http://youtu.be/bzhEkHzIUno
Elizabeth Warren, refusing to answer questions about Gaza.
Elizabeth Warren is making the keynote speech at Netroots Nation this morning, and of course everyone loves her. But once again, too many members of the netroots think supporting a progressive hero like Warren will somehow fix everything.
FYI: She’s not progressive on everything. She’s either not knowledgeable about Middle East politics, or she’s going along with AIPAC to get along re: Israel and Iran.
And I have a friend who’s a legislative aide specializing in sustainable food issues. She told me she was really disappointed when she found out that Warren backs the Monsanto position on GMO food labeling.
We know exactly what Warren thinks about the banking industry, and about many facets of income inequality. She’s a tremendous asset on the Senate banking committee, and with Democratic control of both houses, I have no doubt she will move some great legislation. If she stays in the Senate, she’s going to do good things.
Just don’t make assumptions about everything else. Because if you do, and she ends up in the White House, she will break your hearts. You will have simply repeated the exact same mistakes Dems made with Obama, you will have learned nothing. You will have handed unquestioning support to someone on the basis of their ability to make you feel inspired without finding out where they actually stand on the issues, and that’s no way to run a country.
Warren goes on to describe Iran as “a significant threat to the United States,” echoing a key talking point of fear-mongering pro-war forces. She calls for “strong sanctions” and declares that the “United States must take the necessary steps to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon” — a veiled endorsement of a military strike if Iran crosses the constantly shifting American “red lines.” Perhaps the only option Warren does not endorse or implicitly support is diplomacy. Her foreign policy views are hardly distinguishable from those of her Republican rival, who also marches in lockstep with AIPAC.
The same progressives who refused to vet Barack Obama’s views on foreign policy when he ran for president in 2008, and who now feel betrayed that he is not the liberal savior they imagined him to be, are repeating their mistake with Warren. With AIPAC leading the push for war at the height of an election campaign, there is no better time to demand accountability from candidates like Warren. Who does she serve? The liberal grassroots forces that made her into a populist hero or the lobby seeking to drag the US into a dubious, potentially catastrophic war? It is far better for progressives to grill her on her foreign policy positions before the campaign is over than after the next war begins.
Does Elizabeth Warren need to be perfect? No. But she does need to be better on the issues than Hillary is. Which Warren is. If we elect the neo-con, pro-Wall Street warmonger Hillary to be the next president then we will have put another Bush interventionist into the oval office. So it doesn’t matter how flawed any of the other Democratic candidates are. Because they are not Hillary. Hillary and her minions don’t care if the Left votes for her. Her goal is to get elected with Republican votes. Not only will Clinton break our hearts, but she will make sure that our nightmares come true.
While it doesn’t provide the entire picture (read: dark money), Open Secrets is still instructive in these matters.
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/industries.php?cycle=Career&cid=N00033492&type=I
And on a related note…
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=12111&updaterx=2014-07-16+15%3A44%3A39
We need Elizabeth Warren in the Senate. She is very good on finance and poverty issues, not so much on foreign relations. Maybe it’s just a result of not having the same depth of knowledge and experience in that arena. I’m glad to have her where she is on the Senate Banking committee.
But if we had more progressives in the Senate, and Congress overall, maybe someone with a better understanding of foreign relations issues would take the lead in that arena. If the Progressive Caucus was larger and more powerful and someone with a good depth of knowledge took the lead, maybe Elizabeth would follow their lead.
No candidate is perfect, but there is a lot of room for improvement in the current crop of people’s representatives.
Good one. Liberals have built a cult society around her.
Ultimately, the solution to our problems is not in electoral politics. The system is not broken. It is fixed. Against us. The real solution lies in the streets. 8 hour work day? Week-ends? Social security ? All have come about beause of actions on the street.
Note: Just like Warren, FDR enjoys a cult following among liberals. SS, unemployment benefits etc came about because those goddamned commies/pinkos/unemployed rioted and FDR, worried that capitalism will die (it had come crashing down in 1929), threw a few bones to pacify populist revolt.