When it comes to putting Elizabeth Warren on the ticket with Hillary Clinton, the Democrats have a conundrum.
On one hand, Warren would excite the party’s progressive base and help shore up Sanders supporters. On the other hand, Warren’s vacated senate seat could be filled by a Republican appointed by Republican Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker.
Harry Reid is reportedly looking into ways to get around the senate issue. Politico reports:
Source: Reid promoting Warren for VPHarry Reid is quietly promoting Elizabeth Warren as a top pick to be Hillary Clinton’s running mate, and the Senate minority leader is already looking into Massachusetts law to see how quickly her Senate seat could be filled if Warren were to ascend to the vice presidency, a source close to him said Friday.Reid views Warren as someone who can unite the Democratic Party after the longer-than-expected primary battle between Clinton and Bernie Sanders, the source said. The person confirmed a Boston Globe story that reported Reid is actively researching the state’s special election rules.“He thinks Warren is a good choice to unify the party,” the person close to Reid said.This is a shift of sorts for Reid, who said recently that he would object to Clinton choosing as vice-presidential nominee any Democratic senator from a state led by a GOP governor with the authority to name the senator’s successor. That could create another hurdle for Democrats looking to regain Senate control this fall.
Of course, there are other issues which aren’t being addressed here. Warren is a polarizing figure. She may be a star with progressives but she’s reviled on the right. She has also never been vetted on the national stage.
Former DNC chair Howard Dean has one other problem with Warren. USA Today reports:
Howard Dean says Elizabeth Warren is too old to be Clinton’s running mateHoward Dean said Friday he thinks Elizabeth Warren has the right ideas to be vice president, but she and and Hillary Clinton together would be too old a ticket.Dean — who was the governor of Vermont and the chair of the Democratic National Committee — was on MSNBC Friday talking about Hillary Clinton, who he has endorsed.Reporter Andrea Mitchell said that Warren was one of the strongest critics of Donald Trump, and pointed out that a Clinton-Warren ticket would send a strong signal to the party’s progressive side.“Certainly somebody like that would be very helpful,” Dean said about the the Massachusetts senator.But then he added, “I strongly believe we ought to have somebody under 50 on the ticket. I think the Baby Boomers have run this country for too long. We stepped away from that with Barrack Obama; we don’t normally go back a generation. We’re gonna have two Baby Boomers running for president on the Democratic and the Republican side. So I would like somebody very much who is not in the Baby Boomer generation. Who is in this new upcoming generation — the younger the better.”
Dean has a point. Hillary is 68 and Warren is 66.
I would think a greater problem is that Hillary Clinton’s ties to big banks and Wall Street represent everything Warren has ever said she is against.
Democrats would also have to answer a very important question about Warren.
What qualifies her for the job?
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