Persist
by Elizabeth Warren


(Click for Amazon book review)

BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org:

In "Persist," Senator Elizabeth Warren is less interested in rehashing her ultimately unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign, and more focused on pushing forward on several of her key issues, such as student loan forgiveness, universal healthcare, and instituting a wealth tax.

Nonetheless, it is in part a campaign memoir, filled with stories from the trail, such as her take down of former New York City mayor and millionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg at his sole appearance at one of the Democratic debates in February 2020. She went after him for his treatment of women, his past support for policies like "stop and frisk," and his reticence about releasing his tax returns. Warren shares what was going through her head when after her initial attack, Bloomberg didn't respond and the debate moderators moved on.

"Like so many women in so many settings, I found myself wondering if he had even heard me," she writes. [p. 129]

She didn't let up on him and by the end of the night Bloomberg's campaign was essentially over.

There's also bits of fun trivia for the political junkies, like what she did when FOX News mocked a video message she made where she drank some beer in a bit of informality, but that the conservative outlet declared showed her to be fake and awkward. She decided the attack demonstrated just how seriously they took her, and she celebrated by pulling out another Michelob Ultra. On the substantive side, there are extended discussions of many of her signature issues, including some of the blowback she endured, such as a meeting with the head of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association in which he was outraged over her support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Of great interest is her discussion of her love of plans to which she devotes an entire chapter. "I have a plan for that," was a frequent refrain during her campaign, but here she explains that such plans do more than provide a roadmap for action and a way to be judged by voters, but a way to influence the discussion even if the campaign comes up short. When Washington state Governor Jay Inslee dropped out of the 2020 race she asked if she could pick up on some of his proposals on climate change, which she then incorporated into her own platform. When she later dropped out herself, she heard from Joe Biden who wanted to adopt some of her policy positions on reforming bankruptcy law.

In her last chapter she writes about the "electability" issue that hung over not only her campaign, but that of the other women seeking the nomination. Although she has announced she will be seeking re-election to the Senate in 2024, her message here is that she is looking towards the future in terms of continuing the good fight. Her final word became the title of her book: Persist.

-- Daniel M. Kimmel, editor, OnTheIssues.org, May 2021

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Elizabeth Warren: The role of government on abortion is to back out.

Budget & Economy     Elizabeth Warren: Student debt cancellation would be a huge boost to economy.     Joe Biden: Adopted Elizabeth Warren's bankruptcy plan for families.

Civil Rights     Elizabeth Warren: Every policy should be examined in terms of racial realities.

Crime     Elizabeth Warren: Racist policing isn't one bad apple; it's structural.

Education     Deb Haaland: Early learning not only for people who can afford it.

Health Care     Ayanna Pressley: Pushed for federal COVD testing to gather race statistics.     Ayanna Pressley: Gather COVID testing info for race & ethnicity.

Principles & Values     Ayanna Pressley: Policy is my love language; Warren speaks it fluently.     Elizabeth Warren: No one asks male candidates if they're treated differently.     Elizabeth Warren: Planning makes our democracy work.

Social Security     Elizabeth Warren: Create a payment floor; credits for caretaking.

Tax Reform     Elizabeth Warren: The wealthy have rigged the tax code: tons of loopholes.

Welfare & Poverty     Elizabeth Warren: Illusory that market will ensure enough affordable housing.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Ayanna Pressley Democrat U.S. Rep Massachusetts-7 Deb Haaland New Mexico DOI Secretary Elizabeth Warren Massachusetts Senator Joe Biden Democratic President; former V.P.; former Senator