The Very Real Possibility of President Elizabeth Warren

[babylonsister]

August 23, 2019 2:04PM ET
The Very Real Possibility of President Elizabeth Warren
Can she beat Trump? There’s a plan for that
By Jamil Smith



Not too many campaign websites first ask visitors if they are unsure about the candidate in question. But if you click the “I’m not sure yet” button on the ElizabethWarren.com launch page, you can enter your email before answering the question “What’s holding you back?” one of three ways. Two replies are typical for 160-some days before the Iowa caucuses: “I’m not ready to make a decision” and “I have questions about Elizabeth’s policy positions.”

It’s the one between those, though, that most captures the zeitgeist of the still-young primary contest for the Democratic presidential nomination: “I’m not sure Elizabeth can win.”

A few thousand people who disagreed with that sentiment piled into the Shrine Expo Hall on the University of Southern California’s campus early Wednesday evening. A good hour before Warren’s town hall began with a raffle to determine who would get to ask her questions later that night, the faint odor of spilt, fermented beer wafted through the lower level, stage left — likely some resilient residue from an earlier event. The smell itself didn’t fit the early-evening, family vibe of the Massachusetts Senator’s supporters, and frankly, they hadn’t been there long enough for it to smell like a post-victory celebration locker room. But the spirit it conveyed was a perfect match: Most everyone there to see Elizabeth Warren was as giddy as if the title were in sight.

There was, however, that damned specter of “electability” also was wafting through the room. It was much less odorous but no less repugnant. This phantom is conjured in virtually all discussions about the Democratic primary contest, derived largely from archetypes of older white men whom Americans are more accustomed to seeing run for office and therefore electing. It smothers critical thinking about the presidential race so much that it appears that many are convinced that “electability” is indeed a living, breathing thing when it is in fact an apparition, a hasty creation of the party elites and pundit classes that serves as a convenient substitute for the vetting that desperately needs to occur before a nominee goes up against President Trump next fall. Even though more than 160 days remain between now and the first Iowa caucus, this unanswerable question lingers more prominently than do major quandaries about candidate qualifications.

snip//

Warren communicates as much with her body language as with her words. Making a few jokes that land early, she exhibits a disarming manner — “Let me tell you a little bit about myself,” she says, before going into her family history and her college career, her limbs getting looser as she breaks down her points. Her voice is invigorating all the way through, and even as she is breaking down a topic to its bones, it doesn’t feel like only rah-rah fodder for the NPR crowd. This is a fairly multiracial group who clearly gives a shit about whether they get a president who can do the job after winning the election, and she is respecting their intelligence.

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https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/president-elizabeth-warren-possibility-875817/?fbclid=IwAR2aidd22reH8sFsn4lqWWmtgaLAwL_S-SfaT5R12KDyuh4YcMjOz5l-Z0Q

[tblue37]

1. K&R for visibility. nt

[True Dough]

2. She'd be a worthy president

[in2herbs]

3. [phone]

[Garrett78]

4. I think Warren could beat Trump, but I don't think she can win the nomination.

Sanders hurts her odds in Iowa and New Hampshire. And how well is Warren going to do in South Carolina, especially if she doesn't do really well in the prior contests?

[LAS14]

5. Thanks for the tip about "I'm not sure yet." I posted this question:

What is the time frame for Medicare for all? Will there be a way for people to get used to the idea of losing their satisfactory health insurance?

Do any of you already know the answer?

tia
las

[CTyankee]

6. Nope. Senator Turtle will see to that...

[comradebillyboy]

7. Warren has moved into my top three along with Harris and Biden...

[moreland01]

8. I know she can do it.

IMHO, Bernie is more of a stretch for a lot of people than Elizabeth.

[spooky3]

13. Agree nt

[duforsure]

9. She's so smart

But trump will have another country's intel trying to. Get dirt for him to use. I suspect that was also done to others since he's been in office. He buys others intel on his opposition, and does the same for others too, I suspect.

[ananda]

10. Works for me.

I like Warren.

[FakeNoose]

11. If Liz Warren wins our Party's nod I would be proud to support her

She would be an awesome President, even though she's not my first choice.
It doesn't matter WHO, I'm voting BLUE!

[thegoose]

12. Fine with me!

Think of the debates between her and Dumpster. She'd have his massive orange ass in a sling.

[OldManTarHeel]

14. Yes She Can . . Her Leadership Qualities are First Rate . .

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

26. Absolutely... Elizabeth is awesome!!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[warmfeet]

15. I would like nothing more

than for Elizabeth Warren to be our next president.

[Iggo]

16. Fine by me.

[TryLogic]

17. At first I was not sure. I really like the strength, intelligence, and skill of Kamala, but...

Liz has a type of mental toughness that I find reassuring. I think her presentation and excellent debate skills will be extremely useful both during a campaign and as president. As president, the debate setting will be different but still highly relevant as she makes her case(s) to legislators and to the people. I love her intelligence, her grasp of the problems, and her solutions. We read her book quite some time ago. It describes how she was able to get the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau passed and established in spite of fierce resistance from big banks, etc. I am convinced she could make things happen as president.

I am also extremely impressed with the overall field of Democratic candidates. Those currently in the top 10 are a great representation of who Democrats are.

[DrToast]

19. I don't think anyone's strength has been tested

Nobody is attacking her, or any of the other candidates, to the same degree that Republicans will attack the nominee.

[colsohlibgal]

18. Like Her Chances

Warren and Bernie both occupy the progressive wing, it looks like Warren is winning that wing, if Bernie gives up she should get the lions share of his supporters, which could well ace out Biden.

[Garrett78]

22. Sanders isn't going to drop out. And that's a big reason why I can't see Warren being nominated.

Even without Sanders in the race, I think Warren would have a tough time winning enough support from POC to become the nominee. With Sanders in the race, I think she's doomed. They'll hurt one another in the early states, especially New Hampshire. After Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, Sanders is basically done, and the road could also get pretty tough for Warren. South Carolina and Super Tuesday probably won't go well for her unless she does extremely well in those first few contests.

[Baclava]

20. Undecideds welcome here! No hardsell needed, just honest clear talk

Welcome aboard

[highplainsdem]

21. I like her as a policy wonk, have never seen her as a leader. HRC is both. I'll vote for

Warren if I have to, but without any of the enthusiasm I felt for HRC.

[Lordquinton]

23. People are waking up to Electability being nothing but a campaign buzzword

There's no way to test it, and it's claims don't hold up. One campaign claims they are the only one who can beat trump, but the same polls they use show all of our candidates can beat him with no trouble.

[myohmy2]

24. is it possible?

...maybe, but I doubt it...

...she says and does all the right things but don't discount people's gut-impression...

...people hear all the words, think all the good thoughts, but in the end, they vote their gut-impression...

...like type-casting in Hollywood, does Elizabeth look the part?

...sorry to say, she just doesn't look like a President...with a little help, maybe a Vice President...

...she'd have a better chance of becoming President waiting for Bernie to croak in his second term...

...of course, I could be wrong...

...

[TreasonousBastard]

25. I still think she's better in the Senate where she would have a much better chance of...

sponsoring legislation.

But, I have no qualms about her as President. She would bring honor, intelligence, compassion and dignity back to the office and actually make us great again.

(Of course, she's not the only one who would do that.)

BTW, we already elected a woman to the presidency by over 3,000,000 votes. And that's before the country knew what an ass this guy is.

Let's make it 10 maybe 20,000,000 this time. And in the right states.

[5starlib]

27. Tell me how she gets to 270 EV's?

MFA, decriminalizing border crossings, free everything, etc. She'll lose 40 states.