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On Saturday morning, as the nations attention turned to the white supremacist march in Charlottesville and its violent aftermath, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) used a speech at the progressive Netroots Nation convention to lay down a marker for the Democratic Partys future.

There was little buzz in the room about the 2020 presidential primaries shouts of Run Warren Run and Warren 2020 were short and muted. But Warren, one of the partys most popular figures, told activists that they could safely ignore any advice about how Democrats could win only through moderation.

Here are four points that were probably going to hear more about as the left wages and mostly wins battles inside the party.

No fear of identity politics. Near the top of her remarks, Warren ridiculed by name a New York Times op-ed in which pollster Mark Penn and disgraced politician Andrew Stein beseeched Democrats to move to the center and reject the siren calls of the left. This, according to Warren, not-so-subtly suggested that the party needed to pander to white voters at the expense of non-whites.

Apparently, the path forward is to go back to locking up non-violent drug offenders and ripping more holes in our economic safety net, Warren said. Later, she counted off a series of issues where Democrats decisively took the side of black activists. The system is rigged, she said

when the black-white wealth gap triples over the past three decades. When racist voter ID laws and voter suppression tactics sprout like weeds all across the country. When a man too racist to become a judge in the 1980s now runs the Department of Justice. When communities like Flint are living with poisoned water and polluted air. When theres still no justice for, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Philando Castile and so many more.

Warrens opposition to Attorney General Jeff Sessions was already famous, especially on the left, but it was striking that she called him a racist and she did so to applause.

Defining the bad donors. Warren, who has repeatedly criticized her partys 2016 presidential campaign messaging, included one pointed line: Were not going back to the days when a Democrat who wanted to run for a seat in Washington first had to grovel on Wall Street. It was impossible to hear that line and not think of how Hillary Clintons campaign, especially after the primary against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), never shook off the stigma of Wall Street money.

But Warren, who represents Marthas Vineyard and other bastions of big Democratic money, defined the bad sort of donations narrowly. That reframed the kind of argument that broke out after Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) met withClinton donors. It would be impossible to fund Democratic campaigns without most of the people who backed Clinton; it is possible, and likely a good frame for 2018 and 2020, to noisily reject financial industry money.

Labor rights as civil rights. Warren suggested that Democrats needed to get behind basically every priority of the labor movement, and make it easier to join a union, a cause that was stymied in 2010 when Democrats lost the supermajority that could have passed the Employee Free Choice (or card check) bill.

Were going to fight for fully portable benefits for everyone, said Warren, and were going to fight to make sure that all work full-time, part-time, gig carries basic, pro-rata benefits. Were going to fight to make it easier for workers to come together to form a union so they can take power into their own hands. And were going to turn the minimum wage into a living wage. Fight for $15!

Single-payer health care as a 2020 standard. The arguments between Democrats about whether every 2018 candidate should back single-payer health care are happening, in part, because single-payer is becoming a de facto Democratic position in 2020. Every Senate Democrat seen as a potential candidate, from Warren to Harris to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), now backs Medicare for All. Even Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.), who launched the first 2020 bid this month to lets be honest an avalanche of skepticism, has said hes for single-payer evolving from the context of the market we have now.

Warren used her speech to reiterate her support for expanding Social Security payments, and to make single-payer the partys default health-care pitch. Its not enough just to defend the Affordable Care Act, were going to improve it, starting with bringing down the costs of prescription drugs and leading the fight for Medicare for all, she said.

The whole speech is below.

Before I begin, I would like to say a word about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program DACA that was just discussed.

The fights that we fight for they matter. In 2012 because of persistence of many of you in this room 800,000 young men and women were protected from deportation.

Because of DACA, DREAMers, who are as American as you and me, were promised a chance. The chance to work. The chance to live without the fear of being ripped away from the only home most of them have ever known. The chance to build a future.

Now, President Trump will make a decision on DACA. DREAMers future hangs in the balance. This Tuesday, August 15, people are mobilizing to protect DREAMers. Lets not sit back. Lets stand together to say: President Trump, let DREAMers stay. They are our friends, our family, our future. Give DREAMers the chance to build their dreams.

These fights matter. These fights matter, and thats why its good to be back at Netroots Nation!

Thank you Mary, thank you Eric, thank you Arshad, and thank you to the entire Netroots Nation team for bringing us together again. And what a treat it is to be here in Atlanta the hometown of a man who has taught us the importance of necessary trouble, my friend and hero John Lewis.

I look out here and see 3000 progressives, people of every race, gender, religion, and color, all committed to building a better future. I look out here and I see Donald Trumps worst nightmare.

Yes, Trumps worst nightmare, but also a big threat to everyone who kind of likes things the way they work now. A few weeks ago, I saw an op-ed in the New York Times from a so-called Democratic strategist titled, Back to the Center, Democrats.

It was all about how we have to stop caring about, quote, identity politics and stop waging, quote, class warfare. Apparently, the path forward is to go back to locking up non-violent drug offenders and ripping more holes in our economic safety net.

I even got a shoutout! Apparently, Im the face of the problem. So is Bernie. But lets be really clear here the real power, the real threat, is not me its you, all of you. Its your energy, your passion, and your commitment to our values that threaten the bland, business-as-usual establishment.

Weve been warned off before. Give up, keep your heads down, be realistic, act like a grown-up, keep doing the same old same old.

But heres whats interesting: instead of lots of lots of ferocious back-and-forth and piling on, this time, no one cared. Big yawn. Why? Because the Democratic Party isnt going back to the days of welfare reform and the crime bill. It is NOT going to happen.

Were not going back to the days of being lukewarm on choice.

Were not going back to the days when universal health care was something Democrats talked about on the campaign trail but were too chicken to fight for after they got elected.

And were not going back to the days when a Democrat who wanted to run for a seat in Washington first had to grovel on Wall Street.

Democrats are heading forward. We are looking ahead and we will not, we shall not, we must not allow anyone to turn back the clock.

A lot of you have been coming since the very first YearlyKos in 2006. That feels like a long, long time ago. Way back in 2006 and still when I first started coming in 2010, a big part of what we were trying to do was to crash the gate and get the Democratic Party to listen to us.

We wanted a party led by people who werent afraid to call themselves progressives.

We wanted a party that would defend progressive values.

We wanted a chance to fight for progressive solutions to our nations challenges.

We wanted a movement. And now, look around. We got the progressive movement, and we gather here every year to organize, to energize, and to sing karaoke.

And now?

We are not the gate crashers of todays Democratic Party.

We are not a wing of todays Democratic Party.

We are the heart and soul of todays Democratic Party.

But, boy, weve inherited a hell of a challenge, havent we?

Were gathering here in Atlanta in a moment of crisis for our country. And Im not just talking about Donald Trump and his Twitter account. More and more working families today are hanging on by their fingernails in a country with an economy and a government that works only for those at the very top.

This crisis didnt start when Donald Trump walked into the Oval Office. And it wont just magically disappear the day he walks out of it.

Me, Ive been shouting about this crisis from every rooftop I could find for years talking about how our middle class was squeezed to the breaking point, how chances to move up in this economy were disappearing, and warning that, if we werent careful, the very promise of this nation the commitment to expand opportunities would be lost.

Thats the fight that got me into politics. Thats the fight that brought me to my very first Netroots all those years ago.

How about you? By applause: Who got into the fight because they were passionate about economic justice? Who came to fight for reproductive rights? How about clean air and clean water? How about immigration? Civil rights? Human rights? Anti-war? Campaign finance reform? Net neutrality? Any other bankruptcy nerds in the house?

Thats one of the things I love about coming to Netroots. We all came to this fight from different experiences. We all get fired up about different issues.

But if were going to be the people who lead the Democratic Party back from the wilderness and lead our country out of this dark time, then we cant waste energy arguing about whose issue matters most or who in our alliance should be voted off the island.

We need to see each others fights as our own. And I believe we can.

In the wake of the last election, Ive heard people say we need to decide whether were the party of the white working class or the party of Black Lives Matter.

I say we can care about a dad whos worried that his kid will have to move away from their factory town to find good work and we can care about a mom whos worried that her kid will get shot during a traffic stop.

The way I see it, those two parents have something deep down in common the system is rigged against both of them and against their kids.

Over the last generation, the most powerful people in this country have gotten way more powerful. Corporate profits and CEO pay are near record highs. But workers wages havent budged, and, one after another, workers rights are getting wiped away. Unions are under attack. Millions of people are struggling to piece together two, three, or four jobs just to pay the rent.

The balance of power is shifting in other parts of our economy, too. In industry after industry airlines, banking, health care, agriculture, tech a handful of corporate giants control more and more and more. The big guys are locking out smaller, newer competitors. They are crushing innovation. Even if you dont see the gears turning, this massive consolidation means prices go up and quality goes down for everything from air travel to broadband service. Rural America is left behind, dismissed by corporate giants as fly-over country.

This concentration of power strikes at the heart of our democracy. Our government is supposed to be the one place where everybody gets the same fair shot, no matter how powerful or powerless they might be. But thanks to the revolving door between Capitol Hill, K Street and Wall Street, powerful people have more and more influence in Congress. Thanks to Citizens United, corporate money slithers through Washington like a snake. Washington works great for the rich and powerful, but for everyone else, not so much.

Yes, the system is rigged and if you dont feel like anyone in politics is doing anything to un-rig it, well, thats how a lot of folks who should have been with us last November wound up voting for Donald Trump.

For many Americans, it isnt news that the balance of power in our country has seriously tilted away from them. African Americans. LGBTQ Americans. Immigrants. Muslims. Women. Poor people.

No, I have not personally experienced the fear, the oppression, and the pain that many of my fellow Americans endure every day. But I do know this: For a lot of our fellow citizens, the system is rigged now and it has been rigged for a long, long time.

Dont take my word for it. Just look around.

When women arent invited to the debate over our own health care and health insurance must cover Viagra but not birth control. When were almost two decades into the 21st century and we still dont have equal pay for equal work. When a man running for President of the United States can get caught on tape bragging about sexual assault and Republican party leaders turn a blind eye.

Yeah, the system is rigged.

Keep going. When the black-white wealth gap triples over the past three decades. When racist voter ID laws and voter suppression tactics sprout like weeds all across the country. When a man too racist to become a judge in the 1980s now runs the Department of Justice When communities like Flint are living with poisoned water and polluted air. When theres still no justice for, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Philando Castile and so many more.

Yeah, the system is rigged.

Keep going. When you can still be fired from your job because of who you love. When you cant use a public restroom or serve in the military because of your gender identity. When youre afraid to report a rape because ICE could split up your family. When youre treated like a suspect every minute of your life.

Yeah, the system is rigged.

And if you dont feel like anyone in politics is doing anything to un-rig it, or its too broken to un-rig at all well, thats what a lot of folks felt last November, a lot of folks who should have been with us on election day but who stayed home.

So spare me the argument about whether we ought to be trying to bring back folks who voted for Donald Trump or trying to turn out folks who just didnt vote.

Because we cant do either of those things until we can show that things CAN change and that WE will fight to change them.

Its easy to make the case that Donald Trump and the Republicans arent the answer to any of these problems. Heck, they arent even trying. Look at the Republican priorities:

Cut health care coverage for 25 million Americans and drive up insurance costs for millions more.

Cut taxes for billionaires and giant corporations.

Roll back Wall Street regulations, gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and let the big banks wreck our economy again.

Turn polluters loose and let them spew, dump and destroy whenever and wherever they want.

Zero out the programs that help people keep a roof over their heads.

Double down against Planned Parenthood, against an undocumented immigrants right to due process, against a black Americans right to vote in an election.

And this week, play a stupid, reckless game of chicken with a dangerous foreign power and threaten nuclear war.

The Republican agenda will make the powerful more powerful and leave everyone else further behind. The Republican leadership is willing to threaten our health, our economy, and our basic safety.

All true, and we should say so clearly. But thats not the end of our job. We have to show people that, when we get a chance to lead, things WILL start getting better.

And that starts with showing some backbone. Not just backbone when we stand up to Donald Trump, but backbone when we put forward an agenda.

For so many Americans, every day is a battle against powerful interests. Its time for us to pick sides and get in the fight.

So lets talk about picking sides:

Its time for us to say: Democrats are on the side of working people, on the side of Moms and Dads who dream of a better life for their kids, on the side of people in every part of this country and people of every race, gender, and religion who just want a level playing field and a chance to build a future.

And we know how to show them that their fight is our fight.

Lets start with jobs.

Its time to re-think the basic social contract on labor. Were going to fight for fully portable benefits for everyone. And were going to fight to make sure that all work full-time, part-time, gig carries basic, pro-rata benefits.

Were going to fight to make it easier for workers to come together to form a union so they can take power into their own hands.

And were going to turn the minimum wage into a living wage. Fight for $15!

Its time for us to say: Democrats are on the side of hard working families who are getting pounded every day.

Were going to fight for universal pre-K, and to make it easier for every family to get child care.

Were going to fight like hell to stop Republicans from jacking up the cost of health insurance and taking coverage away from millions. Trumpcare will not get one Democratic vote not now, not ever. But its not enough just to defend the Affordable Care Act, were going to improve it, starting with bringing down the costs of prescription drugs and leading the fight for Medicare for all.

Were going to make it possible for young people to go to college or get a technical degree debt-free.

Were going to fight for affordable housing and good schools across our country, from the biggest cities to the smallest towns and most remote rural homesteads.

And we will fight our hearts out to defend and expand Social Security and Medicare.

Its time for us to say: Democrats are on the side of consumers.

So were going to fight to break up the monopolies that are killing competition.

Were going to put a cop on the beat so that no one can steal your purse on Main Street or your pension on Wall Street.

And whether youre shopping for broadband or a student loan, an airline ticket or health insurance, were going to go to bat for you to help make damn sure you dont get cheated.

Its time for us to say: Democrats are on the side of science.

Were done arguing about whether climate change is real and were going to fight it with everything we have.

Were done arguing about whether trickle-down economics works and were going to fight to build this economy so it works for working families.

Were done arguing about gun safety and were going to fight for the common-sense reforms the overwhelming majority of Americans want.

Read more from the original source:
Elizabeth Warren's advice for Democrats: Don't fall back to the center - Washington Post