Elizabeth Warren Just Gave a Really Important—and Revealing—Speech

[xchrom]

http://www.thenation.com/blog/194361/elizabeth-warren-just-gave-really-important-and-revealing-speech



If you want to understand the coming intra-party battles on economic issues between progressive Democrats and their moderate colleagues—which will no doubt bleed into the 2016 Democratic presidential primary—Senator Elizabeth Warren’s keynote speech to an AFL-CIO conference on Wednesday might be your best blueprint.

First, let’s note the political moment: President Obama is visiting an auto manufacturing plant in Detroit this week, where he will be “highlighting the workers in the resurgent American automotive and manufacturing sector,” as the White House press office billed it. Then he travels to Phoenix to give a speech “on how the recovering housing sector has helped restore wealth and economic security to millions of middle-class families.”

Obama’s economic message, in short: everything’s going great. It is this argument that Warren took singular aim at Wednesday.

She didn’t call out Obama directly, but based her speech around a December Politico magazine article titled “Everything is Awesome!” (When a politician spends thirty minutes publicly fisking a Politico article, that’s a pretty big clue he or she is trying to rattle the Beltway narrative.)

[NYC_SKP]

1. Good. Without her and Bernie, we would only hear crickets. nt

[Ccarmona]

5. Without Her and Bernie

Progressives would be run over like critters on the highway. People might look but they'd just keep on going.

[madokie]

8. spot on

[Central Scruitinizer]

19. Apparently all we have is crickets here at DU

Loyalty is one thing, blind following and cheerleading is another entire 'thing'.

It is still good to miss the Obama or bust defense of Everything is Awesome; compared to a McCain - Romney regime, everything is awesome by default.

I do recognize that the underrated successes of the Obama presidency are ignored, or lied about into disasters and Dems need to get this message out but we cannot allow the party to kow-tow to the corporations.

[phantom power]

2. recommend

[Adam051188]

3. rah rah rah. we need a cheering monkey smiley

[tkmorris]

9. What are you trying to say Adam?

[NYC_SKP]

10. Seriously...

[Adam051188]

17. hablo ingles?

[Jackpine Radical]

21. How the hell should I know if you know English?

You haven't provided much evidence of it so far.

[bravenak]

26. +1

[RiverLover]

27. MIRT missed one. nt

[daleanime]

11. Huh?

[riderinthestorm]

25. Uhm, ok. I'm cheering her!

So here's my smilie for Elizabeth Warren...

[L0oniX]

4. K & R

[blackspade]

6. K&R.

[Omaha Steve]

7. And some DUers don't like the AFL-CIO

Me I was a dues paying member through ASFCME until I retired.

[daleanime]

12. K&R....

[arcane1]

13. It's going to get pretty interesting around here too!

[Nye Bevan]

14. I am a Hillary supporter

but I certainly agree that Elizabeth Warren makes some very valid points.

[stevenleser]

16. Me too. But while it will be interesting around DU, the primary won't be.

I'm looking forward to it.

[tclambert]

15. Why would Obama want to speak to a room full of industrial robots?

Nobody talks about the impact of industrial robots anymore. Back in the '80s when they were new, some observers wondered what would happen when robots took over thousands of assembly line jobs. I guess we know now. It used to take thousands of human beings to build a car. Now it takes a hundred, plus a thousand animatronic arms.

People complain a lot about jobs getting shipped to foreign countries. The robots have taken way more jobs. This creates a huge increase in productivity, with all the gains going to the owners of the robots.

What happens when they design little robots that can stock the shelves at Wal-Mart?

[BrotherIvan]

18. But she is not now, currently, running

[Hotler]

20. I watched that speech on C-SPAN and....

it was the same old message just worded differently. We all know what and why wages are the way they are today and who and what is behind it. What we don't hear from Warren and others is that it is time to mass protest the likes this country and the world has never seen. It is time for us consumers to shut this country down for 6-8months and do it by stopping spending, buy just what is needed to get by. Our biggest weapon is our wallets and pocketbooks, not the vote. What we don't hear from Warren and Sanders is that it is time to get fighting mad and we need to let the PTB know it. Phone calls to Washington does not work, they don't listen to us because they are all except for a very few bought and paid for by the corporations and the rich. It's time to get pissed people.

Thanks for letting me vent.

[Jackpine Radical]

22. Warren's holding up her end.

We have to uphold ours.

And holding up our end may require the sort of nonviolent protests you suggest.

I will once again underscore nonviolent. Violent revolutions almost always lead to very bad results. Nonviolent revolutions have both a better success rate and a history of better outcomes for the people.

[supercats]

23. She Needs To Lead The Way....

She has gravitas like no other in the Democratic party. She must be our leader. In fact, All public messaging must come from her. She must run in 2016 and change America back to some kind of fairness for all. Nobody else that I can think of has the strength, knowledge, and forceful messaging like her. Let's stand tall with her and make her take the mantle and become our next (FDR) President.

[JDPriestly]

24. No doubt in my mind. She is going to run.

That is her stump speech. That is all she needs. She will win too.

[misterhighwasted]

28. yawn

Not a peep from any Dem/Ind yet.
Warren's voice is so powerful right where she is. But heaven sake, what she could do for American Citizens with the Veto Pen in her hand.
My donation pen is ready for the Warren or Sanders Campaign to begin.
These two are the force that returns the Nation to its rightful owners.
Bless them both for their long & steady fight.