Warren impacts 2016 race

Frontrunner’s flaws may push other Democrats into the presidential contest

We are fully in presidential campaign mode. Both Marco Rubio and Hillary Clinton have announced their candidacies in the last two weeks, and the media is abuzz with speculation about the upcoming elections.

Campaign — Elizabeth Warren is known for her populist appeal. Google Images

Campaign — Elizabeth Warren is known for her populist appeal. Google Images

One very interesting development is the overall disdain for Clinton as a candidate. With the latest debacle over the personal email she kept during her time as secretary of state, many believe that the Clinton campaign has taken too many hits to win a presidential campaign.

“Her ideas are so unbelievably past their ‘sell by’ date,” George Will, a writer for the Washington Post, said of Clinton.

Jon Stewart, host of “The Daily Show,” said her video announcement for her candidacy looked like a “State Farm commercial gone viral.”

If not Clinton, then there may be a chance for a number of lesser-known Democrats. One such person is Elizabeth Warren, the senator from Massachusetts. The former Harvard law professor is a favorite among the far left because of her extremely liberal policies, specifically her attacks on Wall Street. Her opportunity in the upcoming presidential election has historical comparisons that seem favorable for Warren.

Jonah Goldberg notes in his article in the National Review that in 2007, Clinton seemed to be the almost unavoidable Democratic nominee, but a little known senator from Illinois took the party by storm and stole the nomination. Clinton was very vulnerable in 2007, as she had voted for the unpopular Iraq war, and Barack Obama used this and his dynamic speaking ability to win the nomination and the election.

“Warren would be able to defuse Clinton’s greatest asset (her gender) and exploit Clinton’s greatest liability (her wealth and how she came to it), while in the process generating huge excitement from the status quo-weary grassroots,” Goldberg wrote.

Another, less favorable comparison made for Warren is John Edwards in 2007-2008. Harry Enten of FiveThirtyEight wrote that, unlike Obama, who scored highly among both liberals and all voters in general, Warren, and Edwards in 2007, scored highly among liberals but not all other voters. This brings up many of the concerns about Warren as a candidate. While she may appeal to the far left of the party, her beliefs and record as a senator could scare away many of the vital moderate voters Clinton is hoping to attract. Others have noted that her attacks on Wall Street may drive many important donors from her campaign. Yet, just as Edwards did in the 2008 campaign, Warren could have an effect on the policy discussion during the primaries. This can already be seen in Clinton’s video announcement, where she adopted “populist” language often used by Warren in her speeches. Phrases such as “the deck is stacked” seem to be nods to the Massachusetts senator’s famous phrase, “the system is rigged.”

With all this said, Warren does not seem to be interested in challenging the former first lady. Many on both sides of the spectrum have called for someone to take on Clinton in the primaries, but most of the potential contenders appear content to watch and wait for another year.


Sutherland is an opinion writer.

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