Live in Chicago, it's Elizabeth Warren!

We are beginning to wonder about the hazards of covering live events and the often unpleasant surprises, whether from facing troops of young protesters with ear-blasting bullhorns, at the Goodwin Series at Northeastern Illinois University, to cover the appearance of former White House press boss, Sean Spicer, to having beefy security guards escort us past the local men in blue at recent Chicago Teachers Union protests; so we were delightfully surprised that presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren would be in our own Chicago neighborhood and within walking distance, and dutifully made our RSVP, according to the website for her Saturday night appearance at the Chicago Armory, less than a ten minute walk from our home.

Wariness set in when we noticed crowds lining up outside the building on the way to the local library, and after the drizzle began the crowd continued to grow as we approached the line one-half hour, at 4:30 p.m., before the door’s opened, at 5:00 p.m. for Warren’s 6:00 p.m. appearance; but, again, in the name of a free press, we soldiered on to realize that the que extended for blocks, and right back to our doorstep.

Whether this was divine intervention, or not, and realizing that hazarding a guess might engender us to more than rain, perhaps even an unseasonable swarm of locusts, we retreated to our living room sofa.

Tapping into the unearthly power of the internet and the reports of friends, who did make it into the Armory, we bring this report.

With crowds swarming amidst the patriotic bunting, Warren was introduced by the indefatigable U.S.  Rep. Jan Schakowsky who gave a thundering endorsement of Warren, as only she can do, with more energy than seems warranted for a tiny lady, and who gave the candidate a much needed shot in the arm, as she, in recent Iowa polls trailed behind our neighbor to the South, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

As the Chicago Tribune reported, “Schakowsky is the first woman in Illinois’ congressional delegation to endorse a presidential contender and becomes Warren’s most significant endorsement in the state to date. Previously, U.S. Reps. Bobby Rush and Danny Davis, both of Chicago, backed California Sen. Kamala Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination.”

“But I am here this evening, and so honored to be here, to not only introduce but for the first time endorse the woman I believe will not only be the best president, but the woman that I believe is the most likely to lead us to victory in 2020 — my candidate, Elizabeth Warren,” she intoned.

  

Gaining support in the Heartland, but most of all, emphasizing her protection for working families is familiar Warren territory, as is her formidable energy that belies her 70 years.

Fulling embracing “bread and butter: issues, she noted, “When I was a girl, a full-time minimum wage in America would support a family of three,” said Warren, 70. “Today, a full-time minimum wage job in America will not keep a mama and a baby out of poverty. That is wrong.”

For many who reside in the Edgewater neighborhood, where the Armory is located, the message may have been more of persuasion, since the median income is over $46,000, and where its white majority, totaling 63 percent, hold a bachelor's degree, or higher, (56 percent), and whose increasing gentrification, has dwindled the number of black and brown residents to 16 percent, or less.

It also may have to do with reclaiming her lead in the polls; while in early November she was behind Joe Biden, she then took a descent, especially in Iowa, as previously noted, and a need to drill down on progressives - but especially to chip away at Pete’s supporters: white, college educated, and older voters, many of whom line Sheridan Road, just east of the Armory.

Reiterating her claims to decrease the power of corporations, and Big Pharma, she noted that they hold “power over their employees, power over their customers, power over the communities where they’re located and power over Washington."

In response, she said, “We need more power in the hands of workers.”

This is a populism theme that reached its apex in the 2016 election, but has been reshaped by Warren, and to an extent, by her rival Bernie Sanders.

“We have a government that works great for giant oil companies that want to drill everywhere, just not for the rest of us who see climate change bearing down upon us,” Warren said.

The light brush with climate change was a surprise to some who felt, “disappointed that she did not speak more about this,” said one observer, a longtime supporter of climate change, and the necessity for a plan to conquer it.

“And when you see a government that works great for those with money, it’s not working so good for anyone else. That’s corruption pure and simple, and we need to call it out,” she added.

Needing to gain further truck with progressives, especially those, that she might need to siphon from Sanders, Warren, previously, “in September endorsed Marie Newman of LaGrange in her primary challenge for the Southwest Side and suburban congressional seat held by eight-term Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski of Western Springs, a social conservative,” added the Trib.

Within the liberal demographics of Edgewater, the senator’s message, may also have been extended to a strong progressive voter base, if the size of Saturday’s crowd is any indication; and, certainly her campaign seems to have done its homework, in its choice of areas..

Missing from Warren’s well-honed message was any mention of the lack of affordable housing in Chicago, and a growing homeless problem across the U.S. that has increased to 16 percent in Los Angeles alone.

While one can lead to the other; and, despite, or perhaps because of Edgewater’s growing gentrification, less than one block away from Schakowsky’s office, the homeless are picking through the garbage cans, including our own, and retrieving near empty milk cartons, food scraps, and worn out shoes.

Warren’s support of a minimum wage increase to $15.00 an hour is admirable, but some of her supporters and critics are wondering if she will pick up this piece of what is, by all appearances, an earnest social capital campaign.