Challenge Clinton

Boston Globe editorial calls for Warren to challenge Clinton

By Alexandra Jaffe

The Boston Globe editorial board joined a growing chorus of voices urging Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to run for president with an editorial published this weekend, despite the Democratic senator repeatedly saying she will not seek the nomination in 2016.

"Democrats would be making a big mistake if they let Hillary Clinton coast to the presidential nomination without real opposition, and, as a national leader, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren can make sure that doesn't happen," the editorial opens.

Clinton leads the potential Democratic field by huge margins in every survey of the race, with a recent CNN/ORC survey giving her 62% support among Democrats to Warren's 10% support. But Clinton faces deep skepticism from the progressive base within her party, who see Warren as a stronger advocate on key issues like income inequality and Wall Street reform.

The editorial board suggests they'd want her to run to win, noting that Clinton has been beaten before by an upstart underdog challenger, the senator from Illinois who later became President Barack Obama. But it primarily argues that Warren should run to force Clinton into a debate on those key economic issues.

"Unlike Clinton, or any of the prospective Republican candidates, Warren has made closing the economic gaps in America her main political priority, in a career that has included standing up for homeowners facing illegal foreclosures and calling for more bankruptcy protections. If she runs, it'll ensure that those issues take their rightful place at the center of the national political debate," the board writes.

The freshman senator has long resisted calls to run, however, repeatedly insisting she has no interest in the presidency and would rather work on those issues from the Senate. But the Boston Globe editorial board refutes that argument, writing that with Republicans in control of the House and the Senate, Warren may have the best shot at effecting change from the White House.

"For the foreseeable future, the best pathway Warren and other Democrats have for implementing their agenda runs through the White House," they write.

The editorial also pans three of the most prominent contenders openly considering taking Clinton on. Neither former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb nor former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley "represent top-tier opponents," the board writes, and "it's difficult to imagine [independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders] thriving on the trail."

It closes with a call to action for Warren.

"She should not shrink from the chance to set the course for the Democratic Party or cede that task to Hillary Clinton without a fight," the board writes.