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[Joe T.]

ATLANTA — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) took aim at centrist Democrats on Saturday in front of the one of the largest annual gatherings of progressives in the country.

Two days after a new Democratic-aligned superPAC called New Democracy formed to push back against the party’s ascendant left wing, Warren argued that Democrats would not be “going back to the days of welfare reform and the crime bill.”

“We’re not going back to the days of being lukewarm on choice,” Warren told a crowd of about 3,000 people at Netroots Nation. “We’re not going back to the days when universal health care was something Democrats talked about on the campaign trail, but were too chicken to fight for after they got elected.”

Warren cited, and then mocked, a column by former Hillary Clinton adviser Mark Penn in the New York Times arguing that Democrats should “move back to the center.”

Centrist want Democrats to “Give up, keep your heads down, be realistic, act like a grown-up, keep doing the same old same old,” Warren said. But, she added, “we’re not going back to the days when a Democrat who wanted to run for a seat in Washington first had to grovel on Wall Street.”

And, by the way: it’s time for us to up front about whose side we’re not on.

We’re not on the side of big Wall Street banks that break the law—we think everyone needs to be accountable. When bank CEOs break the law, they ought to go to jail just like everyone else.

We’re not on the side of the giant companies that want to twist government rules for themselves. We’re going to slam shut that revolving door, and we say enough is enough with corporate money that is drowning our democracy.

We’re not on the side of the bigots and the misogynists – and unlike the so-called Republican “leadership” in Washington, we’re not afraid to say it to their faces.

And we’re not on the side of foreign governments that hack our elections or politicians whose fragile egos put our national security at risk.

Much more at the link: https://www.vox.com/2017/8/12/16138302/elizabeth-warren-netroots-nation

Good to see Warren continuing the push against centrist Dems in addition to Trump and Republicans.

 

[Opto]

I love her so much

 

[ApharmdX]

I love her so much

God, I wish Warren would have run in 2016. What a missed opportunity.

 

[Mahonay]

Warren Da Boss.

 

[Fox318]

She did the nation a disservice not running in 2016.

 

[Bronx-Man]

“We’re not going back to the days of being lukewarm on choice,” Warren told a crowd of about 3,000 people at Netroots Nation. “We’re not going back to the days when universal health care was something Democrats talked about on the campaign trail, but were too chicken to fight for after they got elected.”

GOOD. The way Dems went full blue dog after the ACA passed and got blown the fuck out in midterms because of it made my blood boil.

 

[Whompa02]

God, I wish Warren would have run in 2016. What a missed opportunity.

Hopefully she's still got spunk for 2020 because she's easily got my vote.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

"Centrist" was always a code word for "corporatist" Democrat and it's about time the Democrats started pushing back against the corporatists and neoliberals who directly caused the disaster that unfolded last November.

 

[DogDude]

God, I wish Warren would have run in 2016. What a missed opportunity.

To lose a rigged election?

 

[Autodidact]

Elizabeth Warren, Reagan voter and Republican until 1995, can become a progressive icon and criticize those weak, conciliatory centrists.

People can change

Spoiler

except Hillary, apparently

.

 

[Foffy]

Warren da gawdess per usual.

I can see her really support the "triforce" policies we need in UHC, UBI, and college reform.

She's a light in the darkness.

 

[grumble]

If she's in favour of radicalisng the party it will be a nice PR point for her primary base but will shrink the tent. A political party has to grow its tent to achieve anything. This is not growing the tent.

 

[jelly]

Nice speech. If you can fix America I would be amazed. Stop money and corporations being puppet masters, good luck with that.

 

[jack_package_200]

Stolen from PoliGAF

http://newdemocracy.net/about/


This "centrist" Dem group "New Democracy" is fucking garbage.

Fuck New Democrats

 

[Fuchsdh]

GOOD. The way Dems went full blue dog after the ACA passed and got blown the fuck out in midterms because of it made my blood boil.

They got blown the fuck out in midterms because Republicans turned the ACA into Lucifer's health care bill. It wasn't because the Dems were being too moderate.

 

[Vicetrailia]

All these complaints about old Democrats, but they're the ones actually throwing us a bone.

 

[Xe4]

I can't say I'm the biggest fan of Warren or the Sanders wing of the party, but they're miles better than what Penn was arguing for, or the New Democracy PAC.

 

[kcp12304]

Warren seems like someone who can unite the various factions on the Dem's side. It's like herding cats.

 

[Delusibeta]

”We're not going back to the days when universal health care was something Democrats talked about on the campaign trail, but were too chicken to fight for after they got elected."

The odds of this statement being true is zero, they're totally going to chicken out.

 

[kirblar]

Warren seems like someone who can unite the various factions on the Dem's side. It's like herding cats.

She is. Hillary should have grabbed her for the VP slot.

The odds of this statement being true is zero, they're totally going to chicken out.

The last time we got a DDD setup in congress we passed the fucking ACA!

And that was without nuking the filibuster!

 

[Opto]

God, I wish Warren would have run in 2016. What a missed opportunity.

I sadly think she would have been just as reviled as Clinton and be just as not trusted (see the whole shit about calling her Pocahontas). Some people really can't get over that and people I know basically agree with her on everything about banks and finance reform but still hate her guts for "reasons"

 

[Your Entertainer]

Fuck centrist bullshit dude

 

[Killa Sasa]

Devil is in the details - they should stand together while remembering who is truly holding back progress as opposed to disagreeing about how to get there. Liz is usually pretty good about this type of stuff. More importantly, she stitches it together with common sense WHICH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. So if it helps, it helps and I really hope it does.

Olive branches and accepting them within the party (without being dumbfucks about it) are going to be crucial.

 

[Intheflorsh]

Stolen from PoliGAF



Fuck New Democrats

"National identity". I wonder what that means. 🤔

On topic, Warren is cool in my book.

 

[Fox318]

I sadly think she would have been just as reviled as Clinton and be just as not trusted (see the whole shit about calling her Pocahontas). Some people really can't get over that and people I know basically agree with her on everything about banks and finance reform but still hate her guts for "reasons"

Bullshit.

She actually won a highly contested election, didn't have 30 years of political baggage, and actually can communicate.

 

[whyamihere]

Warren probably has one of the best shots of reassembling and maximizing the parts of the Obama and Clinton coalitions that diverged.

 

[Rentahamster]

I sadly think she would have been just as reviled as Clinton and be just as not trusted (see the whole shit about calling her Pocahontas). Some people really can't get over that and people I know basically agree with her on everything about banks and finance reform but still hate her guts for "reasons"

Justified or not, her negatives aren't as bad as Clinton's are, and she would have energized the more progressive folks. Plus, I don't think she would have lost the rust belt states.

She could have been a contender.

 

[SaviourMK2]

I feel Warren needs to ignite that gas grill to get this party started again. She seems to be the only Democrat in the entire Capitol.

 

[JustenP88]

Of course the best thing to come out of Oklahoma in forever had to leave us

I love this.

 

[ATF487]

Very happy she represents my state.

Fuck this third way centrist garbage

 

[phanphare]

keep spittin that fire, 2018 is just around the corner

 

[O Canada Our Home and Native Land]

Hillary hasn't stated any political ambitions and you guys are still mud cleaning for her. Give it a break. The left wing of the party respects Warren. She is my preferred candidate for 2020.

 

[JABEE]

I would vote for Elizabeth Warren.

 

[Opto]

Bullshit.

She actually won a highly contested election, didn't have 30 years of political baggage, and actually can communicate.

Justified or not, her negatives aren't as bad as Clinton's are, and she would have energized the more progressive folks. Plus, I don't think she would have lost the rust belt states.

She could have been a contender.

I'll cop to these. I'm probably still jaded

 

[kirblar]

Hillary hasn't stated any political ambitions and you guys are still mud cleaning for her. Give it a break. The left wing of the party respects Warren. She is my preferred candidate for 2020.

(psst psst, the other parts of the party like her too! It's part of why she didn't endorse in 2016.)

She's awesome, and her coming out of the woodwork for 2018 as a leader is great, she's just probably not ideal as a 2020 nominee. (You want a candidate that's not had the GOP propaganda machine attacking them for a decade, which has been the case since her nomination to lead the CPFB got killed by the GOP.)

 

[Queen Vulpix]

I'm so proud to have her as one of my Senators and would love for her to run in 2020.

 

[Stop It]

I love how everything she stands for is basically the central platform for the Liberal Democrats in the UK (Aside from the bit where Clegg got drunk and went all chummy with Cameron.)

In fact it shows how right wing your politics really is in the US when moderately centre left politicians are called firebrands and right wing appeasement of bigotry like the statement about immigration by this new PAC is called centrism.

She's an old school Northern European social democrat, the fact that this is novel should be a massive awooga. She should be basically the centre point of your party alignment, not shouting from the fringe.

 

[geestack]

i hope she runs in 2020.

 

[Spoiled Milk]

I seriously don't think it's abortion that's costing Democrats seats. Compromising on that, of all things, is odd.

 

[Geist-]

I actually think that the centrism that a lot of democrats represent is what is hurting the party in the long run, so I would agree with her even if I wasn't pretty progressive myself. Republicans have a very clear political identity, but it seems like for a while now Democrats have had a middle of the road strategy they thought would attract both sides to their cause, but in fact alienate many liberal voters and any conservative voters they could have had are lost because of the decades long propaganda campaign that Republicans have run demonizing the anyone with a (D) next to their name.

The average citizen leans left in this country, so the best thing Dems can do to get elected is to dedicate themselves to working towards progressive ideals and makes sure everyone can vote.

 

[kirblar]

I seriously don't think it's abortion that's costing Democrats seats. Compromising on that, of all things, is odd.

It's not any one thing. Only 30% of the party actually wants a hard litmus test, and party membership generally don't want them on most issues!

It's because if a local electorate is going to demand a pro-life Rep, the options are a) bend on the position or b) concede the seat, and b) is a near universally-worse option because the GOP is a dumpster fire incarnate.

I actually think that the centrism that a lot of democrats represent is what is hurting the party in the long run, so I would agree with her even if I wasn't pretty progressive myself. Republicans have a very clear political identity, but it seems like for a while now Democrats have had a middle of the road strategy they thought would attract both sides to their cause, but in fact alienate many liberal voters and any conservative voters they could have had are lost because of the decades long propaganda campaign that Republicans have run demonizing the anyone with a (D) next to their name.

The average citizen leans left in this country, so the best thing Dems can do to get elected is to dedicate themselves to working towards progressive ideals and makes sure everyone can vote.

The average electorate leans to the right of where it should because rural whites are electorally overrepresented.

 

[royalan]

Classic Warren.

I don't want Warren to run for President, but only because this party is in such desperate need of strong voices at ALL levels, not just from those looking for the top job.

Warren's place is in the Senate. Would love to see her take Schumer's spot, because lord knows he's not doing anything with it.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I seriously don't think it's abortion that's costing Democrats seats. Compromising on that, of all things, is odd.

What has been costing the Democrats seats for decades in Middle America is gun control. They should be doing something about that, not abortion. I don't think abortion has been anyone's hot-button issue since the 1990's.

 

[zelas]

I seriously don't think it's abortion that's costing Democrats seats. Compromising on that, of all things, is odd.

Do you think demographics are the same in every district across the country? If not, then why would you make a blanket statement like that? It's as if you think Warren, or anyone else along the spectrum where she is, could be elected anywhere, no matter what the top issue may be.

 

[Cipherr]

So, no 50 state strategy? That's what this feels like. Which Im fine with, but there needs to be a plan. Its weird how right after the election everyone on the left was screaming "We need to bring back the 50 state strategy and kill the purity tests". Then as soon as Dems started detailing what that actually fucking entails we had all these liberals going "Wait... that sounds terrible!"

Im fine with abandoning the 50SS, but what's the plan then.

 

[old manatee]

I love how everything she stands for is basically the central platform for the Liberal Democrats in the UK (Aside from the bit where Clegg got drunk and went all chummy with Cameron.)

In fact it shows how right wing your politics really is in the US when moderately centre left politicians are called firebrands and right wing appeasement of bigotry like the statement about immigration by this new PAC is called centrism.

She's an old school Northern European social democrat, the fact that this is novel should be a massive awooga. She should be basically the centre point of your party alignment, not shouting from the fringe.

Yeah, just being pro-choice puts you on the left wing of the Democratic party now.

 

[Geist-]

The average electorate leans to the right of where it should because rural whites are electorally overrepresented.

I know what you mean, but I wasn't really talking about the Presidency. Although I do think that if we managed to fix voter suppression in a lot of places and turned election day into a national holiday, the Electorate would lean left as well.

 

[Wafflecakes]

To lose a rigged election?

Ah this bullshit again. Broken records will be broken.

I guess minorities and the LGBTQ community voting for anyone but the guy you support makes it rigged. How dare they!

 

[AuthenticM]

I wish we could clone her.

 

[kirblar]

I know what you mean, but I wasn't really talking about the Presidency. Although I do think that if we managed to fix voter suppression in a lot of places and turned election day into a national holiday, the Electorate would lean left as well.

It affects the Senate as well.