I think this would have been a heartwarming anecdote about sacrifice and generosity in service to a cause if Warren had just pulled off a five-point win in New Hampshire. “This is how she did it,” we’d say. “She struck a chord with voters that resonated so deeply that they were willing to give her the last few dollars they have to speed her movement on to victory.”
But given the actual result last night, it feels more like Warren boasting that she watched some college kid flush money down a toilet.
Sometimes when people complain about how hard young adults have it, critics reply by naming all of the frivolous dopey expenses they’re prone to. “You’d have more in the bank if you weren’t buying Starbucks lattes every day.” “You’d have more in the bank if you didn’t insist on a Disney+ subscription.”
“You’d have more in the bank if you didn’t give Elizabeth Warren money to finish fifth in Nevada next week.”
Jim Treacher suggests a new campaign slogan: “Warren 2020: Hey, She’ll Only Take Half.”
It’d be easier to forgive if she had some path to winning, however remote. If she were finishing ahead of Bernie in the progressive lane, that would give her a pulse even if she were trailing Buttigieg or Biden or whoever. Or, if she were intent on competing on Super Tuesday as a matter of principle, because she owed it to her staff to fight to the end, you could understand why she might find inspiration in this student’s three bucks. Resolute supporters deserve a resolute candidate. But she’s done after Nevada and we all know it. Even a second-place finish behind Bernie wouldn’t justify her continuing on, as all she could do in the race at that point realistically is divide the progressive vote at a moment when Sanders is desperate to consolidate it and gain an insurmountable advantage.
I mean, Joe Biden has a more obvious path to the nomination at this point than she does. And Biden’s aides are saying things like, “This is horrendous. We’re all scared,” to the media about their guy’s showing last night.
Is Warren going to endorse immediately once she drops out, by the way? It seems like a fait accompli that she’ll throw in with Bernie at some point, but she and Klobuchar are pretty buddy-buddy. Warren cited Klobuchar’s own record of electoral success in Minnesota at a debate last month after the sexism dust-up with Bernie, reminding the crowd that she and Amy — the two last women standing — were the only two candidates onstage who’d never lost a race. If Klobuchar does surprisingly well in Nevada and Warren drops out she’d want Warren to at least remain neutral for awhile, to give Klobuchar a chance at picking up some of her voters ahead of Super Tuesday. But the left will want Warren to show solidarity with progressivism by endorsing Bernie immediately. Which way does Warren go on that? With her ideology or with the sisterhood? She wouldn’t possibly consider endorsing Klobuchar outright. Would she?
A young girl came up to me tonight and said, “I’m a broke college student with a lot of student loan debt. I checked and I have $6 in the bank—so I just gave $3 to keep you in this fight.” We’re staying in this fight for the people who are counting on us. pic.twitter.com/AetWhpTJqT
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 12, 2020
