Netroots Nation attendees see Clinton as a perfectly acceptable option. Dem base: Wishing for Warren

DETROIT — Their heads might be with Hillary Clinton, but their hearts are decidedly with Elizabeth Warren.

As the high-profile annual confab of progressives called Netroots Nation kicked off here Thursday, it took no time for a consensus on 2016 to emerge. Interviews with more than a dozen attendees made clear the liberal base sees Clinton as a perfectly acceptable option — and probably their best shot at keeping the White House in Democratic hands.


Yet they still pine for the unattainable — the crusading senator from Massachusetts — never mind that Warren has said every which way it’s not happening. Warren is set to deliver a much-anticipated keynote address on Friday morning; Clinton, who is still on a book tour to promote her new memoir, is not expected to attend.

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“Let’s put it this way,” said Pamela Hilliard Owens, 63, a liberal blogger from Detroit. “I want to see [Clinton] run for president because I know she would win. Who would I really want to see run for president? Elizabeth Warren.”

Netroots draws the most liberal elements of the Democratic base — but they are also among the most politically active, and Clinton will need to inspire enthusiasm among them should she run. And it’s not as if that sentiment is nonexistent: Several people said they see her as a trailblazer for women in politics. But many others also described the former secretary of state and first lady as too close to Wall Street, too conservative on national security issues and as an insufficiently fiery champion for the middle class.

Should Clinton run, there is no clear rival-in-waiting on the left. And even if Warren did jump into the race, the press-shy senator is no Barack Obama when it comes to retail campaigning and soaring oratory. But this portion of the base’s lack of enthusiasm for Clinton echoes some of the same challenges she faced when she ran for president in 2008 and initially appeared inevitable — if out-of-step with progressives on financial and foreign policy matters — only to be eclipsed by Obama. The last time she appeared at Netroots, in 2007, she was briefly booed by activists.

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The conversations suggest that for both Clinton and the Democratic base, at least at this early stage, this is a marriage of necessity more than passion. But each side knows they need it to work and seem willing to try.

“Certainly, I would vote for her, OK, but if she wins the primary, I’m going to focus on local elections,” said Alberto Saavedra, who works in the computer industry in Los Angeles. Asked whom he would be excited about for 2016, he replied, “Guess who … Elizabeth Warren. She has spoken so well about the issues that concern average Americans, she’s not too of-Wall Street. Hillary is too Wall Street and also too hawkish, but compared to any of the Republicans, she’s acceptable.”

In their eyes, Clinton and just about everyone else pales next to Warren, with her combative stance against big banks, passionate rhetoric about changing a “rigged” economic system and promises to fight for working people.

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“Is [Clinton] the strongest possible candidate for the Democrats? Yes,” said Sean Wherley, 40, who works for a labor union in Los Angeles. But Warren, whom he would also like to see run, “captures the concerns of a lot of people in this country with economic security.”

The gathering follows a summer of scrutiny over Clinton’s personal finances and the way in which she discussed both her own wealth and economic issues — such as income inequality — that resonate deeply with the progressive base. Clinton generated a wave of attention as she has rolled out her new memoir about her time at the State Department, “Hard Choices,” giving countless interviews and speeches.

“Does she connect with people? Can she articulate [their struggles]?” Wherley said. “Elizabeth Warren speaks regularly about that. Hillary Clinton does not. … Elizabeth Warren intends to lift up the middle class. I don’t know what Hillary’s vision is for doing that. Would she cross bankers? Payday lenders?”

Of course, Clinton hasn’t announced yet whether she will run, and she is not currently in office, so she hasn’t had to put forth detailed policy positions.

But amid a series of gaffes during the book tour tied to her family wealth, including saying that she and former President Bill Clinton were “dead broke” when they left the White House, Clinton has also sought to highlight her long record of fighting for the middle class, and to show a more populist side.

“We have to do a better job of getting our economy growing again and producing results and renewing the American dream so Americans feel they have a stake in the future and that the economy and political system is not stacked against them,” she said last month.

But the interviews underlined that Clinton still has her work cut out to excite the Netroots crowd.

Clinton is “fairly close to Wall Street, she’s less aggressive about standing up,” said Derek Cressman, who just lost a bid for California secretary of state. “On economic populism, Warren is stronger. Credible and stronger language, standing up to banks, standing up to Wall Street.”

Representatives for Clinton and Warren didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The Massachusetts senator is the star of the show here, even when she is not in attendance. Her name is invoked in the titles of breakout sessions (“You’re not Elizabeth Warren but you can raise money!”). Groups devoted to the “Elizabeth Warren wing of the Democratic Party” are here, as are representatives from at least one group urging her to run.

Even Vice President Joe Biden — another potential 2016 contender — nodded to her in his speech on Thursday. He said that Warren, President Barack Obama, himself and attendees at Netroots all shared similar values. Her name was met with applause.

Clinton fans are also on site. Ready for Hillary, the grass-roots-focused group encouraging Clinton to run, is a co-sponsor of the event — the organization’s name frequently pops up on screens in the auditorium —and gave $10,000 to the conference this spring. The group sponsored a snacks-and-coffee table, hosted a panel and gave out more than 2,000 coffee mugs on Thursday, according to a spokesman. It will sponsor a party on Friday night.

“The reception we’ve seen is great,” spokesman Seth Bringman said. “We’re happy to be here to support Netroots Nation and this gathering.”

Some attendees, like Elizabeth Beier, 24, said they would be excited to see two women run. She sees Warren as the more aggressive fighter and admires her willingness to “take on bigger fish.” But she views Clinton as the most electable.

“I’m going to be in a bit of a pickle if both [Clinton] and Warren run,” said Beier, who works at a climate change-related group. “Technically, Elizabeth Warren is a little closer to my heart.”