As progressives continue to wait on whether Sen. Elizabeth Warren will endorse either Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden—the final two candidates in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary—while it could still have any meaningful impact, remarks Warren gave less than one week ago made crystal clear why she thought Biden was the wrong choice given the stakes of the current race and said choosing a moderate Washington insider would be a “big risk” to both the party and the country as a whole.
“Nominating someone who wants to restore the world before Donald Trump, when the status quo has been leaving more and more people behind for decades, is a big risk for our party and our country.”
—Sen. Elizabeth WarrenIn a speech last Monday night, on the eve of Super Tuesday, Warren said that Biden—though she respected and admired him—was not the way forward.
“No matter how many Washington insiders tell you to support him, nominating their fellow Washington insider will not meet this moment,” Warren told a crowd at East Los Angeles College. “Nominating a man who says we do not need any fundamental change in this country will not meet this moment. Nominating someone who wants to restore the world before Donald Trump, when the status quo has been leaving more and more people behind for decades, is a big risk for our party and our country.”
Watch:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Joe Biden: “No matter how many Washington insiders tell you to support him, nominating their fellow Washington insider will not meet this moment. Nominating a man who says we do not need any fundamental change in this country will not meet this moment.” pic.twitter.com/WCrMP3jjuA
— The Hill (@thehill) March 3, 2020
After failing to perform as well in Super Tuesday contests as she and her supporters had hoped, Warren officially ended her presidential bid on Thursday. While she has still not endorsed either Sanders and Biden, many of her supporters and former staffers have mobilized a #WarrentoBernie campaign arguing that only Sanders can fulfill the promises and vision she laid out in her campaign.
I spent the last year working to elect Elizabeth Warren. I’m heartbroken she didn’t win.
But I got in this fight to cancel student debt, rebuild unions, and make politics work for working people. So today, I’m #WarrenToBernie — and I’m willing to fight for someone I don’t know
— Sejal Singh (@Sej_Singh) March 8, 2020
Inbox: @BoldProgressive committee that endorsed Elizabeth Warren is now urging Michigan voters to cast ballots Tuesday for Bernie Sanders #MichiganPrimary pic.twitter.com/XCOAxMTRR7
— Lisa Kashinsky (@lisakashinsky) March 8, 2020
In a thread on Twitter, Amit Dadon, a progressive activist and gun control advocate from Parkland, Florida, said that while he was behind Warren prior to last week, now that she has withdrawn, “it’s clear only one candidate carries her progressive vision/values: and that’s Bernie Sanders.”
“We will not win this election by running a ‘safe,’ boring, centrist choice that inspires absolutely nobody. We will not make big structural change by running a candidate in Biden whose platform is full of half measures that fix none of the problems that got us to Trump,” Dadon added. “Bernie is the only one fighting for healthcare as a right for all, meaningful action on the climate crisis, and a wealth tax. As an immigrant, Biden’s record troubles me, while Bernie’s platform is far better in making our immigration system humane/fair, uplifting our communities.”
He said, “If you supported Warren’s platform, I urge you to vote for Bernie, too—he’s the only one left who actually believes in/will act on it. We don’t need Biden’s status-quo; we need to fight for people we don’t know. That’s the only way we get big structural change.”