Far left Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren ended her presidential campaign Thursday, essentially leaving the race to Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, although Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has not yet thrown in the towel.
According to the Boston Globe, “The decision came in the wake of a poor performance in Super Tuesday contests that she once hoped would lift her campaign, but left her with nothing better than a third-place finish in any of the first 18 states to vote — including in Massachusetts.”
With Warren out of the race, it now remains to be seen whether her followers gravitate toward Democrat Socialist Sanders or establishment Democrat Biden. She did not immediately endorse either candidate.
Warren’s departure was no great loss to American gun owners, as she marched in lockstep with every other Democrat on the primary trail with an agenda that did not favor Second Amendment rights.
Last August during an interview with NPR, Warren unveiled a gun control package that included a ban on so-called “assault weapons,” federal licensing of gun owners and limiting the number of firearms people could buy, and holding gun companies liable for violent crime. She would have also launched an investigation of the National Rifle Association, which has been a major roadblock to passing stringent gun control laws, and imposed higher taxes on firearms manufacturers.
Both Biden and Sanders have their own gun control schemes, and the former vice president has even said he would put ex-Congressman Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke—described as a “gun prohibition fanatic” by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms—in charge of his administration’s gun policy.
“Biden’s mask is completely off,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb in reaction. “He’s not just a doddering Democrat pushing to become president, he’s an extremist anti-gunner who just promised to put a gun prohibition fanatic in charge of his administration’s gun policy. That’s not just a difference in philosophy, it’s a declaration of war.”
The Washington Times is reporting that Sanders followers think the fix is in already in favor of Biden. The newspaper says Biden “has harnessed a surge of anti-Trump energy in the Democratic Party to block the far-left movement” to prevent Sanders from gaining the nomination.
But Sanders is now the “lone progressive standard-bearer” in the party, and he’s got lots of followers who believe the 2016 nomination was essentially stolen by the DNC establishment, which favored Hillary Rodham Clinton. If Sanders is aced out a second time, his faithful supporters could sit out the election allowing what might be a landslide re-election for President Donald Trump.
Warren brought plenty of baggage to the race, including her discredited claims about her ancestry, and she also was a huge critic of Wall Street and corporate America. Many believe one of the reasons billionaire Michael Bloomberg entered the race was to prevent Warren from getting too much traction.
Democrats convene in July to choose the nominee, with Biden now the odds-on favorite, but between now and then are several state primaries where Sanders could do well.
Coming March 10 are primaries in Idaho, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi and Washington plus the North Dakota caucuses, and on March 17, Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio voters turn out.
