Elizabeth Warren: A New Voice Of Leadership For Democrats

Elizabeth Warren, Senior Senator from Massachusetts, spoke on the senate floor about the corporate influence in the writing of the Ominibus budget legislation, the Huffington Post reported today (December 14). Warren called out corporate interests, and Citigroup specifically, for influencing the writing of the new budget that, if passed, funds most of the government until September of next year.

Warren, in part, said, “Democrats don’t like Wall Street bailouts. Republicans don’t like Wall Street bailouts. The American people are disgusted by Wall Street bailouts. And yet here we are, five years after Dodd-Frank with Congress on the verge of ramming through a provision that would do nothing for the middle class, do nothing for community banks, do nothing but raise the risk that taxpayers will have to bail out the biggest banks once again.”

Elizabeth Warrren defied the advice to not take on insiders as a Senator, the Washington Post reported. Larry Summers, chief economic adviser to President Obama, advised Warren that to be an insider, one doesn’t criticize insiders. Warren clearly had other ideas despite this advice.

“I had a choice. I wold be an insider or I would be an outsider. Outsiders can say whatever they want. But people on the inside don’t listen to them. Insider, however, get lots of access and a chance to push their ideas,” Summers is quoted as having advised Warren.

Warren seems to believe she can do and be both: work as an insider while being seen as an outsider. To the extent that Elizabeth Warren can succeed as both, she is not only becoming a more powerful voice within the Democratic Party, but Warren might also be the strongest possible challenger to Hillary Clinton in 2016.

“Over the past week, Warren galvanized liberals across Capitol Hill against a government spending bill that weakened a key provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law that tightened oversight of Wall Street,” the Washington Post reported.

Warren claims to not be running for president at this time, the Inquisitr reported yesterday, but that isn’t stopping organizers of the Ready for Warren movement to draft Elizabeth Warren to run for president. Warren is being urged to run for president by more than 300 former activists who supported Obama. As Warren continues to make high profile speeches on key issues of concern to progressive Democrats, there will be more demand for Elizabeth Warren to become a candidate for president in 2016.

[Image from YouTube video taken from C-SPAN2]