While others on the Right slammed Senate Republicans’ decision to silence Elizabeth Warren over a rules violation Tuesday night, Sen. Lindsey Graham enthusiastically embraced the move, calling it “long overdue” and saying he has no problem with the way the situation was handled.
In an interview with conservative radio host Mike Gallagher, Graham observed that Warren is “clearly running for the nomination in 2020.”
In response, Gallagher quipped, “We can only hope.”
Graham seconded that opinion, replying, “Yeah, that’s what I say.”
Critics of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s move referred to his actions as “the best political gift,” arguing he boosted Warren’s re-election prospects and elevated her profile.
But is an elevated profile for Elizabeth Warren such a bad thing for Republicans?
Polling last month showed mounting disapproval for Warren among her own constituents in Massachusetts. More respondents in the January survey believed she was undeserving of re-election than those who believed she deserved a second term. Her approval rating has plummeted 11 points since April 2015.
In his interview with Gallagher, Graham argued, “If they empower her, I think the Democratic party is going to lose its way with the vast majority of the American people.”
“I don’t think they understand why they lost,” Graham concluded.
Similarly, a McConnell source spoke about the Senate Majority Leader’s decision to silence Warren to Politico, explaining, “He clearly knew it would elevate her and I’m sure he doesn’t mind having her be the face of obstruction.”
While on the surface McConnell’s move may have seemed counterproductive, perhaps it was more strategic than short-sighted.
Elizabeth Warren, after all, is a coastal progressive who once boasted that she “created much of the intellectual foundation” for the Occupy Wall Street movement. George Will declared her to be “modern liberalism incarnate.” She recently took to the stage of the Women’s March in Boston to opine about the “stupid wall,” and quip that the “sight” of President Donald Trump’s inauguration is “now burned in [her] eyes forever.”
McConnell knows as well as anyone that’s probably not the best way to recapture dwindling support in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
