A Fighting Chance (63 page)

“the London Whale”:
On April 13, 2012, reports surfaced of a trader making huge bets, nicknamed the “London Whale,” and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon dismissed any concerns as “a complete tempest in a teapot.” Then on May 10, 2012, JPMorgan disclosed there were $2 billion in losses. By July 13, 2012, losses had climbed to more than $7 billion. See Eric Owles, “Timeline: The London Whale’s Wake,”
New York Times
, March 27, 2013.

For Jamie Dimon’s take on the scandal, see Dan Fitzpatrick, “JP Morgan’s Dimon on Whale: There Was No Hiding, No Lying,”
MoneyBeat
(blog),
Wall Street Journal
, June 11, 2013. See also Jessica Silver-Greenberg, “New Fraud Inquiry as JPMorgan’s Loss Mounts,”
DealBook
(blog),
New York Times
, July 13, 2012.

And for a sense of Wall Street’s hubris, see Pat Garofalo, “We’re Getting the Feeling That Wall Street Isn’t Sorry,” Opinion,
US News and World Report
, March 22, 2013.

last-minute negotiations on Dodd–Frank:
Noah Bierman and Michael Levenson, “Senator Brown Sought to Loosen Bank Rules: OK’d Overhaul, Then Called for Leeway, E-Mails Show,”
Boston Globe
, June 4, 2012. See also note,
“
not the big banks…
”

truth about our family:
For more on Scott Brown’s statement “My mom and dad have told me a lot of things too, but they’re not always accurate,” see Rick Holmes, “Holmes: The Art of Political Distraction,” Opinion,
MetroWest Daily News
, June 3, 2012.

And for my response to Brown, see Noah Bierman, “Warren Sends Letter to Supporters Trying to Calm Native American Controversy,”
Political Intelligence
(blog),
Boston Globe
, May 31, 2012.

part of their families’ lives:
Sally Jacobs, “Warren’s Extended Family Split About Heritage,”
Boston Globe
, September 16, 2012.

half-running from house to house:
Mike and Kitty Dukakis met with me early in the campaign to give me advice that was grounded in decades of public service and hard-fought campaigns. They offered many details and strategies, but the bottom line boiled down to one word: grassroots. They believed that the only way to beat a popular incumbent in Massachusetts was to organize neighborhood by neighborhood all across the state. They explained how to do it and how much patience and hard work it would take. It was slow-going, but it was hugely powerful.

Of course, Mike and Kitty weren’t the kind just to dole out advice and then turn their backs on the candidate. Both of them jumped in to help. They gave speeches and rallied the troops and were legendary in the energy they displayed knocking on doors. Bruce had never done any of this before (and neither had I), so Mike took him out on a Saturday to get him started. Mike also took Bruce to the Greek Festival in Brockton, where Bruce not only shook hands but also brought home a huge stack of pastries. Mike and Kitty worked week in and week out to help build grassroots support and they are a big part of why we had such an extraordinary turnout on election day.

prayers in several languages:
Several churches in Roxbury and Dorchester invited Bruce and me for services, and as the months went by, we worshipped in more than a dozen different churches in African American neighborhoods around Boston and out in Springfield. Each church had its own personality, but it was clear that people were working hard to build communities within communities to support each other and to find ways to heal a troubled world. Interfaith services were also a source of great spiritual connection and a clear reminder that we are a people who come from many different traditions. I am grateful for the warm hearts of so many people who made Bruce and me feel so welcome.

Worcester along the way:
Super-volunteer Kate Donaghue, who did so much for the campaign, put together an old-fashioned whistle-stop in Framingham, complete with signs and cheering.

people in this arena were ready to fight:
With the endorsement also came the official support of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, under the leadership of John Walsh. John had served as Deval Patrick’s campaign manager in 2006 and had worked hard as party chair to build grassroots capacity and pull together elected officials. Along with Matt Patton, who moved from working directly on my campaign to working for the state Democratic party, John would be a critical ally as Election Day approached.

for building business liaisons for the campaign:
Will Sealy also came along with Elizabeth Vale from the consumer agency to work on the campaign. Will worked to put together a robust network of small-business owners and had a real knack for organizing details, plotting strategy, and building alliances. He also happened to be a dynamite photographer, and many of his shots appear in this book. Will is just plain terrific.

We had a lot of endorsements, but I was particularly moved when the Massachusetts Credit Union League endorsed my campaign. This was the first time they ever endorsed a candidate for office, but I had worked with the credit unions for years on family financial issues, and they said they wanted to make their support public.

advertised 35 percent corporate rate:
Nelson D. Schwartz, “Big Companies Paid a Fraction of Corporate Tax Rate,”
New York Times
, July 1, 2013.

Richard Rubin, “Profitable U.S. Companies Paid 12.6% Tax Rate in 2010, GAO Says,” Bloomberg News, July 1, 2013.

For additional reports on how some big corporations often pay no taxes at all and how many others get loopholes and tax benefits to avoid state and federal taxes, see Citizens for Tax Justice,
www.ctj.org
.

veterans’ benefits, food stamps, or Medicaid:
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. “The NVRA set the first ever national standards for mail-in voter registration, required states to provide registration at public agencies, outlawed the purging of voters solely for non-voting, and established the nation’s first federal standards for voter list maintenance and the first national voter registration application, [and] required states to provide registration at public agencies.” See “Registering Millions: Celebrating the Success and Potential of the National Voter Registration Act at 20,” Demos, May 20, 2013,
http://www.demos.org/registering-millions-success-and-potential-national-voter-registration-act-20
. See also the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), United States Department of Justice,
http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/nvra/nvra_faq.php
.

For context, see “History of Federal Voting Rights Laws,” United States Department of Justice,
http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/intro/intro_b.php
.

half a million voter registration cards:
Massachusetts sent out voter registration forms to nearly five hundred thousand Massachusetts residents “as part of an interim settlement with plaintiffs who argue that the state has failed to comply with a 1993 federal law designed to ensure better voting access for Americans.” See Mark Trumbull, “‘Welfare-Voter’ Spat in Massachusetts Part of Larger Political Duel,”
Christian Science Monitor
, August 14, 2012. Prior to that mailing, only 58.2 percent of Massachusetts eligible low-income voters were registered to vote, compared to 76.9 percent of higher-income citizens.

See also “Background on Delgado v. Galvin Interim Settlement,” Demos, August 8, 2012,
http://www.demos.org/publication/background-delgado-v-galvin-interim-settlement
.

attempt to benefit my campaign:
Brown released the following statement: “I want every legal vote to count, but it’s outrageous to use taxpayer dollars to register welfare recipients as part of a special effort to boost one political party over another. This effort to sign up welfare recipients is being aided by Elizabeth Warren’s daughter and it’s clearly designed to benefit her mother’s political campaign.” See “Brown Statement on Elizabeth Warren’s Daughter Aiding Effort to Register MA Welfare Recipients to Vote,”
ScottBrown.com
, August 8, 2012,
http://www.scottbrown.com/2012/08/brown-statement-on-elizabeth-warrens-daughter-aiding-effort-to-register-ma-welfare-recipients-to-vote/
.

See also “Sen. Brown Slams Costly Push to Register Welfare Recipients as Politically Motivated,” Fox News, August 9, 2012.

I had even thought of running for the Senate:
See “Statement: Voting Rights Advocates to DOJ: ‘Enforce NVRA,’” Demos, August 18, 2004,
http://www.demos.org/press-release/statement-voting-rights-advocates-doj-enforce-nvra
; see “Demos, Project Vote Criticize DOJ After Meeting About NVRA Enforcement,” Demos, September 28, 2004,
http://www.demos.org/press-release/demos-project-vote-criticize-doj-after-meeting-about-nvra-enforcement
.

See also: “Demos Stands By Long Record of NonPartisan Voting Rights Work,” Demos, August 8, 2012,
http://www.demos.org/press-release/demos-stands-long-record-nonpartisan-voting-rights-work
.

student voting, you-name-it voting:
For a full discussion of voter suppression, see Liz Kennedy, Tova Wang, Anthony Kammer, Stephen Spaulding, and Jenny Flanagan, “Bullies at the Ballot Box,” Demos and Common Cause, September 10, 2012. See also Scott Keyes, Ian Millhiser, Tobin Van Ostern, and Abraham White, “Voter Suppression 101: How Conservatives Are Conspiring to Disenfranchise Millions of Americans,” Center for American Progress, April 4, 2012.

See also Judith Browne Dianis, “Top 10 Voter Suppression Moments of 2012,”
Huffington Post
, December 26, 2012.

For some of the press on this, see Jess Bidgood, “Brown Questions Role of Warren’s Daughter in Voter Registration Effort,”
The Caucus
(blog),
New York Times
, August 8, 2012. See also “Brown Urges Warren to Pay State for Mailing Costs,” Associated Press, August 10, 2012.

And more press … Mark Trumbull, “‘Welfare Voters’ Are Latest Battleground in Brown-Warren Senate Race,”
Christian Science Monitor
, August 9, 2012.

“We just don’t want the game to be rigged”:
For my full speech at the Democratic National Convention, see ABC News at
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/transcript-elizabeth-warrens-democratic-convention-speech/story?id=17164726
.

all hands on deck:
We have long had an outstanding delegation here in Massachusetts. I have a terrific partner in now senator Ed Markey, who was a great supporter during the campaign. Senator John Kerry was always a thoughtful advisor during the campaign, and we are all proud to have him represent us around the world as secretary of state. Congressman Barney Frank, a champion for the people who had been a true friend since our days fighting for the consumer agency, had been one of the first to encourage me to run for Senate. He was retiring from the House, but he campaigned with me, gave sharp advice, and took particular care to tutor me on fishing issues, determined that I get to know fishing families up and down the coast. Congresswoman Niki Tsongas was the first to endorse me, making it clear that she thought Massachusetts would be well served by a woman in the Senate. Congressman Richie Neal helped introduce me to his constituents in Western Massachusetts, and Congressman John Olver, who was retiring, showed up at event after event to introduce me to the people he had worked so hard for across so many years. Congressman Jim McGovern, a true man of conscience, offered to organize the central part of the state, which was powerfully important. Congressman John Tierney and I hit many events together on the North Shore, stressing the same issues and building on each other’s energy. Congressman Bill Keating was great on the Cape and South Coast, including a rally in the final days before the election in which, at the end of my speech, I reached behind me and grabbed his hand and identified him as my sweet husband who been with me every step of the way—much to the surprise of Bruce (who was standing next to Bill) and Bill’s wife (who was nearby). Congressmen Mike Capuano and Steve Lynch helped out at many events, and state officials and local officials jumped in at key points. I was grateful for everyone’s help.

power of the vote:
Senators Al Franken, Bernie Sanders, Sheldon Whitehouse, Bill Bradley, and Jeanne Shaheen and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro showed up to stump for me, and they energized the volunteers and reached out to new groups.

the momentum of the campaign:
From the earliest days of the campaign, Governor Patrick offered thoughtful advice. Each time we talked, he reminded me that a campaign was about values and that if I stuck to my values, I’d be all right. He endorsed me just before the state convention, giving the campaign a needed boost. Later in the campaign, he helped rally Democrats in the fight to win back the Senate seat and his powerful speeches left the crowds cheering. In short, he was terrific.