Our economic system 'kicks dirt in the face' of non-billionaires, Warren says at DNC

Sen. Elizabeth Warren focused on childcare during her speech Wednesday night at the Democratic National Committee, in an impassioned yet subdued message delivered from an early childhood education center in Massachusetts that has been shuttered since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Massachusetts Democrat and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, recounted a story from her early years of motherhood, when she was struggling to jumpstart her career as a teacher and manage her home life.

“One night my Aunt Bee called to check in. I thought I was fine, but then I just broke down and started to cry. I had tried holding it all together, but without reliable childcare, working was nearly impossible. And when I told Aunt Bee I was going to quit my job, I thought my heart would break,” said Warren.

Her own career, she said, would not have been possible had her Aunt Bee not stepped in to assist with childcare for a decade-and-a-half.

Though Warren did not place significant emphasis on the specifics of the progressive agenda during her speech, she delivered at least one punch to her signature enemy – big business – in her backing of primary rival Joe Biden for president.  

“Our economic system has been rigged to give bailouts to billionaires and kick dirt in the face of everyone else,” she said. “Joe’s plan to “build back better” includes making the wealthy pay their fair share, holding corporations accountable, repairing racial inequities, and fighting corruption in Washington.”

During the Democratic primary, Warren generated excitement among a certain group of progressive voters who felt she would deliver all Hillary Clinton could and did not in 2016.

But Warren’s brand of progressivism failed to catch on during the primary cycle, when she could not attract enough voters from the party's center-left branch or from democratic socialists, who tended towards Sen. Bernie Sanders, to stay in the race.