Sen. Elizabeth Warren may be taking covert advice from Hillary Clinton about her presidential run, but it seems that she’s more interested in playing to the AOC crowd than to the “I’m With Her” donors. Having already irritated the Democratic donor class by using their money leftover from her Senate run while (loudly) eschewing their money in the 2020 race, she’s now at risk of turning the entire DNC establishment against her by throwing her endorsement towards progressives looking to unseat Democratic House incumbents.
From the Washington Free Beacon:
Warren endorsed liberal challengers Jessica Cisneros and Marie Newman in their primary battles against incumbent Democratic representatives Henry Cuellar (Tex.) and Dan Lipinski (Ill.), respectively. Warren cited the challengers’ “unapologetic” progressive values and “unwavering commitment” to abortion in her Monday announcement.
Both of the incumbents targeted by Warren’s endorsement quickly fired back at the Massachusetts senator, labeling her a radical aligned with “outside special interests” looking to “take away local jobs.” Cisneros and Newman are supported by Justice Democrats, the same progressive group that backed Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) in 2018.
Warren’s endorsement of Newman puts her at odds with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which is supporting Lipinski in his reelection bid. The DCCC initially refused to endorse Lipinski but reversed course after criticism from moderate Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has also endorsed Lipinski in the past.
Seems clear at this point that Warren’s strategy is to out-left Bernie Sanders and pull away as the sole challenger to Joe Biden’s “moderate” place at the top of the field. While (so far) reluctant to attack Sanders one-on-one, Warren is showing with these endorsements that she’s plenty willing to buck Pelosi and the rest of the DNC establishment if it means lighting up Twitter with her socialist credentials.
At the end of the day, this is yet another example of the disarray that clouds the Democratic Party as we move forward into the 2020 race. While some Democrats, like Biden, think that the race should be all about taking Trump out of the White House, there is a growing (and loud) minority that believes 2020 should be an aspirational year filled with free healthcare, open borders, Green New Deals, and other civilization-killing ideas.
If the Dems stay on the “moderate” path (well, as it’s defined by the crazy left of 2019, that is), they stand a good chance of doing some damage next November. If they go the Warren/Ocasio-Cortez route…well, we just don’t think those outlandish policies are as popular around the country as they might be in the Bronx.
We’ll see.
