Author Ed Klein, whose new book Blood Feud chronicles the antagonistic relationship between President Barrack Obama and former first family Bill and Hillary Clinton, claims that Obama has handpicked a successor for the 2016 presidential race. The Washington Times reports:
Writing in the New York Post, Mr. Klein said: “Publicly, Obama has remained noncommittal on the 2016 race, but privately he worries that Clinton would undo and undermine many of his policies. There’s also a personal animosity, especially with Bill Clinton, that dates from their tough race six years ago.
“Obama has authorized his chief political adviser, Valerie Jarrett, to conduct a full-court press to convince Warren to throw her hat into the ring,” Mr. Klein wrote. “In the past several weeks, Jarrett has held a series of secret meetings with Warren. During these meetings, Jarrett has explained to Warren that Obama is worried that if Hillary succeeds him in the White House, she will undo many of his policies.”
Mr. Klein said similarly on “Fox & Friends” Monday morning, calling Mrs. Warren a big draw for the progressive-minded who have cheered many of Mr. Obama’s policies.
Warren may prove more dangerous to the remains of our American republic than either Obama or Clinton. That’s because, unlike those bigger names, Warren knows what she believes and precisely why she believes it. As seen in the clip above, Warren stands as a confident and articulate minister of the progressive gospel. She sees property seizure and redistribution as a moral imperative, a sacred obligation consented to by the act of acquiring wealth. Take another look at her remarks.
I hear all this, you know, “Well, this is class warfare, this is whatever.”—No! There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there—good for you! But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did. Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea—God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.
These comments, offered extemporaneously in the intimacy of a supporter’s home, indicate a true believer who claims title over the wealth earned by others.
Nevermind that the roads, schools, and other government services she cites are paid for overwhelmingly by the wealthy and not “the rest of us.” At the heart of Warren’s rhetoric lies the claim of a conqueror over the conquered. Consider this excerpt from a Daily Kos author lauding Warren:
I’m currently reading David Graeber’s, Debt: The First 5,000 Years. At bottom, debts and contracts are the same thing – they’re obligations. When we specify the terms of the “social contract,” we’re defining the obligations of the members of society. What Graeber documents is that conquerors often claim the moral high ground by insisting the conquered are indebted to the conquerors: “We could have killed you, but we spared your lives. Now you owe us.”
The Daily Kos applies this in reverse, viewing the wealthy as conquerors of the weak. In truth, public roads, public education, and other government services all manifest from force. Warren citing them as evidence of a “debt” to society is like a warden citing prison food as evidence of “debt” to the prison. A basic tenet of contract law is that all parties must enter into agreements freely, not under coercion.
The most dangerous of villains believe themselves to be heroes. The greatest evil proceeds from a perceived moral high ground. Elizabeth Warren views government theft as legitimate debt collection. Worse, she has the demonstrable ability to convince others. It’s no wonder Obama sees her has his presidential heir.
(Today’s Fightin Words podcast is on this topic available here. 17:46 minutes long; 17.12 MB file size. Right click here to download this show to your hard drive. Subscribe through iTunes or RSS feed.)
Join the conversation as a VIP Member