Will former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) pick Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) as her vice presidential nominee? Well, here is the thing…
Sen. Warren is one of the most accomplished anti-Wall Street populist in the Democratic Party. Sec. Clinton has relied on big Wall Street donors to fund her campaign. Appointing Sen. Warren is therefore the likely equivalent of loosing millions of dollars in contributions.
The wealthy donors of Wall Street despise Sen. Warren’s attacks on the financial industry, and think her as Clinton’s V.P. would be damaging to the economy.
According to Politico, they have warned that donations from the industry is likely to vanish if Clinton surprises them and taps Warren. One top Democratic donor who has helped raise millions for Clinton said,
“If Clinton picked Warren, her whole base on Wall Street would leave her. […] They would literally just say, ‘We have no qualms with you moving left, we understand all the things you’ve had to do because of Bernie Sanders, but if you are going there with Warren, we just can’t trust you, you’ve killed it.’”
Thought leaders from the financial industry believe the first 100 days of a President Clinton administration could feature potential deal making with Republicans, who are likely to maintain their majority in the House of Representatives.
“The dream deal for Wall Street would be a combination of targeted infrastructure spending that appeals mostly to Democrats and corporate and international tax reform that could bring Republicans along. The fear is that Warren would make such a deal more difficult.”
One D.C. Democrat with close ties to the banking industry explained,
“Clinton is going to face a divided government unless there is a total tsunami. […] What you want in a vice president is someone who can negotiate for you on the Hill, someone like Joe Biden. And that is not a Warren strength.”
But many interviewed by Politico felt the chances are slim anyways of Warren being picked. One hedge fund manager who raised millions for Hillary and for President Bill Clinton before her said,
“First of all, they don’t particularly like each other.[…]The absolute predicate for a vice presidential nominee is they have to understand they are No. 2 both during the campaign and once you take office, and I just don’t think Elizabeth Warren is that type of person.”
So what does Sec. Clinton herself think? A spokesman for her campaign declined to comment for this story, but Clinton herself has previously stated that Warren is qualified to be vice president,
“I have the highest regard for Sen. Warren. […] I think she is an incredible public servant, eminently qualified for any role. I look forward to working with her on behalf of not only the campaign and her very effective critique of [Donald] Trump, but also on the issues that she and I both care about.”
While some people involved in Sec. Clinton’s campaign see Sen. Warren as one of the top picks of all possible V.P candidates, other candidates are equally highly considered, and perhaps less of a threat to Wall Street.
Such Democratic Sens. as Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Cory Booker of New Jersey; Labor Secretary Tom Perez; Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, and Rep. Xavier Becerra of California, among others, for example.
There is a lot at stake. Sec. Clinton hopes to raise $1.5 billion for her campaign against Donald Trump (R-N.Y.), and has relied on Wall Street as a major source of funding over the years.
So is picking Warren as vice presidential nominee worth it for Clinton?
Watch MSNBC discuss further pros and cons here:
Featured Image: Screenshot Of MSNBC Video Via YouTube.
