BloombergBusinessweek July 29, 2019
hertalentforcreatinga publicspectaclearoundanissuethat
wasimportanttoherandgettingthebetterofwhicheveremi-
nenceshewaspittedagainst.Warrenspenta decadefighting
tostopthecreditcardindustry,basedinBiden’shomestateof
Delaware,fromwinningmoreonerousbankruptcyrules.She
ultimatelylostthefight.It was,shetoldme,“abigpartofmy
earlyeducationaboutpowerinWashington.”
ThroughrepeatedvisitstoCapitolHill,shelearnedhow
influenceworks—andhowtoworkthesystem.Politicianslove
expertswhoconfercredibilityandhelpthemlooksmart.
Warrenwaseagertolendacademicballasttoothers’ideas.
WhenI profiledSenatorCharlesSchumerin2008,hepractically
draggedmetomeether,becausehebelievedTheTwo-Income
Trapvalidatedhiseconomicprogram.Warren,heassuredme,
“knowshowtogeta pointacross.”
Atthesametime,shealsobecamea relentlesspopularizerof
herownideasthroughchannelsfewotherswerethinkingabout
atthetime.JoshMarshall,thefounderoftheinfluentialliberal
blogTalkingPointsMemo,wassurprisedwhenWarrenoffered
towriteaboutbankruptcyreformforthesitein2005.Warren
haddeducedthatcongressionalstaffersweremoredigitally
inclinedthantheirbossesandinstrumentalinshapingtheir
views.Bloggingwasa waytoreachthemdirectly,alongwiththe
risingcrowdofgrassrootsactivistswho’dbecomeincreasingly
vocalduringtheIraqWar.“ShecouldseethatblogslikeTPM
werehavinga decisiveeffectontheevolutionofDemocratic
politicsata timewhenthatwasn’tyetcleartotheoldergen-
erationofpartyoperativesandofficeholders,”Marshallsays.
Warren’scredibilitywithpartyleaderspaiddividends
whenherproposaltocreatea ConsumerFinancialProtection
Bureau,laidoutina 2007journalarticle,wasincorporated
intolegislationCongresspassedaftertheglobalfinancialcri-
sis.Italsoearnedhera spotontheTroubledAssetRelief
Programoversightboardpolicingthebankbailouts,a pub-
licperchsheusedtostagehigh-profileconfrontationswith
TimGeithner,Obama’sTreasurysecretary,thatmadeher
a cultfigureontheleft—andearnedhertheenmityofWall
Streetalliesintheadministration.Herfacilityatplayingthe
insidegameadvancedhercareerevenwhenshelost:When
ObamadeclinedtonominatehertoleadtheCFPB,shewas
recruitedtorunfora U.S.SenateseatinMassachusettsand
won—landingintheveryheartoftheestablishment.
WhenshearrivedintheSenatein2013,Warrenwassome-
thingofanexoticcreature:a celebritywhosefamepredated
herrunforoffice.Butoneevenmoreprominentwoman
hadprecededher—Clinton—andWashingtongroupthinkdic-
tatedthatWarrenandtheothercelebrityinherSenateclass,
comedianAlFranken,shouldcomportthemselvesasClinton
had.Uponherelectionin2000,Clintonsomewhatostenta-
tiouslydeclaredthatshewouldbe“aworkhorse,nota show
horse,”shunningthelimelightsoasnottoupstagehersenior
colleagues.Shehunkereddownandmadecommoncauseon
dozensofminorbillswithRepublicans,manyofwhomhad
beenvocaldetractors,inanefforttoburnishabipartisan
image that would help her future presidential campaign.
From the outset, Warren recoiled at the Clinton model of
the quiet, well-mannered junior senator who was “seen but
not heard” and deferred to her male elders. Dan Geldon, a top
adviser, recounted to me last fall that before Warren agreed
to run for office, she had to be persuaded that she could be
effective operating in an altogether different style. “I need to
be convinced that if I go to the Senate there’s a path to accom-
plish what I want that’s different than what Hillary, Obama,
and Franken did,” he recalled her saying. “How do I aggres-
sively advocate for what I believe in?”In her 2014 book, A Fighting Chance, Warren tells a story that’s
meant to reveal the unsavory way Washington power players
wield their influence to benefit one another, while ignoring the
common good. She recounts how, just after the financial crisis,
Larry Summers, the director of Obama’s National Economic
Council, invited her to dinner at a fancy Washington restaurant
under the guise of imparting insider wisdom.
Late in the evening, Larry leaned back in his chair and offered me some
advice...I had a choice. I could be an insider or I could be an outsider. Outsiders
can say whatever they want. But people on the inside don’t listen to them.
Insiders, however, get lots of access and a chance to push their ideas. People—
powerful people—listen to what they have to say. But insiders also understand
one unbreakable rule: They don’t criticize other insiders.
I had been warned.Warren presents the tale as a provincial’s education in the
byways of Washington power, assuring the reader about her
disapproval of that culture. But her own answer for how to
accomplish something useful as a new senator was to be a
workhorse and a show horse. “It’s always been about the
inside and the outside,” she told me. “That’s how I’d come
to understand power in Washington.”
At her first Banking Committee hearing, Warren seized the
spotlight by demanding of a panel of bank regulators: “When
was the last time you took a Wall Street bank to trial?” Their
awkward evasions produced a showdown that established what
became Warren’s signature slashing style. Although her staff
exulted over these moments, they had a purpose beyond rais-
ing her profile and her online fundraising hauls.
In the 12 years since Clinton’s arrival in the Senate, American
politics had polarized to such a degree that the incentive struc-
ture for ambitious Republicans and Democrats had changed.
The old way to influence national politics was by accumulat-
ing a lengthy record of bipartisan achievement and a reputa-
tion for probity. The new way—Warren’s way—was to have big,
loud, messy fights that offered moral clarity and galvanized
public sentiment through cable news and social media. Warren
used this technique repeatedly to steer Democratic sentiment
against corporate tax inversions and global trade deals, such
as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, to steer it toward expanding
Social Security benefits, and to establish her primacy as the ris-
ingprogressiveintheSenate.
Heradeptnesswonhera largeandvocalgrassrootsfol-
lowing,whichgaveheranindependent base and remarkable
power for a freshman senator. Several of her old-school col-
leagues resented her fame and privately disparaged her,39