Liz lets one get by in bid to build base
Sen declines to bash prez’s border plan
It was a softball down the middle, another chance for Sen. Elizabeth Warren to slam President Trump and make her liberal followers cheer.
But this time, Warren let it pass. With the secretary of the Air Force standing next to her, the feisty Massachusetts Democrat chose to hold her fire when asked to respond to Trump’s plan to send the National Guard to the Mexican border.
“I’d like to see what the specifically targeted problem is that the president wishes to address, and precisely how sending National Guard troops will address that problem,” Warren said, choosing her words carefully. “As always, we need a coherent strategy, not just chaos.”
Warren’s tempered remarks came as she stood inside Hanscom Air Force Base, shortly after she met with airmen along with Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, appointed by Trump.
It was a sign that Warren’s trying to broaden her base, and burnish her military credentials, as her GOP opponents continue to turn up the heat in their uphill battle to oust the Democratic superstar.
Wilson, a New Hampshire native and former New Mexico congresswoman, downplayed Trump’s planned deployment of the military.
“It’s not the first time that the National Guard has gone to the border, in fact it’s a fairly common occurrence,” she said.
Warren had a full day yesterday, finishing with a town hall meeting in Dorchester. She’s clearly trying to douse criticism that she’s ignoring her home state while preparing a run for the White House.
One of her Republican opponents, state Rep. Geoff Diehl, yesterday repeated his demand that Warren sign a pledge to serve her full sixyear term if she’s re-elected.
Another Republican candidate, Winchester businessman John Kingston, posted another decent fundraising haul, raising $275,000 in the first quarter of the year, leaving him with more than $3 million in cash on hand.
It was the best fundraising performance yet for Kingston, who has poured $3 million of his own money into the race.
“We continue to be the only Republican campaign with the message and manpower required to defeat one of the most recognizable members of the U.S. Senate,” Kingston said.
Diehl’s campaign declined to release his first quarter fundraising numbers. The other GOP candidate, Beth Lindstrom, also declined to release her fundraising haul for the year.
All of the Republicans are far behind Warren in the fundraising race. The Democratic senator had more than $14 million cash on hand at the end of last year.
With his personal donation, Kingston has far more resources and money than his opponents, but the real test will come at the end of the month when Republican delegates meet to endorse one of the primary challengers.
Kingston has never run for office and doesn’t have the GOP credentials that Diehl and Lindstrom possess, so he faces a tough challenge winning the backing of Republican activists.