Elizabeth Warren sends $175,000 to Democratic groups working to retake state legislatures

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., announced Tuesday she’s throwing $175,000 into Democratic efforts to flip state legislatures and fight voter suppression.

America’s democracy was “decaying” before President Trump came along, Warren said, and Democrats have to promise “structural change” to fix it.

“Politicians are supposed to compete over how many voters they can persuade, not how many citizens they can disqualify or demoralize,” said Warren, speaking at an ideas conference hosted by Center for American Progress. “In states across the country, we need to stand up against voter suppression efforts like racist voter ID laws and restrictions on early voting.”

To do fight gerrymandering, Warren said, Democrats have to win back state houses where they saw their majorities diminish during former President Barack Obama’s administration.

“I’m sending $175,000 to organizations on the front lines trying to win back our legislatures and fight for fair redistricting,” Warren said. “Democrats believe in a fair fight, and making sure that districts aren’t drawn to cut out one party or the other is a critical first step.”

Warren joined a number of 2020 hopefuls at the day-long conference promoting progressive ideas. To see those policies become law though Democrats need to win.

“The 2018 election will be a massive uphill climb,” Warren said.

Some of Warren’s colleagues advised Democrats to not fight Trump daily over his attacks on the Russia investigation, or his refusal to release his tax returns, instead providing their economic platform. Warren took a different route, saying Democrats should take Trump on.

“If [Republicans] can ignore democratic norms on things like emoluments and congressional oversight and legislative process and get away with it, why not just go ahead and mess with the elections themselves?” Warren said.

“A lot of folks say that Democrats shouldn’t get distracted by that stuff. Inside baseball, they say,” she continued. “No one cares, they say. I disagree.”

Previewing an anti-corruption bill she plans to introduce next month, Warren said, Congress should crack down on “financial conflicts of interest.”

“Divest — and report publicly — or don’t take the job,” Warren said of cabinet officials, and members of Congress.

“How about a lifetime ban on lobbying for anyone who serves as a president, senator, representative, cabinet secretary or agency head?” Warren said. “The honor of service should be enough— without the chance to sell access to your former colleagues in Washington.”

Though challenging Democrats to push harder for transparency on Trump’s financial dealings and apparent conflicts of interest, Warren also advised the progressives in attendance to not tune out those who voted for Trump.

“I know an isolated bubble can feel pretty good when some of the loudest voices on the other side litter their rhetoric with racism and misogyny,” Warren said, according to prepared remarks. “The day that we stop talking to – and stop listening – to 63 million Americans, that’s the day we should pack it up and go home. Isolation is not the answer. Not for a Democratic Party that wants to take back power, not for Democrats who want to see our

country function again.”

Related Content