Warren saves her fire for Republican attacks

[BeyondGeography]

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Her dismissal from a job 48 years ago had been catapulted into the news by a conservative media outlet, and she herself had just ignited a fresh round of hand-wringing about her willingness to court big donors for the Democratic Party if she is the presidential nominee. So as Senator Elizabeth Warren faced a knot of reporters after a walking tour of an environmentally degraded neighborhood here on Wednesday, she had to work to keep the focus on the matter at hand. “Did anyone,” she asked pointedly, “have a question on environmental justice?”

Warren’s steady climb in the polls is drawing increasingly frequent barbs from her rivals and heightened scrutiny of her every move, opening up a new phase for a disciplined candidate that could distract voters from the core message and policy proposals that have helped propel her rise. But as the heat picked up in recent days, Warren’s strategy — as shown in her remarks in South Carolina this week — has started to emerge. While the idea of combat has long been central to Warren’s political brand — the word “fight” is in her campaign slogan and two of her book titles — she appears to be carefully picking her battles.

She has largely ignored jabs from her Democratic opponents while saving her fire for attacks more central to her political identity — an approach that seems intended to project strength and focus ahead of a potential contest with President Trump while downplaying her Democratic rivals.

Warren strongly fought back when the conservative Washington Free Beacon questioned the accuracy of a story she frequently tells on the campaign trail, turning it into a galvanizing moment for her female supporters. At the same time, she declined to respond to overt or subtle criticism from Democratic rivals like former vice president Joe Biden, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, even though it is something she could face more of on the debate stage Tuesday in Ohio as her opponents scramble to change the trajectory of the race.

“The clock’s running out,” said Colin Reed, a Republican strategist who worked on Scott Brown’s unsuccessful Senate race against Warren in 2012. “I don’t think she’s going to implode on her own.”

...Warren’s allies have used the incident to draw favorable comparisons between her and Biden, who responded tentatively as Trump began making unfounded claims about his son’s activities in Ukraine before he finally called for the president’s impeachment this week. “He comes out of a generation of Democratic politicians that tends to be a little more cautious,” said Mike Lux, a former staffer for Biden’s 1988 presidential campaign who supported Warren during her fight to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“Elizabeth, I think, is used to hitting back harder and faster,” Lux said, recalling the words from a sign he kept on the wall when he worked on Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign: “Speed kills.”

More at https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2019/10/10/elizabeth-warren-picks-her-battles-attacks-pick/9eXRLicIKmgFPv3MEzQezK/story.html

[Blue_true]

1. My friends from her state says that she is a counter-puncher extrodinaire.

There is a rumour that Tulsi wants to pick a fight with Senator Warren during the upcoming debate. Big mistake on Gabbard's part.

[Hekate]

2. Such an admirable woman. I really do like her.