Today’s Action: Meet the candidates part 1: Elizabeth Warren

Now that we’re through the first two Democratic Presidential candidate debates, the field is about to narrow significantly; round three’s qualifications are much more strict. So far, only eight candidates have qualified, so let’s take a closer look! Starting with…

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren: Warren won a recent Indivisible post-debate poll by a landslide, with 45% of the total out of all twenty candidates. Though not representative of all Democrats or the population as a whole, this indicates she’s currently the leading candidate amongst activated voters who want Trump ousted.

ECONOMY: Warren’s political career and brand have been built on an unflinching commitment to policies that can help struggling Americans. But she has also demonstrated a nearly oracle-like understanding of the economy as a whole. Between 2003-2007, while still a law professor at Harvard University, Warren famously predicted the 2008 financial crash, repeatedly and publicly warning federal and financial leaders of the impending crisis. As we now know, they didn’t listen. But Warren’s keen eye on the financial industry has now produced truly exciting policy for 2020, with plans to end Wall Street giveaways that only help the 1% and strengthen our economy against another crash (including OD Action standards like a $15 minimum wage, eliminating student loan debt, universal affordable childcare, and more).

CLIMATE CHANGE: An original cosponsor of the Green New Deal, Warren includes returning to the Paris Climate Accord and Obama-era emission standards on her agenda. And, she’s committing $2 trillion to research and development of renewable energy to hit our necessary, world-saving goals by 2030. Bonus economic side-effect: 1 million new jobs in the clean energy industry!

IMMIGRATION: Warren doesn’t just plan to shut down Trump’s current heinous concentration camps, deadly ICE raids, and family separation – she’s going much further, with proposals to decriminalize migration, restructure ICE and CBP, and hold the Trump administration accountable for the human rights violations they’ve committed.

FIGHTING RACISM: Warren has bold new policies to tackle the racial imbalance of power and wealth in our country. She has plans to grant entrepreneurs of color $7 billion in startup funds, raise the wages of women of color, eradicate racist GOP voter suppression tactics, and shut down the private prison and detention systems that profit off the lives of people of color.

CRITICS SAY: She’s too liberal. A woman can’t win. A progressive can’t win — or at least isn’t as electable as a moderate, white man.

AND FINALLY: Elizabeth Warren is widely seen as the best messenger of Democrats’ best ideas — many of which are her own. Her answer to questions about electability is to point to her own path to the Senate: Warren is the only presidential candidate who got their current job by beating a popular Republican incumbent. We mustn’t neglect to mention…she was the first candidate to call for Trump’s impeachment. Not bad at all, Sen. Warren.

Stay tuned for more candidate profiles in the coming weeks leading up to the third round of debates, on September 12 and 13!