As Warren rises, so do attacks on her truthfulness
Sen. Elizabeth Warren鈥檚 opponents may not win in a battle of plans. But attacking her honesty could undercut her image of combating corruption.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren鈥檚 opponents may not win in a battle of plans. But attacking her honesty could undercut her image of combating corruption.
Dear reader:
If there was any doubt that the Democratic primary race has a new frontrunner, last night鈥檚 debate settled it.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren 鈥� who has lately inched ahead of former Vice President Joe Biden in some polls, and whose fundraising and crowd sizes show even more momentum 鈥� came under attack from all sides. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar called her Medicare for All plan a 鈥減ipe dream.鈥� Former Texas Rep. Beto O鈥橰ourke accused her of pitting one group of Americans against another. Mr. Biden charged she鈥檇 accomplished very little during her time in Congress.
Underneath all the jabs on policy was a more pointed critique.
鈥淓very attack on Warren so far is subtly (and not so subtly) about honesty and not policy,鈥� Politico鈥檚 Ryan Lizza tweeted during the debate. 鈥淭his is very similar to how Obama went after Clinton in the fall of 2007 鈥� character instead of white papers.鈥�
Republicans have been mapping out this line of attack for some time. The聽recent brouhaha聽over Senator Warren鈥檚 assertion that she had been fired from a teaching job in the 1970s for being pregnant was a direct strike at her truthfulness.
And while it may have echoes of Barack Obama鈥檚 strategy against Hillary Clinton, it鈥檚 even more reminiscent of the attacks against former Vice President Al Gore during the 2000 election.
During that cycle, George W. Bush鈥檚 camp pounced on Mr. Gore鈥檚 statements 鈥� such as his claim that he 鈥渢ook the initiative in creating the Internet鈥� 鈥� to cast him as a serial exaggerator. It wound up being聽a devastating critique, as the media began scrutinizing all of Mr. Gore鈥檚 remarks for inaccuracies. The effect was to undercut Mr. Gore鈥檚 squeaky clean, Boy Scout-like image (in contrast to his boss).
Senator Warren has, for now, seemingly survived the 鈥淧ocahontas鈥� attacks from President Donald Trump 鈥� referring to her past claims to Native American heritage, for which she has聽apologized. The underlying thrust of that whole episode, however, was to聽raise questions聽about her honesty. Those questions hit right at the heart of her brand as someone who will call out corruption and speak truth to power.
Of course, Democrats will note that President Trump is聽hardly in a position聽to question anyone else鈥檚 truthfulness. But if he can succeed in muddying Senator Warren鈥檚 image on that front, he will have neutralized one of her main strengths.
Let us know what you鈥檙e thinking at聽csmpolitics@csmonitor.com.