After dismal performances in both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire Democratic primary, placing third and fourth place, respectively, Elizabeth Warren has about a 1/1024th chance of winning her party’s nomination.
Yes, in politics, anything is possible — including unlikely comebacks from flailing candidates. But there’s no denying that Warren’s presidential campaign is losing steam. Without momentum, donors will go elsewhere, ensuring her one-way ticket back to Massachusetts.
What went wrong exactly? It turns out that the former Harvard professor had “a plan” for just about everything — except authenticity. A character trait that her rival President Donald Trump has in spades, which voters admire.
Americans of all stripes appreciate that regardless if you voted for Trump, or not, he’s real.
The president’s statements, improvised speeches at campaign rallies and tweets come from the heart — not from politically correct PR professionals scripting his every word. So while Democrats and media elites are quick to mock occasional misspellings in the president’s tweets, what they don’t realize is that typos are one of the many things that humanize him, giving the billionaire businessman the uncanny ability to connect with the everyman.
It’s not an easy thing to do, but Trump has mastered being authentic.
Same goes for Bernie Sanders. Whether one likes or dislikes his far-left socialist policies, many can agree the Vermont senator also possesses an aura of authenticity, giving voters the impression he believes what he says. It’s something that can’t be undervalued as voters on both sides of the aisle seek integrity and authenticity in candidates as a protective mechanism to prevent them from getting duped.
Take taxes. To Sanders’ credit, he’s been upfront on the campaign trail, saying middle-class taxes will go up to fund his costly “Medicare for All” proposal if he’s elected president. Warren has not, despite the fact that there’s simply not enough money to pay for all her big government plans without raising taxes for working families. And this includes her wildly expensive “Medicare for All” plan — not only for 330 million Americans but for millions of illegal immigrants as well.
Now add the exorbitant cost of student loan debt forgiveness, the Green New Deal — estimated to cost $93 trillion — universal child care and pre-K and many other big government proposals.
But that’s not all.
Warren also pretends she’s running a grassroots campaign eschewing donations from big corporations and wealthy donors, yet savvy voters know that’s not exactly the truth. In her last Senate campaign, she accepted donations from both and carried over $10 million in donations from her 2018 reelection campaign to the seed the current one. Yet, Warren has attacked her Democratic rival Pete Buttigieg for doing what she’s done.
Last year, she lambasted the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor for attending a chic fundraiser in a Napa Valley wine cave. Warren railed, “Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States.” She added, “I do not sell access to my time.” But it turns out in June 2018 Warren attended her own swanky fundraiser at City Winery in Boston where wealthy donors shelled out big bucks to rub elbows with the multimillionaire.
If that’s not “selling access to her time,” what is?
Then there is her lack of authenticity claiming to be a Native American to advance her career in academia. A DNA test proved she might only be 1/1024th Native American. Yikes.
Warren also claims to be the protector of the “little guy,” yet recent financial disclosures revealed she raked in millions over the last several decades working on the side of corporations such as Dow Chemical, Travelers Insurance and Getty Oil — just to name a few.
“Warren made around $1.9 million in compensation from private legal work dating back to 1985,” ABC News reported in December. “Warren represented, consulted for or provided expert witness to a handful of big corporations from 1985 through 2009, around the time she was teaching law at Harvard University… Warren’s income from the casework ranged from less than $10,000 to as much as $212,000.”
It’s no wonder her campaign is sinking like a stone. Voters can spot a phony from a mile away.
Adriana Cohen is a syndicated columnist with the Boston Herald. Follow her on Twitter @AdrianaCohen16. To find out more about Adriana Cohen and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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