Warren refocuses populist message in kickoff
LAWRENCE, MASS. >> Sen. Elizabeth Warren formally launched her presidential bid Saturday by re-emphasizing her signature issues of fighting economic inequality and corporate wrongdoing, an effort to move beyond new questions that arose in recent days about her previous claims that she was a Native American.
The outdoor rally — on the steps of a former cotton mill and the site of a historic labor strike led by women and immigrants was intended to position Warren as the leader of a renewed crusade against what she called the “corrupt” influence of large companies and powerful politicians.
“The story of Lawrence is a story about how real change happens in America,” Warren told a crowd that the campaign estimated at 3,500. “It is a story about power — our power — when we fight together.”
The announcement
came after a difficult week for Warren. The Washington Post published a document that shows, for the first time, Warren’s handwritten assertion that she was an “American Indian” on a 1986 registration card she filled out for the Texas bar. Warren in recent days offered apologies for claiming Native American identity, first privately to the leader of the Cherokee Nation and then publicly.
In forcefully populist language, Warren sought to
carve out a distinctive position in the crowded Democratic field, citing achievements like the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which regulates banks and other financial institutions. Other Democrats are also speaking out on inequality, but Warren is hitting particularly hard on the notion of creating new operating rules for the capitalist system.
“It won’t be enough to just undo the terrible acts of this administration,” Warren said. “We can’t afford to just tinker around the edges — a tax credit here, a regulation there. Our fight is for big, structural change.”
During the roughly 45-minute speech, she repeatedly stressed her image as a fighter, linking her family’s economic struggles to a promise to battle for middle-class Americans. Supporters hope that reputation will eclipse any image of her as someone who misrepresented herself as a Native American for years.
But even some of those who attended the kickoff had concerns about the strength of her candidacy, given the identity issue and President Donald Trump’s aggressive campaign style.
“Trump is an intimidating guy to take on,” said Hugh Stinson, 40, of Douglas, Massachusetts, before the speech, adding that he hadn’t decided whom to support for president. “Warren has left herself open on a couple fronts to pile on. He loves dredging up Pocahontas,” he added, referencing Trump’s nickname for Warren.