If you’re a fan of the Harry Potter series of books at all, or have even just a passing knowledge of pop culture, then you are familiar with the character of Hermonie Granger, The brilliant best friend of Harry Potter and Ronald Weasely, and a once in a generation mind of the wizarding world.
I started thinking of this strange analogy when Ann Coulter inadvertently endorsed Warren by tweeting:
The tweet made me laugh in delight as Coulter had just identified what it is I love so much about Warren—her prodigious intellect and relentless determination and persistence. Now as a fan of the series, who just happens to have started reading again, (this time to my eight year old daughter) I was struck by how much these characteristics in Warren, reminded me of the character of Granger. J.K. Rowling once described her creation of Hermione as a person that, "never strays off the path; she always keeps her attention focused on the job that must be done."
In the real world that sounds like Elizabeth Warren to me or as much as a character in fantasy fiction can resemble real life. But it is more than just Warren’s intellect that reminds me of Rowling’s creation, It is the deep morality and compassion it is in service of
Warren first got into politics in 2005 When Senator Joe Biden Championed a bankruptcy law that made it harder for individuals to file for bankruptcy and get out of debt, a legal change that credit card companies had been salivating to pass for years. Warren later said this about that fight:
“I got in that fight because [families] just didn’t have anyone and Joe Biden was on the side of the credit card companies,” “It’s all a matter of public record.”
And Warren was right it is. Fifteen years ago in congressional testimony as a bankruptcy expert Warren held Biden’s feet to the fire pointing out he was leaving American families defenseless in his support of this law.
You can watch the exchange here:
In 2008, when greedy financial institutions crashed our economy, she conceived of and helped create a new agency — the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — dedicated to stopping scams and holding financial firms accountable when they cheat people. In short she stood up for the little guy, or girl, against the Donald Trumps of the business world.
Now In the Harry Potter stories, Hermione Granger is known as an extremely compassionate character, who always stands up for the weak and powerless. Over the course of the books she defends characters unable to defend themselves, characters like Nevile Longbottom, the House-Elf Dobby and werewolves like Lupin. All characters who were picked on and shunned in the wizarding world.
Hermione is also very protective of her friends and values them so much that Rowling has suggested that, if Hermione had looked in the Mirror of Erised (a magical device that shows what you most desire in life) she would have seen Harry, Ron, and herself "alive and unscathed, and Voldemort finished.
So while I realize I have just outed myself and one serious geek desperately in need of a social life, I hope I’ve also demonstrated what Warren represents to me. She is the anti-Trump, a public servant with intellect, courage, AND morality. She is someone who fights for others than herself. Warren is everything Trump is not and It is why I view her as the antidote to Trumpism.
Incidentally in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hermione becomes Minster of Magic by running on a platform of equal rights and representation to marginalized groups.