WAPO: Why go to the trouble of running for president to promote ideas that can't work?

[BlueMTexpat]

35. I am now firmly in Elizabeth Warren's

corner and do not take kindly to those who snipe at her, whether they be supporters of other candidates or whether they be columnists, pundits or so-called political "experts."

Elizabeth has a history of evolving with what the facts show. She is not afraid to start big and she is not afraid of compromise when the facts warrant such.

As for this quote from the OP, "The next president should have a vision of progress for the nation that is expansive and inspiring. It also should be grounded in mathematical and political reality," if there is ANY political candidate in the group who is "grounded in mathematics," it is Warren.

As for "political reality," she has an excellent report card from GovTrak that shows her effectiveness as a Senator. That certainly takes an understanding of political reality. Here is her record from 2018. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/elizabeth_warren/412542/report-card/2018

For comparison purposes, it is worth while checking GovTrak for the other legislators who are currently Dem candidates. Here is an interesting article that summarizes Govtrak results for all candidates who are now or once were legislators save for Biden and Inslee, as of the time the article was written (the most recent update was on May 3).

Biden and Inslee were not included because the tools currently used for analysis were not in place when they served. See https://govtrackinsider.com/what-can-govtrack-data-tell-us-about-the-nine-most-recent-and-current-members-of-congress-running-14bc37b1f4b8

There are some surprises in the article. Here are a couple:

...
Most Liberal
There are three candidates GovTrack rates most liberal. In order of their 2018 report card ideology scores they are: senators. Kirsten Gillibrand, Bernie Sanders, and Kamala Harris. These three have all cosponsored bills to provide Medicare access for all Americans and make college tuition-free for working and middle class students attending public universities. They are the least likely candidates to introduce or support bipartisan legislation, and often break with the Democratic party to oppose certain bipartisan appropriations bills.
Sanders may have had the lowest leadership score among the candidates, lower even than Harris, who has only served for two years, but among the progressives Sanders is a distinct leader. He was the primary sponsor of not only the Medicare for All and College for All Acts, but also of the Raise the Wage Act, which would increase the federal minimum wage to $15/hr and was cosponsored by every other candidate.
The Middle
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker can be considered the middle of the pack, but don’t be deceived; that still means they are quite liberal. Both candidates cosponsored Sanders’ Medicare for All and Raise the Wage Act. They both also cosponsored another bill to make college tuition-free, along with Gillibrand and Harris.
These candidates are less liberal in our calculations because of their frequency working across the aisle. Warren in particular may come as a surprise. While the Democratic leader has been characterized as partisan, over half of the bills she has introduced in her time in Congress have had a Republican cosponsor, such as the End Banking for Human Traffickers Act, which we summarized. We also summarized one of Booker’s bipartisan bills, the Eliminating Federal Tax Subsidies for Stadiums Act.
...

I sincerely hope that ALL Democrats take these excellent words from Pete Buttigieg in the second debate to heart. We must.

"It's time to stop worrying about what the Republicans will say. It's true that if we embrace a far left agenda, they're going to say we're a bunch of crazy socialists. If we embrace a conservative agenda, you know what they're going to do? They're going to say we're a bunch of crazy socialists. Let's stand up for the right policy, go up there and defend it."

Elizabeth is not afraid to do just that. She is exactly the kind of fighter that we must have and that is why I am supporting her.