Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) insisted this morning that the Democratic Party is currently being led not by any one person but “the grassroots,” adding “you can get either get in front of it and call it a parade or you can stand to the side and be left behind.”
Warren told MSNBC that in 2016 “there were problems at the DNC, not in the state elections but at the DNC.”
“And now Tom Perez has admitted this much and said he is committed to changing the rules so that the idea of a thumb on the scales never ever happens again,” she said, adding that Democrats’ state victories last week showed Democrats “understand that these elections are important and we are going to be there and that’s what it’s going to take.”
The senator opined that the party needs to move forward on the premise that the country has “got a problem with too much wealth and power right at the top” by focusing on battling GOP tax reform and healthcare initiatives.
“Is this a government that just works for those who can hire armies of lobbyists and lawyers and pay off think tanks and have a bunch of bought-and-paid-for experts that are always, always, always coming to the point of view that, oh, yes, we should help the rich and powerful and somehow it’s going to work out great for the rest of America?” Warren asked. “Or are we a country that genuinely believes that government is there to help make sure everybody has got a level playing field, everybody has an opportunity just to get in the game and do their best?”
“That’s what I think this is ultimately about. Right now, this fight in Washington, I think that’s what it’s going to be about in 2018.”
Warren argued that Obamacare repeal efforts this year were derailed thanks to “millions of people across this country who e-mailed and who texted and who showed up for rallies, who came to Washington, who went to their senators’ offices, who brought their babies who needed healthcare, who held up pictures of their nanas who were in nursing homes and relying on Medicaid.”
“And it made the grassroots forceful and stronger,” she said. “You know, this is the thing about getting active right now in politics. It’s not like a battery that you turn it on an after a while it’s just going to be just drained out. It’s like a muscle.”
Asked what happens in the Senate if Roy Moore wins the special election next month, Warren replied, “I don’t know. I really don’t. I don’t know how the United States Senate — what would we do with a person like this?”
“But, you know, look, the way I see this right now is it will play out in Alabama. The voters of Alabama will have a chance to evaluate the growing evidence against him and have a chance to look at Doug Jones, who I think looks like a great candidate. And let’s let them make their decision first on what will happen,” she said. “These charges — these charges are really awful.”
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