Stick a Fork in Warren, She’s Done

Elizabeth “Fauxcahontas” Warren is constantly mentioned as a top choice for Hillary Clinton’s ticket as vice president, but few have bothered to examine whether she would be disastrous for an already troubled candidate.

A Clinton-Warren ticket could actually make winning over the Democratic far-left harder for Clinton.

Some argue that Warren, a popular progressive, could boost Clinton’s appeal to former supporters of Bernie Sanders, but a closer examination suggests a Clinton-Warren ticket could actually make winning over the Democratic far-left much harder for Clinton.

Having Clinton, who made a second career happily accepting vast sums of Wall Street’s money for the odd speech, share a platform with a woman who made a second career out of going on the warpath against Wall Street will surely raise some uncomfortable questions — and we all know how much Clinton loves answering uncomfortable questions.

Moreover, many Sanders supporters are angry at Warren for not endorsing him — shocked that she didn’t support a fellow radical progressive senator from New England — and of the strong belief that an early endorsement from her could have handed Massachusetts to Sanders. “Elizabeth Warren has Betrayed the Cause,” read a headline from the left-wing CounterPunch magazine.

If the Clinton campaign thinks Warren will bring the majority of Sanders supporters into the fold and turn the Democratic convention into a peaceful pow-wow, it’s in for an unpleasant surprise.

The Wall Street-Warren issue poses another problem. Clinton’s campaign will need to rely on Wall Street donations to keep up the pressure against Trump during a general election. But having a running mate who has a penchant for attacking Wall Street may indeed make financiers and stock brokers think twice about giving money to the campaign. Likewise, Warren is unlikely to wish to share a calumet with high-flying Wall Street financiers.

A Clinton running mate will also likely be called upon to defend Clinton’s numerous flip-flops on divisive issues.

A Clinton running mate will also likely be called upon to defend Clinton’s numerous flip-flops on divisive issues. While Clinton’s current concern about free trade is relatively new, Warren was squawking about the TPP since it was first announced. While once opposed to blanket gun control and gay marriage, Warren in her public life has always supported them.

Warren is a true believer, and trying to defend Clinton’s record could undermine Warren’s own progressive credentials. Indeed, this may be the main source of her concerns about joining the ticket.

There’s a final problem with Warren. After eight racially divisive years of the Obama administration, America is fully in the grip of identity politics. Selecting a white woman who built her entire career on pretending to be an American Indian may not go over well with the politically correct crowd ready to take offense at the slightest hint of “cultural appropriation.”