Last week at Netroots Nation in New Orleans, I had the opportunity to speak with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. A well-beloved figure among progressives and the Daily Kos community, Warren graciously agreed to give us some time before her speech to ask a few questions about her background, priorities for Congress, and what she’s most proud of accomplishing in the Senate.
You can watch the full interview below the fold.
I really enjoyed speaking with her. As you can see, she’s thoughtful, incredibly smart, and really grounded in the values of justice and fairness. While everything she said gave me a lot to think about, I particularly appreciated her answer to my first question about how her time as an educator informs her political priorities. As someone who never planned to go into teaching as a career, I found myself teaching Spanish in Baltimore City Public Schools after college through Teach for America. I felt called to do that work based on all that I had learned and experienced regarding educational inequality and its disproportionate impact on children of color around our country. I never really left education, having stayed in the classroom for five years and then going on to work in and teach at the university level, which I still do part-time.
I wholeheartedly agree with Sen. Warren when she says that teachers invest in the future. Though we don’t pay them nearly what they are worth nor give them all the resources they need to be successful, teachers are on the front lines every day giving young people a chance at becoming better and more thoughtful human beings, community members, and global citizens.
It’s also quite clear from listening to her that she understands what’s at stake for our country’s future if we don’t fix what’s broken. Student loan debt, low-income jobs that don’t allow people to provide for their families, cutting Medicaid—all of these (and more) are issues that the next Congress must make progress on in order for America to live up to its promise of freedom and equality for all.
Unfortunately, there are two questions that I wish I’d been able to ask her, but didn’t have the time.
I am really interested in how Democrats plan to motivate and speak to the issues of concern for young voters, especially those of color. This is a demographic that can make a real electoral impact at the local and national level. After having the chance to speak with Black PAC about their recent polling data, it’s quite clear that young black voters are interested in more than a “Dump Trump” strategy in 2018 and beyond. And black voters in general want to see Democrats taking progressive stances and leading on fighting racism and discrimination, police harassment, funding for schools, crime and violence. Though I know Sen. Warren’s record on these things, I would be interested in her thoughts about how the party can speak to and do better on these issues.
And before someone invariably comments about the following: yes, I know Democrats are doing WAY better than Republicans on all of these things. In fact, Republicans are dragging us back into the Stone Age when it comes to making progress on justice issues. But accountability matters. Democrats can’t just say they care about these things and continue to make slow progress or none at all on them. Many voters want to see Democrats do better in this regard, and I’d love to know what prominent progressives like Sen. Warren are thinking on the topic.
My final question would have been about what Democrats can do to improve conditions in urban communities and neighborhoods, especially like the very ones adjacent to Capitol Hill. As a Washington, D.C., resident, I’m disheartened at how gentrification has dramatically increased the cost of living and caused mass displacement in certain neighborhoods while others remain poverty-stricken and crime-ridden. It does not escape me that Democrats have spent an incredible amount of time talking about rural voters, economic anxiety, and the middle class while ignoring the very conditions and people in their own backyards.
Democrats definitely need to talk about what they will do for everyone and at the same time, cannot continue to turn a blind eye to what’s happening in urban America. Just like rural white folks want good jobs and access to opportunities, so do people of color living in cities across the country. Democrats may be having these conversations at a local level but I’d like to see them elevate this conversation nationally.
At any rate, it was a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with Sen. Warren. She has a lot of respect for the Daily Kos community, as well! It’s great to have her in the fight to create a more inclusive, just, and fair America.