Imagine if Elizabeth Warren had run against Hillary Clinton — laying it down, whipping it up, using the same grass-roots fundraising strategy that worked so well for Bernie Sanders. As conservative N.Y. Times columnist Ross Douhat noted three months ago, she probably would have won the Democratic presidential nomination. And we wouldn’t have the current Hillary nightmare with us. Things would be looking a lot brighter and happier, let me tell ya.

We would have a strong, passionate progressive candidate whose message fits the times. Donald Trump wouldn’t be calling Sanders “Crooked Elizabeth,” women everywhere would be supporting her, she would be the fresh new energy force, I would’t be writing about her negatives, Millenials would be excited about her, people wouldn’t be groaning at the idea of eight years of dynastic entitlement or Hillary’s secretive plotting and conniving, and there would be no Sanders delegate rebellion in Philadelphia.

Posted on 4.21.16: Why didn’t Warren man up and run? Was it just…what, cowardice? A lack of gumption? Some kind of hesitancy over her age or health? The likeliest reason, I suspect, is that sometime in the winter or spring of ’15 Warren was advised by Democratic party power-brokers to play ball and not cause trouble by launching a renegade campaign against Hillary.

One of their arguments would have been that if she ran there would be no money for a campaign war chest, etc. But look what Bernie accomplished with his grass-roots support and those $27-per-person donations.

Warren, alas, couldn’t see it. So she decided to bide her time and just be a responsible, impassioned Senator from Massachusetts and play it one bill, one speech, one step at a time. She folded not just her own tent but abandoned the only real chance progressives had to put one of their own in the White House.

I’m sorry but shame on her. Warren could have won everyone over if she’d only summoned the courage to run and had given it holy hell. She might not have fared as well as Hillary did among African Americans, but she would have done quite well among women across the board. She was the original anti-Wall Street rock star, remember — the one everyone wanted from the get-go. Bernie ran because she wimped out and he felt it was vital to run a campaign against corruption and 1% dominance of both parties and against Citizen’s United. 

I think it’s unforgivable what Warren didn’t do. She should be ashamed of herself. This is a serious stain on her table cloth that can’t be bleached out.

The Maud Muller quote: “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been!'”