Minus One

On Monday night there was a fundraiser and rally in Washington, D.C. for Hillary Clinton. The reason for the event is that thirteen of the fourteen women in the U.S. Senate endorsed Clinton for President.

In punditville the story was not about the thirteen but instead the one that was a no show. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts skipped the gathering. She has not endorsed anyone and was the focus of a very vocal group of progressives that wanted her to run for the nomination, she chose not to. Her reason for not endorsing at this point is quite simple, she has street cred with those progressives and hopes to use her influence to sway the future Democratic nominee to work on the issues she cares about.

All politicians seek endorsements from other politicians, they're nice to have but mean nothing to voters. There only relevance is a party institutional one, more simply put, good will in the future. Warren will ultimately endorse the nominee of the party because there's no other alternative. Whether she chooses to wait until the very end and whispers me too or does a splashy full throated I'm with ( insert name) all the way sometime in March depends entirely on how much the candidates want her endorsement and what they're willing to promise.

Some would suggest that she has already had an influence on Clinton, I would suggest her influence in that regard is overstated. While Clinton would welcome Warren's endorsement she doesn't need it.

Clinton is a well formed politician with decades of experience that has brought her to this point. Warren is a dedicated, smart and hard working Senator with a specific skill set that is heavily skewed toward consumer and economic affairs. Her support in the Senate for the next President, if it is a Democrat, will be very important. If a Republican is elected, Elizabeth Warren will become one of the most prominent voices in the Democratic Party.

There you have it, a straight forward analysis with no hysterics or subplots. The professionals might disagree with me.

Do you know the difference between a professional and an amateur? The first is paid, the latter is not. For the record I'm willing to be the first for the sake of my country!