lot of exhausting conversations about “electability” ahead of us. I don’t think it’s too early to start forming strong opinions on candidates one way or the other, but personally, I’m thrilled to see Warren in the race at this stage. Whether she wins the primary (let alone the general) or not, she’s bound to drive a strong campaign and push debates in an exciting direction.
You don’t have to vote for Elizabeth Warren if you prefer other candidates. But you also don’t need to go scorched earth on a candidate that will speak authoritatively and compellingly on consumer and economic issues.
— Schooley (@Rschooley) December 31, 2018
What do you all think of Warren’s announcement?
(image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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