The Case for President Elizabeth Warren
I don’t know Senator Elizabeth Warren personally, though I do know many of the other Presidential candidates personally and professionally. As a formerly incarcerated high school drop-out and product of an impoverished broken family — turned state legislator and digital media entrepreneur — it’s wild to be able to even say that.
Over the years some interactions with these candidates have been more pleasant than others. I have found that some are more deeply committed to their moral compass than others. And I believe that some of the candidates feel the magnitude of our shared national crisis more than others. But I couldn’t develop an opinion about who I thought would be the best person to effectively shoulder the burden of not only taking on Trump, but also meeting the enormous challenges we all collectively face, until they had enough time to share their solutions, vision, and ideas.
Like most Americans, I’ve been listening and watching. And what I see are candidates who are all trying to figure out ways to break through the crowd. One candidate finally did by doing what comes instinctively to so many working people — Elizabeth Warren put her head down and did the work. She listens before she speaks. She is willing to admit when she’s wrong and make swift and necessary changes. She speaks her truths instead of poll-tested talking points.
And when Elizabeth speaks, she speaks to people like me.
I felt her words deeply when she talked about her parents who almost lost their home after a medical crisis. I felt her words when she talked about how she learned her work ethic from her mom who put on a brave face and her working clothes after Elizabeth’s dad could no longer work. And despite trying to keep it together, the possibility of ending up on the streets was still very real. Most hard-working Americans know this. Elizabeth knows this.
Then I got the opportunity to hear Elizabeth speak at the She the People forum in Houston. It was invigorating to be in an audience of hundreds of women of color who despite making up the core of the Democratic base, are often ignored and historically forgotten by the party and candidates alike.
When Elizabeth was asked how she would appeal to women of color, she didn’t pander. She didn’t list off a litany of problems that we don’t need to be reminded of every single time a candidate tries to “connect.” We know the problems — we live the problems. Instead she talked about her own struggles and did so while also acknowledging her privilege. She talked about poverty. She talked about the never-ending burdens that come with our gender, our race, our religion. She talked about the toll it takes to move through life with tired backs and weary souls. Her words weren’t just words — they were statements that said, “I see you.”
And I had never felt so understood by a presidential candidate before.
Not a single candidate has all the answers or all of the solutions, but when I hear Elizabeth Warren speak, I hear a woman who takes our struggles with her everywhere she goes. I hear a woman who understands that the American people can’t afford anything less than bold solutions. I see a woman who has proven time and time again that she doesn’t just have the tenacity and the intelligence to lead this country and defeat Trump, she has the heart and the courage.
At a time when so much is at stake, we need a candidate who knows how to survive because they’ve done it before. We need a candidate who can win because they have won tough battles before. We need someone who can be brave and bold, but also humble enough to learn and grow because once we defeat Trump, the bigger challenge of solving the problems that brought us Trump in the first place will still be waiting for us. Elizabeth Warren is that candidate. And she has plans for us.
Join me in helping President Warren turn those plans into reality.
