Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) spoke at the Ideas Conference hosted by the Center for American Progress Tuesday, telling the audience that “democracy is crumbling around us.” She cited Hillary Clinton’s popular vote win but general election loss as a sign of an unhealthy democracy.
“Our democracy itself, the process by which we turn great ideas into real, tangible progress, for the American people, that democracy is crumbling around us,” she claimed.
"In 2016, nearly 3 million more people voted for Hillary Clinton than for Donald Trump, but Trump took the presidency," Warren continued. "That is not exactly the sign of a healthy democracy. Democracy hangs on the idea that whoever gets the most votes wins. That's the central starting point and it's worth repeating every single day.”
Warren argued that Democrats need to address the crisis she thinks Trump is causing for democracy before they can push progressive ideas.
Today I announced at #CAPIdeas that I’m sending $175,000 to organizations working to win back state legislatures and fight for fair redistricting. We all need to do our part. pic.twitter.com/kHxUK2uLg1
— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) May 16, 2018
"While we'd rather talk about great ideas,” she said, “we can't climb that hill by ignoring the millions of Americans who are angry and scared about the damage this president and this Republican party have done to our democracy. We can't ignore it, and we shouldn't want to ignore it."
Warren also called voter ID laws “racist” and argued that the candidate who wins the popular vote should win the election.
“Men like Trump only wind up in power when democracies are already decaying,” she concluded. “As a party we must now promise that if we are in charge we will do more than just be wiser or more ethical stewards of a broken system. No, we have to promise real, structural change.”