The Bernie revolution set grassroots on fire. It got young people involved like we haven’t seen in years. It shifted the dialogue to things the media had not focused on before, things that were important to voters.
Now young people are staying involved, grassroots politics looks like it hasn't in a very long time. People are marching and protesting every single week throughout the country. Many who were a part of the Bernie revolution have turned to #TheResistance, and Elizabeth Warren is becoming a central figurehead.
During the 2016 election, Sec. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders came to represent the disparity between the traditional Democratic Party establishment and an emerging populist sect, embraced by younger voters. At the time, Sen. Elizabeth Warren accepted her backstage role by staying out of the primary race and eventually supporting Clinton, who was poised to break the ultimate glass ceiling.
Looking back on a failed and flawed election for Democrats, in which Wikileaks showed e-mails from high-level DNC members trying to undermine the Sanders campaign, one might ask,“Are recent events paving the way for Warren to run for president in 2020?”
The Senator for the State of Massachusetts has quickly become a leader of the progressive movement, along with Sen. Sanders. Whether Berniecrats will fully embrace her as part of their movement is yet to be seen, but she’s been launched onto the national stage more than once thanks to her populist streak built on supporting financial industry regulation as well as her role as one of Trump’s favorite targets.
During the Women’s March, Sen. Warren led a crowd of tens of thousands in Boston, inciting the crowd to “fight back.” Warren is not only positioning herself as the anti-establishment candidate, she’s also serving as a leader for the feminist movement, something that Bernie could not have achieved.
https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/829379045729169410
Days after the Women’s March, Warren was present once more in Massachusetts, this time to protest the Travel Ban along Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.
This week’s episode on the Senate floor during the confirmation hearing for Attorney General turned what should have been just another session into a national uproar. By forbidding Sen. Warren from reading a letter by Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King Jr., conservatives inadvertently made Warren’s voice that much louder.
Warren’s incident on the Senate floor incited the usual influx of outraged hashtags, such as #LetLizSpeak and #ShePersisted. Liberals, independents, women, and anyone opposed to the GOP rallied behind the latest instance of #hashtagivism.
https://twitter.com/GillianA/status/829419840817528835
https://twitter.com/BerniceKing/status/829266973397753856
Sen. Sanders pointed out the hypocrisy of Sen. Mitch McConnell for silencing Sen. Warren, when he was later able to read the same letter uninterrupted. In fact, four male Democratic Senators read Coretta’s letter in that same session without interference.
https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/829376100434374656
https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/829376515108278273
Warren is barred from speaking on the Senate floor until Sessions is confirmed. But as her notoriety grows, Warren may take the mantle from Sen. Sanders as the next progressive populist hero. However, she may have what the Democratic field lacked in the 2016 election. Sen. Warren might just be the woman with the ability to finally break the glass ceiling as an anti-establishment candidate who could appeal to the millions of independent and progressive voters who felt the Bern.
https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/829393915325321217
"Nevertheless, she persisted" is spreading across the Internet right now. It has already become a rallying cry for many people in this resistance movement. With such populist support, could Warren be passed the anti-establishment torch?