From esteemed BMGer JohnTMay:
Let me tell you about Elizabeth Warren(5+ / 0-) View voters
My wife and I had been though a lot. I lost faith in myself. I was trying to get back on my feet and it was tough. I saw myself as a failure. My sister kept telling me about this “Elizabeth Warren” and one day I searched the Internet and found this video. It’s an hour long, but worth your time.The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class with Elizabeth Warren
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVL7QY0S8A (wish I knew how to format this better) [Embedded – Ed. (to embed click on Share then Embed, and paste the text into your post or comment)]
I watched it three times in a row. It explained what had happened to me, to us, to my family. It gave me hope and more so, it gave me something to fight for. I emailed Elizabeth Warren explaining my family situation and thanked her for her work and the video I had watched . A week or so later, I received an email from her assistant explaining that Elizabeth reads all her emails but cannot reply them all, but rest assured she has read mine and appreciated our story, my unemployment, my wife’s illness, and our near bankruptcy. She was glad that we were getting back on our feet.
About a mouth later, I received another email from her office but it was not from her assistant, it was from Elizabeth herself, thanking me once again for my story and how much she is working to improve things for all of us.
Fast forward a few years and my wife and I are in line at Framingham State College for the first meeting of volunteers for Elizabeth Warren’s senate bid. Elizabeth is personally greeting each one of us. I wonder if I should mention the emails from a few years ago and decide this may be my only chance to show my gratitude.
As I shaker her hand, I quickly blurt out “I wrote you an email a few years ago about my unemployment and how much we were struggling…” and before I could go any further, Elizabeth said, “Yes, I remember that, is your wife okay? Is she here?”
My wife was there and Elizabeth gave her a hug. Of course there were a few tears.
I’ve told this story countless times when I was canvassing for Elizabeth and when anyone dares to challenge her character or question her motives.
I hope she runs for president.
johntmay @ Sat 15 Nov 7:43 PM :: Edit
jsunshower says
When Sen. Warren was holding meetings in order to make her decision about whether to run, I had the opportunity to speak in the meeting at Corimme Wingard’s home in Agawam. To her question based on the potential for the grassroots support she would need to win as a relative unknown newcomer to political campaigns, I responded that we needed her as much as she needed us. That her entry against Scott Brown would in fact give the energy boost of integrity and hope to have a Senator with the depth and clout to have the impact equivalent to Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Obviously, she heard enough across the state to convince her to run. I don’t know how many others saw the opportunity to grow our activist base, but that did happen. In the Amherst-Northampton area, we raised ~ $12,000 before she opened her office. People came from a dozen towns to a house party at Peggy Lucy’s for Elizabeth to speak. Cars stopped when they say signs for Elizabeth Warren for Massachusetts and wrote checks on the spot. At that gathering, we created 5 town-clusters to act as campaign groups, since many DTC’s are reluctant to declare before the primary. The leaders of those groups continue to this day to be strong activists and leaders on behalf of progressive candidates and issues in their towns and the region.
This is exactly the kind of cooperation for mutual benefit that John Walsh always encouraged. We need it more than ever now, because the days of taking Democratic wins for granted are over. Money outside MA is pouring in, Tea party, Libertarian, and other Republicans are targeting our local and state elections. The new legislature will see 6 new Republicans, including someone replacing Denise Andrews who not only leveraged funds for good projects in the Quabbin, but championed causes such as defeating the Gas Pipeline. Defending our progress to increase freedom and democracy depends on more Democrats as well as Independents getting deep about understanding the consequences of our elections beyond labels. Elizabeth Warren had a long track record of clear analysis and fight for a government based on what’s good for families and individduals, and has delivered exactly what we elected her to do. We need so many more like her at every level, and in Western MA, since we have a fantastic team of legislators, we should be helping our neighbors to achieve the same.
Here’s a link to EW conversation with Paul Krugman September 2014:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKO5eIdjujM
nopolitician says
Her analysis about how risk has been shifted onto families was spot-on, for example how we have transformed from a society where 12 years of free public education was enough for you to join the economy – but now you need 2 years of preschool [which you pay for] plus 4 years of college [which you pay for] to participate, meaning that families are taking on more of the risk.
She also talked about how hospitals, attempting to reduce costs, have shifted a lot of the care out of the hospital and onto family members – sending mothers home 2 days after childbirth, training families to do nursing tasks, etc.
This made me realize that in a way, the same thing is happening in our schools. It seems to be conventional wisdom that in order for a child to succeed in school, they need “parental support”. I even recently heard someone say that 75% of a child’s learning comes at home (though I really don’t think it is that high). Anyone with children knows that in order for your kids to succeed, you have to put in long hours to help them at home, working with them on homework, projects, etc.
Were the illiterate immigrant parents of the 1920’s in a similar position to help their children with their schoolwork? I don’t think so – the families were much larger too. That leads me to believe that our education system has also shifted a lot of the risk and work out of the schools and onto families. That may be fine for middle-class families who can take on this work, but it doesn’t work for families who can’t, or won’t take on this extra work.
Maybe instead of insisting on more “personal responsibility” of parents, we need to be challenging our assumptions as to how to educate our children within the boundaries of the time they are under the watch of the educators, and stop pushing a system which only works if it is augmented by families.
chileverde says
Thank you, JohnTMay, for sharing your Elizabeth Warren story. I noticed in a prior post that you were a Rush-listener before, and this reminded me of my Dad, who was a life-long Republican until they nominated George W. Bush for the presidency. Dad re-thought everything he’d believed at that point, and I am pleased to say that he has been through a transition similar to yours and is a much happier and positive person for it. We, his adult children, lovingly refer to him as a ‘born-again liberal’ but it actually goes beyond political beliefs; he’s more curious and engaged with the world. He is a huge fan of Elizabeth Warren, and has become an environmentalist (fracktivist) to boot. And, like most BMGers and all reasonable people, he does not hesitate to criticize the Democratic party establishment with its ties to Wall Street, etc., and to question whether it is truly dedicated to the little guys and gals. Thank you again for sharing your personal story; I’m so glad you persevered. It is a testament to the power of EW and the appeal of those rare politicians who dare to tell it like it is, and who actually care.