Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is confident that President Obama’s policies will help her party in the midterm elections instead of wounding Democrats at the ballot box.
“You know, I think people understand that elections are important and this is an election about whose side you stand on. And it comes up in very, very specific ways,” said said today on MSNBC. “Minimum wage.”
“Folks who work at minimum wage haven’t had a raise in seven years. And this is a big difference between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats believe that no one, no one should work full time and still live in poverty. And that’s why we’re out there fighting against to raise the minimum wage. And something that Republicans filibustered.”
Warren said another reason voters should show up is “student loans.”
“Democrats believe the United States government should not be making a profit off the backs of our kids. That is fundamentally wrong when they’re trying to get an education. And yet, when we tried to pass a bill to reduce the interest rate on student loans, the Republicans filibustered it in the United States Senate,” she said.
“Equal pay for equal work. I cannot believe we still have to be talking about this in 2014. Democrats think that a woman should not be fired for asking what the guy down the hall is making for doing the same job. And yet in about half the jobs in America that can happen today. The Democrats want to change that and say you can’t be fired just for asking. The Republicans filibustered it.”
The senator continued, “And I’ve got to give you one more. The Democrats believe that it is not your employer’s business what kind of birth control you use. And yet, when we want to move forward on a bill that says exactly that, the Republicans say no.”
“So these are pretty clear choices. They’re choices that really define who we are as a country. And whether or not this government runs for those who’ve already made it big. You know, protecting tax loopholes for millionaires and billionaires. Or whether or not this is a government that really works for working people, for people who have to make it at the minimum wage, for people who need not 77 cents on the dollar, but need equal pay for equal work. For people who are trying to deal with students loans. I think that’s really what’s at stake in this 2014 election. And I think we get out there and make our case. That’s what our candidates did. People here, we go to the polls, that’s what democracy is all about.”
Warren was asked if minimum wage proposals on the ballot in Alaska, Arkansas, South Dakota and Nebraska will push Democrats to the polls.
“I certainly hope so. But do understand me on this. I want people to turn out. I believe in democracy. I believe in giving people access to voting. I want to expand the access to voting, I want to protect voting rights,” she said.
“Because I think that when people get a chance to hear what the issues are about and get a chance to vote, we truly will move this country in the right direction. But voting is where it starts. People have to have access to the ballot box. That’s key.”
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