Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015.(Photo: AP Photo, Jacquelyn Martin)
WASHINGTON -- <span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sen. Elizabeth Warren's endorsement<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination would be considered a trophy for whichever candidate she picks.
But would that trophy do more than just sit on a shelf?
The Democratic senator from<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Massachusetts is a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>legend among progressives<span style="color: Red;">*</span>-- collectively known as<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the party's "Warren Wing" -- for her populist economic<span style="color: Red;">*</span>message and her fight for<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Wall Street accountability.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>When the Democratic presidential race began to look competitive earlier this year, a decision by<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Warren to back Sen.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bernie Sanders, former Secretary of State<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Hillary Clinton or<span style="color: Red;">*</span>former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley might<span style="color: Red;">*</span>have had a powerful impact.
But at this<span style="color: Red;">*</span>point in the campaign, as Clinton solidifies her lead in national polls,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>it may not matter as much.
Clinton has locked up endorsements from most congressional Democrats along with many<span style="color: Red;">*</span>other elected officials across the country.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sanders, meanwhile, already has solid support from many Warren-minded<span style="color: Red;">*</span>progressives who want to address income inequality and regulate big banks. And O'Malley is polling around 2 percent nationally.
None of that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>likely<span style="color: Red;">*</span>wouldn't change, no matter which way Warren decides to go.
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Sanders secures backing from Warren supporters
Warren said recently she still isn't ready to endorse. Political observers say her<span style="color: Red;">*</span>greatest influence now may be in helping unify<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the party around the eventual nominee.
Joe Trippi, a Democratic strategist and manager of Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign, said Sanders already<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is backed by<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"every white progressive out there who wants to take on Wall Street."
“If (Warren) endorses Hillary, I don’t think any of the progressive wing that’s with Bernie is going to stop and think, ‘Well, maybe I should change my mind,’ he said. "It’s not going to change the equation, not at this stage.”
With O'Malley struggling to gain any traction,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sanders would seem to have the most to gain from Warren’s support, given his lagging poll numbers and dearth of super-delegate endorsements. Nationally, he’s polling nearly 25 points behind Clinton, according to a RealClear Politics average. He claims endorsements from only two Democratic members of Congress.
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But Charles Lenchner, a key Sanders supporter,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said Warren should sit this one out. Lenchner, who co-founded the Ready for Warren Presidential Draft Campaign super PAC, announced his support for Sanders in June after Warren said she wouldn’t run.
Lenchner said Warren's endorsement wouldn’t sway many voters and could make her "a less unifying figure.”
“If she makes an endorsement, she’s giving up a certain amount of her power as someone who straddles both (Sanders and Clinton) camps,” he said. “I want Elizabeth Warren to have as much power as a senator as she can because I trust her to fight for the issues I care about.”
Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign stop in Sioux City, Iowa, on Dec. 4, 2015.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Nati Harnik, AP)
Warren’s staff didn't respond to a request for comment on a possible endorsement. Warren told the Boston Herald in an interview this month she doesn’t know if she'll endorse.
“It’s just not time for me to do that yet,” she said.
Warren, the only female Democratic senator who hasn't endorsed Clinton, was notably absent when<span style="color: Red;">*</span>13 other female Democratic senators gathered at a “Women for Hillary” fundraiser on Nov. 30 near the U.S. Capitol.
Warren<span style="color: Red;">*</span>has praised Clinton for using her then-role as first lady to lobby against<span style="color: Red;">*</span>an industry-backed bankruptcy reform bill. But she's criticized Clinton for supporting similar legislation later, as a senator representing New York.
“The credit card companies have been giving money, and they have influence,” Warren said in a 2004 interview with Bill Moyers. “She has taken money from the groups, and more to the point, she worries about them as a constituency.”
Sanders, meanwhile, has proposed breaking up the biggest banks, and he co-sponsored Warren’s legislation to reinstate the Glass-Steagall financial law that separated commercial and investment banking activities. Clinton opposes reinstating Glass-Steagall and says her “more comprehensive approach” would rein in large financial institutions and address risk.
During the Herald interview, Warren rejected the notion that Sanders is losing popularity.
“Bernie is doing what Bernie always does — he’s out there talking from the heart, raising the issues that he’s raised for decades now,” said Warren. “That’s just who he is.”
Clinton and Sanders have met with Warren, reportedly without asking for her endorsement. But they, along with<span style="color: Red;">*</span>O’Malley,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>are seeking backing from the Warren wing.
Bernie Sanders makes a point during the Nov. 14, 2015, Democratic debate in Des Moines, Iowa.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Rodney White, The Des Moines Register)
On Monday, each candidate<span style="color: Red;">*</span>emailed members of Democracy for America, a progressive political action committee founded by Dean after he stepped down as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, seeking the group's endorsement. Democracy for America<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>MoveOn.org suspended their “Run Warren Run” campaign in June after delivering a petition with 365,000 signatures urging her to enter the presidential race.
Now, Democracy for America is polling<span style="color: Red;">*</span>its more than 1 million members and their friends<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and family members on whom – or whether – it should endorse. The poll will<span style="color: Red;">*</span>end<span style="color: Red;">*</span>at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 15.
“Sen. Warren’s leadership matters a lot and it’s smart for campaigns to be competing for her support,” said Neil Sroka, spokesman for<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Democracy for America. “But people are going to make their decision on their own.”
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