Why I'm Endorsing Elizabeth Warren

[BeckyDem]

By Ady Barkan
Today 7:57 am

Elizabeth or Bernie? It’s a difficult and wonderful choice to have.

I have spent my entire career at the messy and vital intersection of movement-building, electoral politics, and governance. And for the past three years, I’ve done that work under the debilitating weight of ALS, a deadly neurological illness that’s robbed me of my ability to do almost all the things that most people take for granted: hug my son, go for a walk with my newborn daughter, or speak to my wife. I was diagnosed three weeks before the 2016 presidential election, and I vividly remember wondering, on that tragic November night, whether I was going to die under President Donald Trump.

Whom would I like to see replace him? Of the hundreds of elected officials, activists, and policy wonks I have worked with over the past two decades, Elizabeth Warren is the individual who I believe would make the best president. I believe that she, more than any other person in America, has the skills, the temperament, and the knowledge to lead us toward a more just and equitable future.

Please keep reading, especially if, like me, you’re an admirer of Bernie Sanders. Because I have no intention to diminish his incredible work building our progressive movement or the ways in which his historic campaigns for president have shifted American political discourse. This is, rather, a declaration of how I plan to vote in the California primary, and why.


I believe in Warren because during her whole career, she has fought to put economic and political power in the hands of working families. I’ve seen up close how she confronts a problem: She listens to the people most affected, does her homework, and then comes up with a plan. A brilliant, workable plan.

https://www.thenation.com/article/ady-barkan-elizabeth-warren-endorsement/

On edit. For those who may not be familiar with Ady, from The Atlantic.

Warren was able to cut through with an anecdote about the progressive activist Ady Barkan, who has ALS.“This is somebody who has health insurance and is dying,” Warren said. “Every month, he has about $9,000 in medical bills that his insurance company won’t cover. His wife, Rachael, is on the phone for hours and hours and hours begging the insurance company: Please cover what the doctors say he needs. He talks about what it’s like to go online with thousands of other people to beg friends, family, and strangers for money so he can cover his medical expenses.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/elizabeth-warren-i-am-not-afraid-democratic-debate/595135/

[blm]

1. Ady Barkan is a true hero.

[BeckyDem]

2. +1 He's a wonderful young man.

[DCofVA]

3. Thank you, Ady, I can't think of another endorsement that could mean more.

The disease has not conquered you. Your voice is louder than ever.
Listen America! Ady knows what he's talking about.

[blm]

4. First hand. Every day.