I see Elizabeth Warren is making the same tactical error as did the many Republicans who were mowed down by Trump in the GOP presidential nomination contest, as CNN is reporting:
President Donald Trump might be in jail by the time Election Day comes around, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren said on her first full day of campaigning as a declared presidential candidate.
“By the time we get to 2020, Donald Trump may not even be President,” Warren said to voters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, gathered at the Veterans Memorial Building. “In fact, he may not even be a free person.”
The moment marked a notable shift in tone for Warren, who has been reluctant to take on Trump directly by name since she announced her exploratory campaign on New Year’s Eve.
This is an unsettling echo of the “Lock her up!” chants prevalent at Trump campaign rallies, hell even his campaign rallies that he’s held since the election. Trump has a proven history of excelling when he can dictate the terms of the engagement, as so many Republicans tried to play his game and lost. Warren fell for it – again. Her other time was the whole DNA history thing to “prove” she has some Indian ancestry. She fell into Trump’s trap then, and I think she fell into one this time without Trump even trying.
I have no idea whether she’ll win the Democratic nomination, but if she does, every time she appears she’ll stir up the Trump base. That may not be enough to rob her of a victory, but it’ll make it that much harder.
The Dems need to pay attention to the Pelosi / Schumer strategy during the shutdown drama. Treat the office with respect, treat the man with the respect due to being the occupant, don’t let your hair catch fire, and dictate where the battle will be fought.
This will be harder for Senator Warren as a campaigner than for Pelosi and Schumer as sitting officials with good poker hands. The easiest is the respect thing, because by reinforcing the idea that there are certain standards he’s expected to meet, every time he fails, it’ll be a reminder to the independents and wavering conservatives of the fact of Trump’s kakistocracy.
But I think Warren is playing Trump’s game right now.
