Chris Hayes on NBC has just spent five minutes illustrating how effective Elizabeth Warren has been in securing the left wing of the Democratic Party. Tonight, watch Warren’s mouth as she speaks because this is when she will move the moderate middle strongly into her camp and here is why:
Senator Warren is defined by all media as the liberal academic from Massachusetts. OK, she is. She is also the salt of the earth populist champion of the working middle class with an endless resume to prove it. The reason she has dominated thought among The left is because she has dominated the written policy arena thus far.
People who care a lot about what is written about, by and for candidates tend to be polarized partisans. Left or Right. The vast majority of America’s middle makes their decisions based on what they hear and see from that candidate and up until now, unless they are a big fan of Bill Maher, few in the middle have seen Elizabeth Warren handle the crowd.
Senator Warren is empathetic enough to read the slightest nuance in the biggest room and she is smart enough to never come off as too smart. She brings the love while she explains the complicated in ways anyone can understand. She stands up passionately for ME, whomever me happens to be.
If she sounds a bit like a northeastern Bill Clinton it is for a reason. Like Clinton she overcame modest beginnings with intelligence and guile. Tonight, For the first time a major American audience will get to see her in all her unedited glory.
Tonight america will get to see the future of the Democratic Party and the future President of the United States.