I’ve heard the media and even some Democrats refer to Senator Elizabeth Warren as “far left”. This morning, as I was watching Morning Joe, the panel seemed to agree that a “far left” Democrat could never win the presidency.
In my universe, Senator Elizabeth Warren remains the one Democrat who is closest to FDR. When I had the chance to say hello to the senator during Kate’s 2016 Holiday Party, I told her “My parents were FDR Democrats and I call myself a Warren Democrat!”….to which she humbly replied, “Well, I am an FDR Democrat and so are you.”
Apparently, FDR was so far left, so extreme, such a fringe candidate they had to amend the Constitution in order to stop him from being elected for a fourth term.
So why is the party so afraid of being “far left” and why is the media telling us we need a “centrist” Democrat?
My two cents on this is that by “far left”, people mean two different things, one social, one economic. When Joe Scarborough and company tell us that a “far left” Democrat can never win in the rural states, they are referring to socially far left positions on abortion, gay rights, minority rights, and they are probably correct. However, they fail to add that a “far left” Democrat looking to help small farmers, factory/low wage workers, the elderly and the poor will do very well in this same demographic.
I’m just trying to figure out why they are saying this and not saying that….
My hunch is that if a Democrat running for high office emphasizes positions on abortion, gay rights, minority rights and distances themselves from small farmers, factory/low wage workers, the elderly and the poor, they will appear to be “moderate” and not offend their donors…..but as we have seen, appear out of touch with many voters.
Just because I can’t resist being historically picky FDR was not stopped from being elected to a fourth term. When Harry Truman was President the Constitution was amended to prevent it from happening again though Truman himself was exempted from the prohibition.
Well yeah…..but I do like the dramatic effect and it’s sort of true…..
Hey, JohnTMay… here’s a clue: The people who say that…
… They are making it up.
They are not making up to create an alternate reality or posit alternate facts. They are making it so that you, honest and earnest Democrat, will take time out of your busy schedule to discuss and contemplate the reaches of the ‘left’ and whether or no or even where, in fact, Elizabeth Warren sits upon that spectrum. They couldn’t care less about the conclusion of these questions. They couldn’t care any less about whether or not you prove something in your ruminations. They only care that you ruminate — that is to say, spent a great deal of time being distracted, and thus blunting the real edge of any resistance — as they continue trying to pick the pockets of the electorate.
As soon as you come to the realization that Elizabeth Warren is not, in fact, part of the ‘far left’ fringe, but actually represents a goodly portion of mainstream thinking, they will attempt (likely successfully) to distract you with an entirely different set of questions which, no doubt, will cause you to take time out of your busy schedule to discuss and contemplate… Lather, rinse…. repeat.
I suppose you could say they are taking advantage of the vanities of a bonfire… More’s the pity at the success of such tactics.
John was arguing that Warren does represent the mainstream and the media is making her out to be a far left extremist. I don’t disagree with his analysis or your own. The reason the media does this is to narrow the frames of the debate to a ‘center’ left and a ‘center’ right rather than allow a progressive leader like Warren to shape the debate. Nearly every major candidate for President in 2016 used aspects of her language and the framing she has brought to debates around too big to fail and prioritizing the middle class. Nearly every possible Democratic nominee is sounding those tunes today. It is pretty obvious she is the mainstream of the party now, and should be treated as such.
Elizabeth Warren is on the side of the working class and for that, she is seen as “far left” by Republicans, the media, and some Democrats. Within the party itself, there are many, many Democrats who are quite cozy with the ownership class, with Wall Street. So in a way, compared to them, she is far left but only because the party itself has allowed itself to be dragged so far the right on working class issues.