Sen. Elizabeth Warren minced no words speaking at the AFL-CIO's convention, taking on not just Wall Street—one of her frequent topics—but the
Supreme Court:
She cited an academic study that called the current Supreme Court’s five conservative-leaning justices among the “top 10 most pro-corporate justices in half a century.”
“You follow this pro-corporate trend to its logical conclusion, and sooner or later you’ll end up with a Supreme Court that functions as a wholly owned subsidiary of Big Business,” Warren said, drawing murmurs from the crowd.
It's not pretty, but it's true. Warren also addressed trade deals, an area of particular concern for unions:
“Wall Street, pharmaceuticals, telecom, big polluters and outsourcers are all salivating at the chance to rig upcoming trade deals in their favor,” Warren said. “I’ve heard people actually say that [trade deals] have to be secret because if the American people knew what was going on, they would be opposed.”
She continued: “I believe that if people would be opposed to a particular trade agreement, then that trade agreement should not happen.”
Despite the obstacles she laid out, Warren's speech was a call to fight:
Our agenda is America's agenda. The American people know the system is rigged against them and they want us to level the playing field. That's our mandate. That's what we're here to do.
Now I've already fought—and lost—my share of battles in Washington and I've been around long enough to know Washington is a tough place. Real reform isn't easy. But I also know this: We don't fight, we can't win. But if we fight, we will win. The budget, immigration, minimum wage—uphill battles? You bet, but however tough the challenge, however steep our climb, I am proud to stand with you, to march with you, to fight side by side with you.
Our agenda is America's agenda. Let me hear it: Our agenda is America's agenda. And if we fight for it, we win. We win!
Warren's speech was originally scheduled for later in the convention, but rescheduled to Sunday so that she could be present for the Senate's debate on Syria.
