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| Elizabeth Warren |
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| Bernie Sanders |
It is widely and wildly assumed Hillary Clinton will run for the office of President of the United States in 2016. She hasn't formerly announced yet, but there are several other potential Democrats who have their eyes on the grand prize as well who are letting what Hillary does dictate what they will do. The sitting Vice President, Joe Biden, and Maryland governor Martin O'Malley are the two most notable Democrats who immediately come to mind. Reports are that Biden won't run if Hillary Clinton does. Martin O'Malley will probably run anyway. However, there are two candidates - both Senators - who don't or won't have to wait on Hillary Clinton. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts and Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, are going to dance to their own tunes, respectively, as far as making a decision to run. Would Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders have a REAL chance to beat Hillary?
Elizabeth Warren exudes hellfire and brimstone when it comes to her advocacy for the shrinking middle class in America. Check out this impromptu fiery delivery:
If you're a dedicated progressive, how can you NOT be inspired to support Elizabeth Warren after that delivery? The Republicans and the masters they serve on Wall Street are TERRIFIED of her. She was a zealous advocate for the formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - a government run consumer protection agency with the sole purpose of regulating banks, credit unions, securities firms, payday lenders, mortgage-servicing operations, foreclosure relief services, debt collectors and other financial companies - al the "usual suspects" of financial predators. She was President Obama's first choice to be named the permanent director of the agency. The Republicans would have NONE of Elizabeth Warren in such an impactful position. Why? Because she was too passionate about the mission of the CFPB (WHO is Elizabeth Warren and WHY is Wall Street TERRIFIED of her?). There was no way she would have been confirmed (can you say Republican filibuster?) and President Obama nominated Richard Corday to the post instead. Since she couldn't beat Senate Republicans, Warren decided to join them and she ran for and won a Senate seat in Massachusetts, beating out political carpet bagger Scott Brown. Since joining the Senate, Warren has been a major thorn in the side to the banks that foreclosed on unsuspecting homeowners who were sold predatory mortgage loans, the Wall Street brokers that crashed the economy and raided retirement funds while at the same time receiving billions of dollars in tax payer funded bailouts. Her message has caught on, too. She has campaigned for other Democrats across the country and has drawn huge crowds wherever he has shown up. She has been asked repeatedly if she were going to run and she has, up to now, said that she had no plans to run. She has not been completely definitive about it, though, and she is being encouraged by many in the left wing of the Democratic Party to run for the White House. She would most definitely be a force and the inevitable Clinton campaign would have great cause to be concerned. Stay tuned.
Bernie Sanders is no shrinking violet when it comes to advocacy for the middle class - or what's left of it. He seldom hides his disgust for the oligarchs who run the country and simply attempt to BUY elections. In an appearance on "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Sanders makes his case:
Again, this guy has mass appeal to the far left progressive wing of the Democratic Party. When it comes to progressive advocacy, Bernie Sanders is second to NONE. While in his first term as a member of the House of Representatives, he founded and chaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus. In the Senate, he and Senator Barbara Boxer introduced the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act of 2007. Since 2008, Sanders has been a dogged advocate for universal healthcare, raising the minimum wage, organized labor and the mother lode of issues in America today: INCOME INEQUALITY - all important issues that working class Americans need a strong advocate for. Bernie Sanders is just the advocate. He sincerely cares about the negative impact the Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court has created and how that ruling has put a literal price tag on policies favoring the 1%. Bernie Sanders takes it personally on how well moneyed big shots can BUY influence in Congress. That's not for show, either. It is a personal and moral issue to Bernie Sanders. He has taken his progressive message to deep red Southern states and he and his message has been well received in the South. That makes him very formidable. Should he choose to run, he will have to make a decision as to whether he will run as an Independent or as a Democrat. I would bet on the latter. As he indicated on Sunday, as a Democrat he would have access to the campaign infrastructure that would be necessary to run a national campaign. He, too, will be a force during the Democratic primary campaign in 2016.
Hillary Clinton very well may win the Democratic primary campaign and become her party's nominee for the office of President of the United States. However, it won't be a debutante ball for her because should EITHER or BOTH Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders decide to get in the game, she will have her work cut out for her. It would be an interesting Democratic primary campaign to say the least.
I can't wait.
Peace, peace.
Craig Riggins
Facebook: The Riggins Report
Twitter: @CraigRiggins
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