Keller @ Large: Timing Most Notable Aspect Of Warren's Announcement
BOSTON (CBS) - To the surprise of no one, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has announced she'll seek a second term next year.
In a blunt fundraising e-mail, Warren writes:
"The people of Massachusetts didn't send me to Washington to roll over and play dead while Donald Trump and his team of billionaires, bigots, and Wall Street bankers crush the working people of our Commonwealth and this country…. The smears and right-wing attacks from Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, the Koch Brothers and Wall Street aren't about to get a little worse – they're about to get A LOT worse. We cannot and will not allow the Republicans and the powerful interests to sink our campaign the same way they sank so many campaigns in 2016."
That's typical Warren-speak.
And the most notable thing about it isn't the rhetoric or the fact that she's seeking re-election – it's the timing.
In case you hadn't noticed, the Democratic Party lacks an obvious leader.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has been making the rounds and Sen. Bernie Sanders is visible. But Schumer is the consummate insider and Sanders isn't getting any younger.
Warren's scathing rhetorical style has made her the advocate of choice for many on the left, and this early announcement clears the way for her to go all-out as an anti-Trump crusader.
The timing also coincides with a somewhat turbulent political period for Warren, where she's come under friendly fire for moments of allegedly-excessive harshness.
Plus, it's not lost on Warren that a WBZ/UMass Amherst poll last fall showed a couple of potential Republican candidates (Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and former Gov. Bill Weld) within striking distance of her in potential 2018 matchups.
Elizabeth Warren loves a good fight, and she certainly has one on her hands in the form of the incoming president.
For her, the need to lock down re-election by consolidating her financial and political support both locally and nationally and the opportunity to do what she does best – scorch the conservative status quo – are merged with Friday's announcement.