by Joseph P. Tartaro | Executive Editor
Depending on where you live in these United States you might wonder who the heck is Elizabeth Warren and why should we be concerned about her.
While you might not know who she is, especially if you live outside Massachusetts, Iowa and a few other places, you can bet that Hillary Clinton is keeping a jaundiced eye on her.
That’s because, others are keeping an eye on Warren as a possible presidential candidate in 2016. She represents the farthest left wing of the leftist Democratic Party.
The Huffington Post said that Warren is Hillary’s worst nightmare. That’s true only if Hillary is really running for president in 2016 as many in the liberal establishment press hope.
The Washington Post said “For Hillary Clinton, this is déjà vu. In 2008, a relatively unknown liberal popped up in Iowa and knocked her off her perch. When her inevitability disintegrated, there was not enough to recommend her to voters.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Where does Warren stand on gun rights? Warren’s campaign said she favors an extension of the assault weapons ban, supports proposals to require more rigorous background screenings, including for people who purchase firearms at gun shows; and opposes limits on the sharing of firearms trace information.
“There is a huge difference between the guns of a sportsman or homeowner and high-powered assault weapons with 100-cartridge magazines,” she said. “I grew up around guns and gun owners, and I will work to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens. But the law must reflect the reality that, in the wrong hands, guns can be used for violent crimes, disrupting communities and making families and neighborhoods less safe.”
She also favors repealing the Tiarht amendment limiting fishing trips in the waters of ATF data.
An Oklahoma native, Warren seems to have bought into the legalistic argument that as long as you allow people to have some guns that you ae not infringing on the Second Amendment. But bear in mind that while Hillary may be a “centrist” by Democrat standards, Warren is much farther to the left.
Warren has said, multiple times, that she is “not running for president”—although she has softened her tone on the subject in recent interviews.
But! Warren boosters took some heart in news that broke in November, that Warren was named to a newly created leadership role in the Senate’s Democratic Caucus. In her new spot, Warren will play a “key role” in shaping her party’s policies on the minimum wage, Social Security, and student loans. She tried her best during the struggles over the new and controversial budget compromise.
Shortly after the new post announcement by the Democrat caucus, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), a big booster of Warren and Warren-esque politicians, blasted an email out to its followers. The PCCC is the closest thing to an Elizabeth Warren fan club. The group helped draft Warren to run for the Senate against Scott Brown in 2012, and helped her beat him. Its nearly 1 million members would love to see her run for higher office in 2016.
Warren already has wide appeal among the progressive base, and its attendant donors. Her new leadership role will only give her more national exposure. But does it signal that she wants to pursue even higher leadership positions? History says no. After all, she has only been in the Senate a few months, not years. And even senators with considerable longevity have not historically done well in their presidential bids.
But some do succeed, even some with very little Senate experience. Barack Obama is the most recent example of a Senate novice who jumped to the top, of his party and won the presidency.
The Hill recently reported that Warren has opened the door more than a crack to a presidential run. Just like then-junior Sen. Barack Obama in the 2008 cycle (who first discounted presidential talk and then embraced it), Warren doesn’t sound opposed to the idea.
And, like Obama, she has already appeared in Iowa, the first caucus state and, again like Obama, she has a book out.
Elizabeth Warren is the natural leader of the party right now—whatever title they decide to give her in the Senate,” Kate Albright-Hanna, deputy campaign manager of the Ready for Warren PAC, told National Journal. “I don’t think another leader has been as perfectly matched to the times since Teddy Roosevelt and FDR.”
The Washington Times reported that an outside group that is supporting a would-be presidential run for Warren is launching a three-month push in the hopes of getting the liberal firebrand to enter the 2016 race.
The “Time for Warren” campaign, part of the “Ready for Warren” group, is trying to mobilize supporters to write the senator personal letters trying to convince her to run and wants supporters to “make a lot of noise” in early presidential states like Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina ahead of President’s Day, Feb. 16.
Warren may have started out in Oklahoma City where she was born, but she has been living the Harvard life and teaching law at Harvard.
As we inch closer to the 2016 presidential campaign, you’ll have to keep your eye on both Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren. Either one could pose a threat to your future firearms civil rights, and probably a lot more of your rights.
Obama may be leaving at the beginning of 2017, but the person who replaces him may be as much, if not an even bigger, threat.
