Senator Elizabeth Warren has a novel plan for Democrats looking to avoid losing their majority this November: do something.
With President Biden’s poll numbers in free fall as Americans deal with rising inflation and global instability, many experts are expecting a big Republican victory in November. In an op-ed for the New York Times, Warren expressed frustration with the Democratic party’s lack of tangible progress on key campaign promises and stated that by delivering on them the party may yet avoid a disaster in November.
“Across this country, voters agreed with us — and gave us a majority in Washington so that we could deliver on those promises,” the Massachusetts Senator argues. “To put it bluntly: if we fail to use the months remaining before the elections to deliver on more of our agenda, Democrats are headed toward big losses in the midterms.”
The assertion is a break from the strategy employed by party leadership. Last week, during his visit to the White House, former President Barack Obama stated that the Democrats already accomplished enough to win in November, they just need to tell voters about it. “You've got a story to tell — just got to tell it,” he told reporters.
Earlier this month, Hillary Clinton also argued that the Democrats simply need to tell voters about everything they have accomplished, rather than trying to deliver tangible results before November. “I’m not quite sure what the disconnect is between the accomplishments of the administration, and this Congress, and the understanding of what’s been done, and the impact it will have on the American public, and some of the polling and the ongoing hand-wringing,” Clinton told Meet The Press.
Warren sees it differently “Democrats cannot bow to the wisdom of out-of-touch consultants who recommend we simply tout our accomplishments. Instead, Democrats need to deliver more of the president’s agenda — or else we will not be in the majority much longer.”
““Like many Americans,” Warren explained, “I’m frustrated by our failure to get big things done.”
The Senator called for the Democratic party to start by rooting out corruption in Congress and even took a slight dig at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “[W]e must root out corruption. To start cleaning up government, members of Congress and their spouses shouldn’t be allowed to own or trade individual stocks, which the vast majority of voters support banning, according to multiple polls. Whether you’re a Republican senator or the Democratic speaker of the House, it is obvious to the American people that they should not be allowed to trade individual stocks and then vote on laws that affect those companies.”
Late last year Pelosi rejected the idea of a stock market ban for Congress and their spouses, arguing that they should be able to participate in our “free-market economy”.
Amid a significant backlash, Pelosi acquiesced earlier this month and gave the go ahead for the House Administration Committee to start drafting legislation though it is unclear if anything will be accomplished before the midterm elections.
Warren, who ran as a progressive candidate in the 2020 Democratic primaries, also pushed for higher taxes on large corporations, something polling indicates is very popular with voters. “Nearly three-quarters of Americans want to put an end to wildly profitable corporations paying nothing or little in federal income taxes (yes, Amazon, I’m looking at you) and put into place a global minimum corporate tax.” The senator argued that revenue should be used to fund popular programs “[A] majority of Americans would like to use some of those tax revenues to invest in clean energy, affordable child care, and universal pre-K.”
There are no Senate elections in Massachusetts this year, so Warren’s seat is safe until 2024. She has indicated that she will run for reelection.