Elizabeth Warren Takes Down Scott Brown & ELIZABETH WARREN'S MESSAGE TO THE PCCC 6&8NOV12

SENATOR ELIZABETH WARREN, D-MA.....sounds beautiful, doesn't it? She is a lady of, for and elected by the people. Well done Massachusetts!!!! 

—By Tim Murphy

| Tue Nov. 6, 2012 6:44 PM PST

Elizabeth Warren/Flickr

Two years ago, Elizabeth Warren told David Corn that she'd rather stab herself in the eye than go back to Washington. On Tuesday, the Harvard Law professor and creator of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ate her words, knocking off Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass) in one of the most closely watched—and at times nastiest—races of the 2012 cycle. Warren's win isn't just a case of a Democrat winning in Massachusetts; perhaps no candidate, President Obama included, inspired as much enthusiasm from progressives across the country. (She raised more money than any other Senate challenger in the country, much of it from out of state.) NBC News called the race shortly after polls closed in Boston.
Warren did it largely by sticking with what made her a political star in the first place—a fierce defense of the social contract, which led Republican to dub her "Matriarch of Mayhem" for her support of Occupy Wall Street:

For Republicans, a what-might-have-been remains the campaign finance truce Warren and Brown agreed to, which barred outside groups from buying TV ad time in the Bay State (per the agreement, any independent expenditure would have to be offset with a chartiable donation from the campaign). Given the extent to which Republican outside groups outspent Democratic groups in 2012, that bargain almost certainly ended up working in Warren's favor. It also meant that the fiercest attacks on Warren's character—hitting her, for example, for identifying as Cherokee at Harvard—came from Brown himself, eroding his largely positive image in Massachusetts.
For the 53-year-old Brown, this is likely not the end of his political career. With Sen. John Kerry rumored to be a top choice to replace retiring Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, there's a possibility a new seat could open up as early as December. In that case, Brown would be a heavy favorite for the Republican nomination, and with a comparably weak Democratic bench in the state, stand a decent shot at getting his old job back. Alternatively, with Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick term-limited after 2014, he might just opt to try his luck closer to home.
This post was originally published based on inaccurate reports that the race had been called for Warren. The race has since been called by CBS and NBC.

Tim Murphy

Reporter

Tim Murphy is a reporter at Mother Jones. Email him with tips and insights at tmurphy [at] motherjones [dot] com. RSS | Twitter

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  http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/11/elizabeth-warren-scott-brown-massachusetts
  
  SEN ELECT ELIZABETH WARREN'S MESSAGE TO THE PCCC (PROGRESSIVE CHANGE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE) 8NOV12
  You were there from the very beginning.
  Actually, PCCC members were with me before there was a beginning.
  We fought together for Wall Street reform. We fought to set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And when I was considering a run for Senate, PCCC members showed me the enthusiasm that would be there if I ran.
  We campaigned together for more than a year, and we won our race in Massachusetts because we stuck to our values and worked our tails off to advance bold progressive change.
  As I said Sunday on a call with PCCC volunteers, this race was about what kind of a country we want to be and what kind of a people we are. The Republican vision is clear: "I’ve got mine and the rest of you are on your own." I believe we’re a better people than that.
  I believe that together we can create something stronger than any of us could alone. We can help our students, we can protect our seniors, we can put more people back to work. Together, we can build a better future.
  I offer a very sincere thanks to the many PCCC members who made 574,570 calls for my campaign in recent days, contributed more than $1 million to our effort, and contributed in so many other ways as well. Your support meant so much to me.
  The campaign is over, but our fight together for middle-class families goes on.
  Thank you so much.
  -- Elizabeth Warren
  

  P.S. You can listen to my Sunday conversation with PCCC members by clicking here.