America's Most Dangerous Social Democrat

She is considered a populist, a supporter of a strong federal government, and for many liberal Democrats, a preferable candidate to Hillary Clinton. Elizabeth Warren is perhaps the most exciting American politician currently going. She strikes a chord with those Americans who feel Barack Obama let them down.

A middle-class automobile drives purposefully toward the university campus in San Rafael, California, past freshly trimmed hedges and pleasure boats on their trailers in driveways. There, where the sunshine is pleasantly warm and the front yards beautiful, rescuing the “American dream” still seems worth the effort.

Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator who recently captured the imaginations of so many Democrats, is visiting the city this afternoon. Hardly anyone in Washington castigates the banks more harshly than this corporate lawyer, and no one demands more active government intervention to close the income gap between the poor and super-rich.

Now, it’s not as if the San Francisco Bay area is poverty-stricken. San Rafael and its environs boast an average personal income that is one-third higher than in the rest of the United States. The majority of the approximately 300 in her audience are white, well off, and clearly older than 50. Many of those here with canes had already come under socialization with John F. Kennedy.

The Past as “Memory Lane”

The past, as Warren well knows, is still a precious commodity, even in America’s better circles. During her 45-minute address, she enthusiastically recounted that when she was growing up, a minimum-wage job was enough to support a family of three, adding that she was able to become a senator because she “grew up in an America that was investing in kids, that was building a strong middle class.” Nods of agreement and applause rewarded the 64-year-old, who tints her hair blonde — but looks far younger, and not only for that reason.

Warren is really here to promote her autobiography; her book tour is intended to make her well-known throughout America. Stubborn rumors persist that she could become the liberal wing’s candidate for the presidency in 2016. She herself says she wants to see Hillary Clinton elected as America’s next president. Still, her book and public appearances are typical preparations before a presidential campaign. Her biography encapsulates a political meaning that the state of the nation mirrors.

Warren’s tale is one of fearing social descent, a scenario familiar to many Americans. She told of her father’s heart attack and the ensuing medical treatments that nearly ruined her family financially; she recounted how important the minimum wage was for her mother during that period, and spoke of her own experiences as the first academic in her family, educated at a less-renowned university, and later becoming a respected professor of corporate law, as well as an admired national critic of the banking world.

She says that pathway stopped around 1980 when Ronald Reagan eliminated many Wall Street controls. Since then, the rich have gotten richer, and the powerful even more powerful, while America’s middle class has disappeared, along with what held the nation together. The public at large is in wholehearted agreement with Warren and her experiences.

Powerful Government, Washington in Shambles

Critics call Warren a populist because of her straight-forward message, but her talent for gauging the public pulse so accurately is awe-inspiring.

The grandmother of three laughs off the accusation that she’s for “big government,” saying it reminds her of a toaster she owned in the 1970s: She almost burned down the house because in those days, toasters didn’t automatically spit the bread out after it had toasted, a common peril back then. She had become adept at putting out curtain fires, but the government finally solved the toaster problem by approving only those that automatically popped up. She remarks that it worked for toaster fires and wonders why that principle couldn’t be applied to the banking sector as well.

When Obama appointed her as an adviser during the banking crisis and asked her to strengthen the financial rights of consumers, the banks started hearing more along the same lines. Since Warren was elected to the Senate in 2012, she has focused increasingly on the Washington establishment, telling her supporters that Washington only works for those people who employ an army of lobbyists and lawyers. She emphasizes to them that “the game is rigged and the American people know that,” adding that only the people themselves can change that.

Social Democracy as Revolution

Whether that’s populism or the uncomfortable truth, the end result is that there is a pilgrimage to her middle-class automobile. “She’s so awesome,”* says one teenager in the crowd. In the wake of Barack Obama’s unfulfilled promises, Warren offers up a social-democratic vision for the nation and comes off as positively revolutionary in 2014.

But will that be enough to reach mainstream America, those people Warren seeks to defend? She will soon be 65 years old, so she doesn’t have a lot of time to run for office. Will she be the natural choice if Hillary, against all expectations, chooses not to run? Outside the parking lot, one observer remarks that Warren has struck the emotional core of society “almost like Sarah Palin.”* Puzzled, she pauses and reflects, as if she can’t believe she just said that.

*Editor’s note: These quotations are unverifiable.