Washington Post: Elizabeth Warren: The new, much-better John Edwards

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/01/08/elizabeth-warren-the-new-much-better-john-edwards/

By Nia-Malika Henderson January 8

Video: http://wapo.st/1FnYsXR

At the AFL-CIO's National Summit on Raising Wages, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) described how her childhood shaped her view of the minimum wage. (YouTube: AFL-CIO)
How do you balance progressive populism with aspiration? This is one of the key questions facing Democrats (and Republicans, to an extent) going into 2016. Centrist Democrats in particular worry that too much anti-Wall Street/soak-the-rich rhetoric doesn't leave much room for upbeat and aspirational messaging -- the very kind that makes voters feel good and hopeful, rather than just pessimistic.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has of course cornered the market on progressive populism these days, with a speaking style that makes Bill Clinton nervous.

Indeed, the last Democrat with such a passionately populist message was the pre-scandal John Edwards, with his talk of "two Americas" and being the son of a mill worker. He looked like and certainly had the bank account of an insider, but with that Southern accent and working-class background, he sounded like an outsider. (His multi-million dollar home and that haircut muddled his message a bit.)

In a speech before her "labor friends" at the AFL-CIO's "Raising Wages" summit on Wednesday, Warren showed why progressives love her. She brought a litany of stats about how the rich are getting richer and how "the game is rigged."

FULL story at link. I'm in the video below.

I'm in the yellow shirt with black hat:

[onehandle]

1. John Edwards was the front runner at DU in every poll here until after he quit.

I supported him and heard him speak.

Later, I was sad. 2008 was...

[ellenrr]

7. Is she going to have an affair, too?

[oneview]

2. Well she's not nearly as hot as John,

but on the other hand, I don't think her house is anywhere near this ridiculous --




Also, there's been no hint of an idea that she's currently cheating on a cancer-ridden spouse. So go Liz! (I guess.)

[joshcryer]

3. The MSM wants her to run so badly.

[tritsofme]

4. That's a pretty low bar.

[Hutzpa]

5. Shame on Nia for writing this crap

DO NOT TRY TO LABEL HER AS JOHN EDWARDS because she is not.

I could have said fuck Nia but since I think she is cool she gets a pass

[Ino]

6. She did Warren no favors with that headline & comparison

[Omaha Steve]

10. Get used to it

They can't have a loose cannon like her running around.

[msongs]

8. well she certainly isn't smarmy and unctuous nt

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

9. I supported Edwards, too

And I'm hoping Warren runs.

[Octafish]

12. +1 +1

on both counts.

[Warren DeMontague]

11. No, he was all style- very little substance.

OTOH, Warren is nothing if not a substantial intellectual who is really more about ideas and policy than sound bites and "optics"

This is an exceedingly lame attempt to subtly tar her or associate her with his legacy, for fuck knows what reason.

[Bluenorthwest]

13. You know Edwards was pretty bigoted not to mention wildly hypocritical in his anti equality rhetoric

And while I'd like to hear more from Warren in support of equality and some insight into how she stayed in the anti gay Republican Party for so long, she certainly has not been lecturing about her deeply ingrained Baptist views nor claiming that her own relationship is somehow superior to those of others. Edwards did all of that, and he'd lost me long before the truth came out, because the truth was apparent to me save for the nasty details. He was an obvious poser.
So while I am not on board the 'don't ask me why I was a Republican' Warren train as yet, this seems very unfair to Senator Warren who does not speak in those terms nor does she seem to be prone to self serving hypocrisy.