Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently compared herself to abolitionists in the 1800s, according t0 a new report.
In a newly published profile in GQ, Warren recalls the time she was offended by a man who told her to be more realistic and smile more.
She recounted a little story of a colleague who had once approached her on the Senate floor to suggest that an idea of hers was maybe a bit improbable. “That’s just too hard,” Warren said he told her, and added she should “smile more.” (The good, liberal crowd booed on cue.) “And here’s what I remember thinking,” she said, her voice resonating with the righteous disbelief she must have felt then. “What do you think they said to the abolitionists? ‘You’re not going to change this country, that’s too hard!’…What do you think they told the suffragettes? ‘Quit now. It’s just too hard.’ What did they say to the early union organizers? ‘Quit now. It’s just too hard.’ But here’s the thing. They didn’t quit. They persisted and they changed the course of American history!”
The 2020 Democratic hopeful is currently in a dead heat with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, as the two candidates compete for the progressive/socialist lane in the party. Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to lead the field, as he has for months.
Warren has turned out to be a much stronger candidate than many in the media thought she would be. The former Harvard professor faced an embarrassing mini-scandal when she released DNA tests to prove that she was Native American, despite the fact that she has only a small percentage of Native ancestry. (RELATED: Elizabeth Warren Skips Border Funding Vote To Talk About The Border Crisis At Migrant Detention Facility)
The campaign revisited that issue this week, when Warren held an event with Native Americans and deleted the DNA test news from her website.
As a candidate, Warren has endorsed a number of left-wing proposals, including reparations for gay and lesbian couples. (RELATED: Elizabeth Warren Wants Reparations For Same-Sex Couples)