What happened to Elizabeth?

[AngelicaHora]

77. I think it's quite easy to see where she went wrong

Her first error was to say "I'm with Bernie on Medicare For All", while she was running on a platform to have a plan for everything. Bernie is a populist who does not have a plan for anything. The appeal of his message is how simple it sounds. But the real world is far more complicated.

A series of errors followed. Her insistence that middle class taxes would not go up opened her up to a rare but memorable Buttigieg attack line, where he accused her of not having a health care plan and leaving a "multi-trillion dollar hole" unexplained. She was forced into releasing a detailed M4A plan, which proved what most reasonable people already knew; before we go any further, the only logical next step is a public option. What's more, even in her detailed plan the revenue was nowhere near enough to cover the expected cost. The episode hurt her entire platform. If she couldn't get this plan right, then what about all the others?

Next she hurt herself by attacking her opponents in a disingenuous way. Her attack on Pete's wine cave quickly backfired when her hypocrisy was exposed; it hurt both of their candidacies and ultimately only Sanders benefited from it. Her attack on Sanders about something he might have said a few years ago was another pointless exercise. And she still hasn't learned. Just yesterday she attacked Biden for his high dollar fundraisers. These attacks aren't clicking with anyone other than the far left purists who are already firmly in the Sanders camp.

Lastly, the overall message of her campaign has been shifting way too much. "I have a plan for that" was great. Becoming the "anti-corruption" candidate was also a viable alternative that she has pursued. But now she's also trying to be the "unity" candidate. She's even leaning on identity politics. The coherence is gone.

Warren is a brilliant person and Senator and I was a strong supporter early on. But it's clear she doesn't really have good political instincts, and this campaign hasn't been good to her. I look forward to when it's behind her and she goes back to being the Warren we've known for years. There were already hints of it in her semi-concession speech after New Hampshire, which was great.