Progressives loved it when Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., condemned the criminal justice system as “racist.” Massachusetts police? Not so much.
Yarmouth Police Chief Frank Frederickson wrote that Warren insulted his department with her remarks and even wondered whether Warren really meant it when the senator offered condolences for two officers killed in the line of duty.
“A short time ago Sen. Warren made some efforts to pay respects to Sgt. Sean Gannon and Sgt. Michael Chesna who lost their lives while protecting us all,” Frederickson said in a statement posted to the department’s official Facebook page. “Sen. Warren’s recent statement tarnished us all and diminished the sincerity of her condolence efforts. I now cannot trust her actions or words are real.”
Doubling down in an attached letter to Warren, the police chief wrote that he suspected the senator condemned the police “to gather support for your position.” And he isn’t wrong.
Readying herself for a 2020 bid, Warren’s tough talk about the justice system distinguishes her from a powerful potential challenger, Sen. Kamala Harris, the former California attorney general who the New York Times once dubbed “Top Cop in the Era of Black Lives Matter.” Where Harris, a former prosecutor, pushes for a middle way on the issue, Warren, a former Harvard Law professor, hurls invective.
Liberal fire and progressive brimstone make for applause lines among the far left, Warren knows. But those lines will make enemies among blue collar voters, too.
Warren appeared to do a bit of damage control afterward. “I spoke about an entire system — not individuals — and will continue to work on reforms to make the criminal justice system fairer,” she said in a statement. And she spoke with the police chief over the phone, the Boston Globe reports.
Expect more ruffled blue feathers if Warren takes this message national during the Democratic primary. And look for Harris to exploit this vulnerability if she also jumps into that race.
[Opinion: Elizabeth Warren just failed to stand up for Native Americans]
