Attn Fellow Sanders Supporters and Other Loving Beings: Please Simmer Down & Stop it with the Warren Bashing

Senator Elizabeth Warren

Simmer down, please.  Remember, folks, the presidential primary is next year.  Nobody knows anything yet.  At this point in 2007, Barack Obama was considered someone who didn't have a chance to be president.  So, can we all just generally simmer down and pay attention, please?  There's a lot more to learn.  Tonight and tomorrow are the very first nationally televised presidential primary debates.  Elizabeth Warren will debate Corey Booker, Jay Inslee and Beto O'Rourke tonight on MSNBC 6pmPT.  Tomorrow night Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris and Marianne Williamson same time and station.

Just stop it.  via GIPHY

Lately, I've been disappointed and struck by the vitriol and passion with which Bernie Sanders supporters have been attacking Elizabeth Warren.  Comparing her to Hillary Clinton (which, among progressives, is tantamount to comparing her to Bin Laden), calling her a corporatist, reminding people she was once a member of the Republican party, you name it.  Please, just stop it.

I know it is scary to think of Sanders and Warren splitting the progressive vote thereby allowing the highly problematic Joe Biden to surge forward, but let's keep our eyes on the prize here, people.  Let's trust (but verify) the process.  Let's continue to focus on our candidates' strengths and point out weaknesses.  But let us not MSU (Make Shit Up).  Let's not waste energy demonizing anyone (even he who must not be named--remember he built his entire empire on being named and it's all he cares about good or bad).  If we are going to choose (elect) a world that works for everyone, we need to work together to do it.

I'm not asking you to stop it because we all are going to have to support the Democrat in 2020 no matter who they end up being so we need to not harden our position (but we will have to if we want to defeat this incumbent regime).

I'm not asking you to stop it because I support Elizabeth Warren for president (I would happily vote for her for president but so far I am still for Bernie Sanders-- see Top 5 Reasons Social Democracy maybe THE winning message in 2020; Comparison of the 2020 Candidates on Power of the Word; Bernie Sanders and the Power of the Word).

Top 5 reasons I am asking you to stop it:

1.  Elizabeth Warren is no Hillary Clinton.  Indeed, one could even make a case that Warren is the "Anti-Hillary."  Yes she campaigned for Hillary Clinton in the general election (so did Sanders) and yes she failed to endorse Sanders in 2016 (extremely regrettable).  But long before she was running for president, Elizabeth Warren was working hard to stop Joe Biden, Bill Clinton and later Hillary Clinton from hurting working families and enriching Wall Street.  Read New York Times Magazine on Elizabeth Warren 6-17-2019 to learn more about her history on this--amazing.

2.  Wall Street has made it clear, they want anyone but Warren or Sanders.  Everywhere it is clear, Wall Street is united to see that neither Warren nor Sanders become the nominee.  Why? they know that both Warren and Sanders are committed to end unfettered greed, restore the Glass-Steagall Act that protects consumers from the wild speculative investment and swings in the market that it brings, and other government reforms that make sure that government serves the interests of working people. 

3.  While Warren professes to be "capitalist to [her] bones" she also clearly believes STRONGLY in the power of government to benefit working families.  Sanders is a self-professed socialist in the model of FDR and Warren is a self-professed capitalist in the model of TR yet BOTH are progressive Roosevelt populists who are working for and in the common interest in different ways.

4.  Elizabeth Warren has a plan for that.  Much mocked, Elizabeth Warren's plans are detailed, well thought out and useful.  In creating and campaigning for those very important populist reforms in the model of Teddy Roosevelt, she helps educate the populace on the importance of public policy;  she provides whoever the next president and Congress are with a ready to go agenda.

5.  President Sanders will need Elizabeth Warren to win and to succeed.  As my other articles set forth (see links above) so far I think Bernie Sanders has the best combination of ability to win the nomination and the presidency with the proven progressive track record to be sure that he will fight for a world that works for everyone.  If progressive support consolidates around Warren, I would vote for her in the primary and campaign like hell for her in the general election.  I would love for her to be president, but I don't feel she has what it takes to win.  And no, I'm not talking about a Y chromosome, I'm talking about control and command of her word, and, per the article in the NYTimes, the discipline to not fall for the incumbent's provocations.

That having been said, Sanders will need a lot of help to win and to govern effectively.  Warren will be a key piece both on the campaign trail and in office.  In addition to president, she would make a fabulous secretary of treasury, chief of staff, or vice president.