Elizabeth Warren-new leadership role won't stop her from speaking out: "Nobody's clipping my wings"
Warren said that she and Reid began discussing the position in the last week or so, and that she wanted the position so that she could be in the weekly leadership meetings where decisions on the agenda are made. "This is a seat at the table. ... I plan to use it to make sure that people around this country have a real hearing," she said. "I want a chance to be at the table when the Democratic leadership is making decisions. It gives me a better chance to fight for what I believe in."
Backers of Warren said they worried her ascendance to leadership may diminish her ability to be a strong outside voice.
The Senate has a long history of individual senators amassing power outside of the leadership structure. But the Senate over the last several years has become a much more leadership-driven institution. Much of the power individual senators wielded in the past had to do with their ability to create bipartisan coalitions, often within committees. But real bipartisan coalitions are vanishingly rare and committees have become less powerful compared with the leader. That doesn't leave Warren with the lone wolf path that may have existed 20 years ago.
Either way, said Warren, her new leadership role won't stop her from speaking out. "Nobody's clipping my wings," she said.
MORE:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/13/elizabeth-warren-senate-liason_n_6156066.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
