Elizabeth Warren - It's about time for you to make a stand.

[Agschmid]

We've all been waiting for it, the coveted Elizabeth Warren primary endorsement... And it's fine for it to happen.

Sure endorsements don't mean much it seems in this cycle, but this lack of endorsement sure says a lot. What's holding her back?

IMO she is a Bernie endorsement, and it would absolutely give him some momentum... But nothing. It hasn't happened.

She sure could just endorse Hillary, she encouraged her to run along with the women in the US Senate... But again, nothing.

Yes she's made statements in the past which each side can use to say "she is for us"... But when it comes to an actual endorsement? Nothing.

The silence is from her is deafening.

C'mon Elizabeth Warren it's time to get off the fence, pick a yard and play in it.

[riversedge]

1. there is a post in LBN saying she is not endorsing anyone at this time.

[Agschmid]

3. What's the hold up?

[riversedge]

21. I do not recall her giving a reason.

[bigwillq]

2. I hope she does not endorse during the primary (nt)

[Hortensis]

22. Agree. Elizabeth has real stature that should be protected,

and the best way to do that is to remain above the in-party contest and wait to endorse our nominee. In any case, I see no compelling need for her to endorse either Bernie or Hillary so early, even if she favored one.

Notably, if she endorsed Hillary, the berner faction would drag her around in the mud by her hair until she was unrecognizable. NOT a good idea when we need her healthy and whole.

[NurseJackie]

4. Warren will not endorse anyone until April. She's smart.

[Agschmid]

6. Why is that smart?

What's the hold up? What is she not sure of?

[NurseJackie]

9. She's a strategic politician. I think that's smart.

[pangaia]

11. I'll bet if she endorsed Bernie you wouldn't think she was so smart, eh.

[Hortensis]

23. No, she'd be safe enough if she endorsed Bernie.

[firebrand80]

12. If I had to guess

Option A: She endorses Clinton and hurts her own "brand." Warren owned the progressive wing of the party a year ago, but Bernie owns it right now. If she goes for Clinton now, she risks backlash.

Option B: She endorses Sanders, who, more likely than not, will not be the nominee. This would undercut her own perceived power within the party. And it probably wouldn't affect the race anyway, does anyone who would listen to Warren not already support Bernie? I doubt it.

So with no good options, she's going with "None of the Above."

[DanTex]

25. That's the way I see it.

[BigGLiberal]

27. You are exactly right.

[Autumn]

5. She won't endorse during the primary.

[onehandle]

7. Too early to endorse Hillary. Hate to say it, she's playing politics.

Endorsing Hillary too early will slow donations.

[Agschmid]

8. She is totally playing politics here.

[Hortensis]

24. "Hate to say" she's "playing" politics?

I'm imagining a conversation among our founding fathers. "Should we consider representative democracy?" "NO!!!" "What?" "You are dishonorable, Sir, to even suggest such an atrocity!" "That would require politicsssss....!!" "No, that must NOT be!" "I'd fight to the death to protect humanity from democrassseeee!" "Soo... Absolute dictatorship, then?" "Yes, but it must be a pure absolute dictatorship, unsoiled by factionalism and people."

Something like that?

Positing that Warren wanted to endorse Hillary, I have a really compelling reason for her holding off -- the berner faction would fall on her like rabid dogs, leaving nothing but a mess of blood and rags where a dynamic progressive force once stood. And I'm actually very serious about this one.

[cali]

10. No, it's really not. Either way, it's politically perilous for her

She's a lot more than just the senator from MA

[djean111]

13. No, she does not "have" to give an endorsement. Or "make a stand".

And no, WE have not all been waiting for it. Just Hillary supporters, as far as I can tell - it looks to me like they are hoping a Warren endorsement for Hillary would either cause people to switch, or just be a sharp stick in the eye.

Gotta say, though, even if she endorses Hillary over Bernie - I will still be voting for Bernie.
There is absolutely nothing that would cause me to switch my support.

[Agschmid]

14. I think a Warren endorsement of Sanders could sway some Clinton voters.

Yet it hasn't happened.

[djean111]

15. I sincerely doubt that.

There would just be, IMO, irrational howls of protest from those who, for some reason, think Warren signing a letter saying it would be swell for Hillary to run is an actual endorsement.

I truly think the endorsement game has fizzled, anyway. It is just interesting.

[Agschmid]

16. Don't doubt it.

We've got two great candidates who do much more than the competition in moving the country forward. I've worked my ass off for one in this election but I've also worked my butt off getting the other one elected as a senator in VT, some of us are more open than others.

[Hortensis]

28. Agree, Agschmid.

I'm a little surprised at the assumption of some Bernie supporters that she might prefer Hillary. I literally have no idea. Although I do assume that like any sensible person she'd be very concerned about his (that dirty word that rhymes with "winability&quot , she must appreciate his focus on very comprehensive reform of our financial systems. Fortune magazine's site has an interesting articles musing about this.

"Elizabeth Warren Makes Bernie Sanders' Case Better Than He Does. The lefty hero weighs in, obliquely, on the Democratic primary. ... Now on the eve of his first test against Clinton, in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, Warren is reemerging. What she’s offering in lieu of an endorsement is a more nuanced argument for Sanders than the one he’s made for himself."

I wouldn't assume she'll endorse Bernie from this, though. She's an in-the-trenches fighter. She's not going to set the GOP up overrun her own position and take the castle by backing a candidate she wasn't sure could win.

"In other words, Warren is arguing that by simply wielding the laws already on the books, rather than struggling to pass new ones, a president could strike a blow against the inequality now agitating the left. And all it would take is somebody in the White House committed to stocking the administration with likeminded enforcers."

Although the article offers this last as evidence of commonality with Bernie, this public criticism of Obama's failing to use laws already on the books could also actually be part of an ongoing negotiation with Hillary....

http://fortune.com/2016/01/30/elizabeth-warren-on-bernie-sanders-and-corporate-criminals/

[Myrina]

17. Ahhh ... nope. The only thing she 'has to do' is represent her constituents in DC.

She doesn't owe either candidate an endorsement, and she doesn't owe the rest of us anything, either.

[Agschmid]

18. I'm her constituent.

I'd like to know where she stands.

[Myrina]

19. And what if a/ she chooses to wait until the general, or b/ you don't like her answer?

[Agschmid]

20. If she picked either one I'd be interested in her reasoning...

And take it into account as I vote.

If she doesn't make an endorsement IMO she is just playing political games and I think a bit less of her. Sure I'll vote for her again but I think it's odd she isn't wiling to make a stand, she is a candidate who wanted change yet she seems unwilling to endorse the candidate representing drastic change (Bernie) . To be fair she also seems unwilling to endorse the other candidate (Hillary).

If she is just playing politics it's a let down.

[beachbum bob]

26. she has no reason to endorse any one...most senators don't matter of fact