The politically influential Boston Globe, dismissing Democrats running against Hillary Clinton as inadequate, and the former first lady as too cautious and tied to big business, on Sunday called for Sen. Elizabeth Warren to either get in the race or recruit a top-tier challenger.
“Democrats would be making a big mistake if they let Hillary Clinton coast to the presidential nomination without real opposition, and, as a national leader, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren can make sure that doesn’t happen,” the paper editorialized. “While Warren has repeatedly vowed that she won’t run for president herself, she ought to reconsider. And if Warren sticks to her refusal, she should make it her responsibility to help recruit candidates to provide voters with a vigorous debate on her signature cause, reducing income inequality, over the next year.”
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Warren has a wealth of support in the progressive-liberal corner and groups like MoveOn.org are working in New Hampshire and elsewhere to build a Warren wave.
The Globe endorsement might spur that on because the newspaper has a big readership in Southern New Hampshire.
In its editorial, the paper also took a shot at Clinton’s image as the inevitable nominee.
“Barack Obama overcame Clinton’s advantages in 2008, and Warren or another candidate still could in 2016. Even if they don’t, Clinton herself would benefit from a challenger,” said the editorial.
It also raised concerns about Clinton’s ties to Wall Street, her biggest difference with Warren.
“Indeed, the big-picture debate on financial regulation and income inequality is what’s most at peril if the Democratic primaries come and go without top-notch opponents for Clinton. While she has a great many strengths, Clinton seems far more likely to hew to a cautious approach on economics. Her financial backing from Wall Street, her vote in the Senate to reduce bankruptcy protections, and her past reluctance to raise capital-gains taxes are no secret. Nothing about her record suggests much gumption for financial reform or tackling the deeply entrenched economic problems that increasingly threaten the American dream,” it said.
The full Boston Globe editorial is here.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
