Sen. Elizabeth Warren has found her #brand.
The Massachusetts Democrat seems intent on using Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to fill her campaign coffers, emblazoning all kinds of hot merch with the word “persist,” an allusion to McConnell’s infamous reprimand during debate over the confirmation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. And Warren is eager to hawk her goods — maybe too eager.
Her campaign website sells “Nevertheless she persisted” buttons and t-shirts, and “Persist” laptop stickers. Aside from revealing Warren’s inability to move on, there’s nothing wrong with her selling the merchandise. But she also has an odd habit of injecting her own #persist brand almost exploitatively into other causes. Warren’s website actually has two shops, and the other one exclusively sells persist-themed gay Pride gear. A banner atop the site encourages shoppers to “Get your Elizabeth Warren Persist gear in time for Pride!”
“I LOVE Pride. And no matter how you celebrate, for you or the people you love, I’d love to celebrate with you. Shop our new Pride store & grab our limited-edition #PersistWithPride gear,” the senator tweeted, along with a picture of her modeling one of the shirts.
I LOVE Pride. And no matter how you celebrate, for you or the people you love, I’d love to celebrate with you. Shop our new Pride store & grab our limited-edition #PersistWithPride gear. https://t.co/KKtlP2miD5 #wickedproud pic.twitter.com/CX7W463Ame
— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) May 14, 2018
Perhaps there is a lot of overlap between Pride festival attendees and fans of Warren, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Perhaps you could justify the idea that encouraging people to buy “Persist” gear will help them keep a champion of LGBT rights in the Senate. But it seems more like Warren is co-opting the cause, shamelessly drawing attention to her own supposed bravery by using her personal branding.
On the morning of this year’s Boston Marathon, Warren urged runners to “persist,” tweeting, “Happy Patriots’ Day and good luck to all of our #BostonMarathon runners! No matter what Mother Nature throws at you today, #persist!”
When Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., was targeted by President Trump in December, Warren slapped her (strange) tweet of support for her embattled colleague with the hashtag “Nevertheless, #shepersisted.”
And in a September campaign email urging people to send donations to nonprofits helping with Hurricane Irma relief efforts, Warren wrote, “We resist, we persist — and we’ll come back stronger than ever before.”
The “persist” branding is self-celebratory, wholly a glorification of a moment in which Warren believes she exhibited historic bravery. The incessant call-backs are grating on their own. But for her to continue latching on to other causes by referring back to it makes those efforts seem less sincere and more self-interested.
