Candidate Warren Suffering Death of a Thousand Cuts

For John, BLUF:  It isn't that our Senior Senator inspires me much, but the flip side is that she is being treated poorly by the Democratic Party Nomenklatura and by the media.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The sidelining of Elizabeth Warren

From The Week, by Writer Kathleen Walsh, 12 February 2020.

Here is the lede plus four:

The 2020 presidential race was always going to be an uphill battle for Elizabeth Warren.

Almost from the get-go, political pundits fretted about Warren's electability, setting in motion a self-fulfilling prophecy now reflected in the New Hampshire primary results.  Warren's disappointing showing on Tuesday comes on the heels of a stirring debate performance and a strong third place finish in the Iowa caucuses — two wins largely ignored by mainstream media commentators, who focused almost entirely on Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg, with a spare thought for Amy Klobuchar's rise and Joe Biden's descent.

Defeating Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election is priority number one for the Democratic establishment, and a moderate candidate with the potential to sway swing voters and Republican defectors has long been billed as the wisest course.  But by constructing a dichotomy between the self-described revolutionary leader Sanders and the aggressively non-threatening trifecta of moderate candidates (not to mention Bloomberg, who is suddenly the darling of cable news), the networks and pundits with the greatest persuasive power have ignored and undercut Warren's unique potential to unite the progressive left and hesitant center.

Warren seems to have unfairly inherited some of the hallmarks of Hillary Clinton's reputation.  Clinton's devastating 2016 upset sparked practical questions as to whether a woman could win the presidency at all.  And Warren's false claim to Native American heritage sealed a reputation for untrustworthiness that has stuck long after that conversation faded away.  If Clinton, with all of her name recognition and experience, couldn't win against Trump, what hope could there be for the woman widely considered her successor?

Warren's progressive policies and folksy demeanor also framed her for many as a sort of second-tier Sanders, not far enough left for the progressives and too far left for gun-shy moderates.  But it is precisely this position that makes her the most electable candidate.

I think, at this point, that the Democrats are in trouble for November, although the trial balloon on a Mike and Hillary ticket does sound innovative.

A word of caution to Republicans:  Don't get cocky.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff