For months, the 2016 campaign has been all about two people. One is a socialist from Brooklyn who apparently combs his hair as often as Taylor Lautner wears a shirt, and the other is a racist, sexist xenophobe who sleeps in a tanning booth and apparently didn’t know that women go to the bathroom. I’ve talked about these two in articles past and I don’t have any interest in repeating myself. There is one politician that I do feel needs more attention. Her friends call her Liz, Bernie Sanders calls her “my potential running mate,” and I call her one of the most awesome politicians in America.
Elizabeth Warren is one of those politicians whose career is so long that you kind of wonder how she has time to sleep. She went from a Harvard Law professor to President Obama’s advisor during the Great Recession to Massachusetts Senator, fought to end Citizens United and to reinstate Glass-Steagall, and was a loud and powerful voice in defending Planned Parenthood, advocating for the rights of women and girls who needed safe and legal abortions. Surprisingly though, going against the pleas of all her supporters, she decided not to run for President last year.
This was surprising to me because for years she had built herself up as the darling of the Democratic Party and a hero for progressive causes. Running for President would make a lot of sense and she’d probably win in a landslide, but the thing is, she still can win…if she runs in 2024. If she decides to run then at age 72, she might be the oldest person to ever win the presidency, which alone would send the Republican establishment into a chaotic mess, but let’s analyze what a Warren presidency would actually be like.
Well, the first thing we can guarantee is that progressivism will no longer be an anti-establishment ideology. Under President Warren, progressive would be the new normal because, if there’s anyone who can change the way the game is played, it’s her. Moderates like Hillary Clinton, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and even Obama would either be forced to the far left or forced to irrelevancy. Progressive causes like supporting abortion and gay marriage, ending tax breaks to billionaires, having a larger minimum wage and legal recreational weed would all be prioritized over conservative causes like small government, expanded military, and a march to libertarianism.
Her opposition would be pretty tough though. From the very beginning, it was clear that Obama’s idea of compromising with Republicans and creating a middle ground was a well-intentioned but inaccurate assessment of the post-Bush era. It took Obama way too long to realize that Republicans had no intention of working with him and would literally resort to shutting down the government to stop Obama from enacting what would be his signature accomplishment. As a result, Guantanamo Bay remains open and the thought of a single-payer healthcare system was killed ruthlessly. President Warren, however, is fully aware of who she’s going up against, and would crush the Republican establishment like bugs. If you don’t believe me, just watch her speeches about Planned Parenthood, where she asks Republicans: “Do you have any idea what year it is? Did you fall down, hit your head and think you woke up in the 1950s or the 1890s? Should we call for a doctor?” She has no intention of reaching across the aisle, she’ll get what she wants at the end of the day. In her own words, “that is not a threat, that is a promise.” This may seem bad, but think about this, her views are unsurprisingly popular. What she wants is what the American people wants.
Democratic voters have always wanted to elect another FDR, and they thought they did that when they elected and re-elected Barack Obama. But, let’s face it, Obama is kind of the Mad Max: Fury Road of politics, the president Democrats wanted to like more than they did. An Elizabeth Warren presidency could be every progressive’s dream come true. She could very well be the next FDR, a president of the people for the people. She could very well be the most popular and successful president this country has ever seen. It’s a shame we have to wait for 2024 to find out though…
