LINK Elizabeth Warren’s rise started by looking at the bottom
“ As a young scholar, Elizabeth Warren traveled to federal courthouses, studying families overwhelmed by debt. She brought along a photocopier, gathering reams of statistics as she tried to answer one question: Why were these folks going bankrupt?
Warren, then a law professor, wasn’t satisfied with textbook explanations; she wanted to hear directly from people drowning in debt. So she sat in courtrooms, listening to one hard-luck story after another. She interviewed lawyers and judges, duplicated bankruptcy filings on a sturdy copier — nicknamed R2-D2 — that she hauled around to save printing costs. And she was joined in her research by two professor-colleagues who teamed with her to study those documents and build a database.
Warren had suspected bankruptcy court might be a last stop for deadbeats, or maybe the very poor. Instead, she discovered mostly middle-class people, many of them homeowners with college degrees who’d suffered one bad break — an illness, a divorce, a job loss. It was the kind of cruel twist that seemed all too familiar: When Warren was 12 years old, her father, a carpet salesman, had a heart attack. The family’s station wagon was repossessed, and her mother went to work in a minimum-wage job at Sears to pay the bills.
Warren’s foray into bankruptcy was the first step in a four-decade journey that has come to define her public profile and shape her worldview. As a law professor, bankruptcy expert, consumer watchdog, Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential candidate, Warren has consistently championed economic reforms — with mixed results — to boost the middle class.
“The American middle class was in a lot more trouble than anyone had previously thought,” she told The Associated Press, describing her research, “and year by year, the stories have gotten worse. ... The game has become a little more tilted and a little more tilted against hardworking families.””
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5 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I so hope Warren is our nominee. She's smart, has compassion for those less fortunate, and doesn't take shit from anybody.
Redheadedgammy
Level 9
Aug 25, 2019
1
Smart, motivated, high-energy, and female -- Trump's worst nightmare!
jerry99
Level 8
Aug 25, 2019
2
I would agree if circumstances were normal. But Trump has altered what is considered normal. In the past politicians, by and large, generally followed a general level of civility and focused on policy. Occasional individuals stepped out line, but were shamed back into line. There was very little direct name calling, belittling, deflection. I'm not sure how Warren would deflect and re-direct Trump's childish behavior.
@t1nick I don’t know why a Trump thinks he’s nailed her with that Pocahontas label, but I think she’s risen far above the germ of truth about her false ancestry. Considering that his ancestors were draft dodgers and racist slumlords (just like him), there’s plenty of criticism to fire back with. Obviously she needs to be tough, but I think she’s perfectly capable of out-debating our Shitferbrains President.
Again, that's the problem.. shit for brains doesn't debate. He attacks and calls names. I agree she has risen above the "Pocahantas", thing. But that is just one insult or heckle. The question remains how does she respond when the attacks get personal. Her Democratic challengers have gone easy on her so far as opposed to what Trump will do.
I do agree she is the smartest Democratic candidate in the field. I'm not writing her off, just voicing concerns.
@StarvingArtist I grew up in Lawton and I was married to an Apache and I know from growing up there and discussions with her the Cherokee tribe is by far the easiest tribe in which to become a member, so I was surprised at their response also. I don't believe this will hurt her in the future if she is the nominee, and trump tries to use it again. I think she will stand up to him. Clinton felt she made a mistake by not doing so. Damn I hope I am right. 
@StarvingArtist I am really impressed with her. I have never heard a candidate be so specific and detailed about their ideas and and how to pay for them as she is. With all of the trump fatigue this might be a good time to break this glass ceiling for the Presidency, and I think she would do a good job.
The True Story of Pocahontas
[en.m.wikipedia.org]
The popular story is both incorrect and misleading. I do not think Warren should ply on the Poczhantas trope, as she would lose all Native support. With 21 years in Native. American education, I can pretty well guarantee a negative backlash if she hyped her NA connectiobn.
I like her ideas, but cannot forgive how she threw Bernie under the bus in '16........l
AnneWimsey
Level 9
Aug 25, 2019
0
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