… But I’m not sure whether I’m wishing “campaign for the Senate” or “escape while you still can“!
Elizabeth Warren has a post up on BlueMassGroup which has stirred up the progressives, and their polar opposites:
Coming Home
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… Last week, my role setting up the consumer agency ended. My husband and I packed up the car and made it back to our home of 17 years in Massachusetts.
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I left Washington, but I don’t plan to stop fighting for middle class families. I spent years working against special interests and have the battle scars to show it – and I have no intention of stopping now. It is time for me to think hard about what role I can play next to help rebuild a middle class that has been hacked at, chipped at, and pulled at for more than a generation—and that that is under greater strain every day.
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In the weeks ahead, I want to hear from you about the challenges we face and how we get our economy growing again. I also want to hear your ideas about how we can fix what all of us – regardless of party – know is a badly broken political system. In Washington, I saw up close and personal how much influence special interests have over our law-making, and I saw just how hard it is for families to be heard. I want to hear your thoughts about how we can make sure that our voices –our families, our friends, and our neighbors — are heard again.
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We have a lot of work to do in our commonwealth and our country. We need to rebuild our economy family by family and block by block. We need to create new jobs and to fix our broken housing market. We need to make sure that there is real accountability over Wall Street and that the greed and recklessness that created the last financial crisis do not create the next one. We need to restore the hope of a secure retirement and the promise of a good education. We need to stop measuring our economy by profits and executive compensation at our largest companies and start measuring it by how many families can stand securely in the middle class.
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I am glad to be back home. And I’m looking forward to discussing with you what we can accomplish together.
Would I love to have Professor Warren as my Senator? Oh, yeah! As soon as she announces she’s in the race, I’ll donate as much as I can afford, and do whatever campaign work my lack of social skills and borderline agoraphobia permits. I’m very happy with all her hard work setting up the CFPB, and would be even happier to see her fighting for the Commonwealth in Teddy’s old seat.
There are a number of Democratic contenders already in the race, but as the NYTimes delicately phrases it, “some state and national Democratic officials say that so far, the field lacks a standout“. I try to stay politically aware, watch the local news at least five nights a week, and yet out of the seven announced candidates I can only name two — the guy who’s in danger of becoming the Massachusetts version of Harold Stassen, and the first-term mayor of a not-large city whose detractors have claimed won by playing up his close ties to Governor Deval Patrick, aka “the Masshole Obama”. Whichever Democrat ends up on the ticket gets my vote, but I’m not the only life-long Dem still waiting for a little excitement. Scotty ‘Cosmo Boy’ Brown has decided he likes the DC limelight enough to put up a real fight — he’s not the brightest bulb in the Senate chandelier, but he’s been crafty enough so far to swing “liberal” when it was essential to avoid angrying up us progressives in the eastern half of the state, without (so far) disenchanting the paleocon boneheads in his caucus. We’ll need lots of money and media attention to combat the advantages of incumbancy and the non-stop Fox-News shilling, and it’s pretty clear Warren has an advantage over the current field, be they never so well-intentioned.
The bitch-du-jour from the Right and its enablers is that, after a mere 17 years in Massachusetts, running in the Commonwealth would brand Warren as a “carpetbagger”, just like Hillary! eleventy-one! As far as I can tell, coming from outside the Massachusetts establishment is a real bonus for any woman hoping to win here. Our elected officials, bless their shrivelled little hearts, are determined to keep the ‘boys’ in the Old Boys’ Network; even among Democrats, between the old-school Catholics and the hardcore working-class dynasts, there’s a real terror of “girl cooties” in our so-called-progressive legislature. Women from either party who campaign for statewide office — Evelyn Murphy, Shannon Doherty O’Brien, Jane Swift, Martha Coakley — are notoriously bad campaigners, but a large part of their inadequacy is that good female campaigners aren’t encouraged in the crucial lower-level offices. Women who aren’t accommodationist, go-along-to-get-along doormats can’t get beyond the school-board level, and women who are sufficiently accommodating only achieve statewide office when they run for the kind of straight-ticket slots (attorney general, lt. governor) where voters are looking at party affiliation, not the individual. Wondering why Martha Coakley performed so badly against Scott Brown is like wondering why the Republicans keep producing African-American candidates like Alan Keyes or Michael Steele: that’s a feature, not a bug.
Does Warren want to get into this mishegas? That’s a different issue. I wouldn’t blame her one bit if, after further exploration, she decides that she’s better off fighting from outside Capitol Hill. She’s not young, she’s never had to campaign before, she’s already got a career that she loves and does well at, and I get the impression that she actually likes her family and would enjoy spending more time with her husband, kids & grandkids. Whatever road she chooses, I’m looking forward to following.
Worked2Death
I’ll spare everyone my rapturous feelings. But I wonder if she really has the power to mend my broken heart after Obama left me?
Omnes Omnibus
Brenda from 90210 has run for office in MA?
Alex S.
@Omnes Omnibus:
What did Tori Spelling say?
Btw, I hope she runs. Scott Brown won’t be easy to beat, Ms. Warren is the only one to start with an advantage against him.
Yutsano
AL: any feel about if there’s any buyer’s remorse about Cosmo Brown? Last I heard he was dancing just liberal enough to keep his job.
Angela
If she decides to run, I will donate to her campaign just in gratitude for what she did and wanted to do in Washington.
JPL
@Alex S.: I think she has a chance but the governor polls higher than Scotty.
rikyrah
I will donate if she runs
Alex S.
@JPL:
Interesting. I was under the impression that Patrick just barely hangs on.
Anne Laurie
@Omnes Omnibus: Fixed, thanks. (I grew up with a Mary-Shannon Doherty, which is why I always get that wrong.)
Derf
LOL…. you are such a fool as are the rest of you Warren cheerleaders. Especially all those clueless morAns on that orange site. Hey, I like Warren too but I am also practical. I understand that there is probably no way she is going to win Mass. Frankly I don’t think any female could win.
So you can have fun with your little fantasy but you are only harming the cause in general. Don’t believe me? Let me tell you a story about a great progressive congressman. Liberals loved him. He checked off ALL the boxes progressives wanted. His heart was always in the right place. He regularly called the GOP out on their bullshit to their face which made progressives love him even more.
And guess what. Grayson LOST!
PurpleGirl
Calling her a carpetbagger after 17 years… absurd. A carpetbagger is Hillary moving to NYS and running for the Senate as soon as she could. A carpetbagger is RFK also moving to NYS and running for office as soon as he could.
Living in the state for 17 years… that’s commitment to the state and her job/position in the state.
fleeting expletive
Really? Girl Cooties? My stars and garters. Just thinking about what she’s asking for–real people, real stories. surely in this age of miracles and madness (I”M trying to remember a Paul Simon lyric here but am coming up short) there can be created a vehicle for people to talk to someone, and, hell, talk to each other, about situations and ideas.
I will have to add, I used to be big on Emily’s list, but then back BEFORE Hillary announced her campaign to run for Senator, they put her at the top of their list. I surmised then, that they just wanted to jump on her bandwagon and play with the big boys. It’s not as if Hillary had no other well-entrenched money raising avenues. Their mission statement was to promote pro-choice Democratic Women candidates, and I believed that they gave that slot away to HRC when they could have gone down-ticket a little and promoted some other upcoming Democratic Woman Pro-Choice Candidate in her place.
Sigh….that’s how Washington works, alas.
But, a clearinghouse of People’s stories, plus a credible voice, a credible candidate, that’s all to the good maybe.
Maybe somebody to organize the pitchforks and the torches.
Yeah, I’d like that too.
fleeting expletive
And yeah, Elizabeth Warren is great. Maybe there could, in the grand scheme of things, be a Citizens’ Lobby, or a Union of American Citizens. For five bucks, you get to sign up and state your case, and send folks to DC to talk to Congress, Hell send Elizabeth Warren up there with 5 or ten million members behind her.
eemom
@fleeting expletive:
these are the days of miracles and wonders
kdaug
She runs, I’ve got her back. But like you, Anne, I wouldn’t blame her a bit on a “nah”.
Jenny
I liked the idea of Senator Warren. But then Jane Hamsher said Warren would be more useful as a citizen and not in the Senate. So based on Jane’s recommendation, I’m going to vote against her and for vote for the himbo.
gwangung
SHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Mike
@Derf:
Larry Sabato (who it a pundit, but a funny one who is pretty good at political prognostication) thinks she’s the only one that can beat Brown. I worry about the misogynist tendencies of the state as well, but since no one is stepping up to the plate, I welcome her run.
something fabulous
@Derf: my goodness; who’s the gloomsaying galt-goer now??
PS: To fleeting expletive: Am going to start saying “my stars and garters” ALL THE TIME!
Constance
I’m in for $100 to Elizabeth Warren and I don’t live in Massachusetts.
Half of me is hoping that millions of us middle and lower socio-economic class will rise up and throw out the moral cretins (Tea Party, Libertarians, GOP) who have managed to bring federal and many state governments to a standstill, while the other half is exploring ex-pat living in Canada. Part of me thinks there could be a miracle and part of me says “Go live in Canada.” The miracle would require participation by many Americans at a fairly intense level and I’m not certain I’m willing so why would I expect others to be?
I’ll donate to Elizabeth Warren while I’m deciding.
Derf
@Mike: LOL…oh yea. And Martha Coakley was supposed to be a shoe in.
Short term memory much? Oy vey!
Joel
Speaking of carpetbaggers, has Curt Schilling moved back to Arizona yet?
Triassic Sands
Looking at Washington DC in 2011, I wonder, who on Earth would want to be a senator or representative? It is not surprising that we don’t have good Democratic candidates in many races – good, sane people have other things to do (I don’t say “better things to do” because serving in the government is, in my opinion, one of the most important jobs in existence).
So, if Elizabeth Warren is actually going to run for the Senate, the people of Massachusetts (and the country) should be overjoyed. She would be something that has become very, very rare in American politics — the best candidate imaginable.
How effective a senator she will be, if she runs and wins, is an open question. She seems to have all the right stuff, but she’d be joining a group overwhelmingly peopled by losers. Still, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have in the Senate.
Yutsano
@efgoldman:
I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. I froze my ass off in the nasty cloudy morning on my way to work. In fact a friend said she couldn’t see the ferry boats from our building.
:: whistles innocently ::
(think he’ll buy it g?)
Dennis SGMM
I’m torn between hoping that Warren runs and encouraging her to run away. The Senate is where good ideas go to die. Warren would be the new kid and I’m dubious about her getting any committee assignments that would make use of her considerable abilities. I applaud her commitment to public service and if she runs I’ll donate to her campaign even though I’m on the other coast. Just not sure if the Senate is the right venue for anyone who is as knowledgeable and committed to the public good as Warren.
Jenny
@Joel:
No the anti-government loud-mouth just got a big government loan ($75 million) to start a video game business in Rhode Island.
It never fails. They yell and scream how much they hate government and then they’re the first ones to ask for cash.
James E. Powell
I cannot revisit the fact of Senator Scott (R-Massachusetts) without getting a little angry. How the hell did the state Democratic Party and the Democratic voters of Massachusetts let that happen? Note: those are not really questions.
The only question is, can Elizabeth Warren win? There is no other reason to run. If the state and local Democratic Party hacks, old boys or not, are willing to go all out to redeem themselves from the mortal sin that is Senator Brown, then she ought to go for it. Otherwise, somebody call Caroline and see if she still wants to be a senator.
Dennis SGMM
@James E. Powell:
OTOH, I hear that Coakley is fresh, rested and ready.
Yutsano
@Dennis SGMM:
And here I thought my gag reflex was under control…
dead existentialist
FYWP!!
Joel
@dead existentialist: is this a new internet meme?
Yutsano
@Joel:
You must be new round these parts…
Joel
@Yutsano: You missed the previous (pre-edit? screened?) post. A particularly nasty variety of troll.
Yutsano
@Joel: Ah. That would explain it. I’ll eat my crow pie with a side of humble in the corner now.
The Raven
On balance, I think I’d rather not lose her to that appallingly corrupt body. Absolute subservience to caucus appears to be the rule in the Senate, for Democrats as well as Republicans. Bernie Sanders voted for the grand bargain, and he is not even a Democrat.
In such an institution, could Warren do much good? Would it be greater than the good she has already done outside the Senate, or what she might do in the future outside the Senate?
In her shoes: well, who of us would vote for the Iraq war? Or any of the so-many horrible things that have come out of Congress in the past 30 years, usually passing the Senate by unanimous or strict party-line vote? I don’t wish that on Warren. And I wonder if the Democrats hope to neutralize her, by putting her in a position which both compromises her and makes her dependent on the whims of the Senate Democratic caucus.
Still, Warren has shown an ability to get things done politically against overwhelming opposition. She might make a good Senator, if she has the stomach for it.
PaulJ
“On balance, I think I’d rather not lose her to that appallingly corrupt body”….
I think this is an important point. A Senate seat would neutralize her.
RosiesDad
I just took the Joe Nocera “Boycott Political Donations Pledge” and I don’t live in MA but if Prof. Warren runs, I will donate to her campaign. I will phone bank on her behalf. And I would consider traveling to MA to knock on doors on her behalf. And then I will hope like hell that becoming part of the political class doesn’t ruin her.
Jeff R.
@Jenny:
He’s not starting a business, he moved his existing business from Massachusetts. I believe it was in DEC’s mill in Maynard.
grandpajohn
I have a question for some of the naysayers here. If we never start electing honest non-corruptible people to the senate then how do we ever expect to change it?
And I speak from frustration since my senators are Graham and De Mint in an insane red state
henqiguai
@PaulJ (#38):
You’re assuming she’s interested in pursuing an actual career in the Senate. The major constraint on legislators tends to be re-election. If her interest is in arguing for a specific agenda for a limited period, she’s relatively untouchable; after all, what are the power-brokers going to do – not fund her second run (she’s already in or near her sixties, a grandmother, got a successful career in academia and is a respected scholar)? She could retire and then consult, and continue to issue ‘fire’ from the outside. For her, win-win. But that’s just my perspective, ’cause I really don’t play well with the stupid.
Ian
@Derf:
Do you know something about the masshole persona we don’t? or are you just a dick?
Ian
@The Raven:
Thats because Bernie is smart enough to know that politicians willing to let us default might hurt our triple A credit rating
Jenny
@The Raven:
Are you sure he voted for it? If he did, that’s hilarious! I saw him repeatedly on MSNBC denouncing the bill. I knew it. I knew it. I knew he was a big phony. And he wasn’t even criticizing it, he was screaming how much he hated it. Andy Kaufman must have been reincarnated into Sanders’s being.
Teejay
I’m a HUGE fan of EW, but after reading Yves Smith’s blog “Naked Capitalism” I’m convinced she’ll get muzzled and loose her effectiveness. Check out: “Why Liberals are lame,part 3. Why a Warren run for Senate is a terrible idea.”
And then see her post arguing Warren should primary Obama.
It’s a better argument than I could ever make.
The Raven
@Jenny: Correction. Sen. Sanders voted against S.365,
My apologies to all concerned for the misinformation.
This raven is now eating crow.