The Elizabeth Warren effect

Today, Elizabeth Warren blasted out a fundraising email to her list of supporters on behalf of Alison Lundergan Grimes.

“Make no mistake about who blocked our student loan bill,” Warren’s missive reads. “Mitch McConnell told his party to turn a blind eye to the 40 million people all across the country who work hard, play by the rules, and now find themselves just getting crushed with student loan debt. Why? Because he didn’t want to close the tax loopholes for millionaires and billionaires to pay for the bill.”

“Help hold Mitch McConnell accountable for leading the charge against America’s struggling students. Make a donation to Alison’s campaign right now,” wrote Warren, who is heading to Kentucky later this month.

While Beltway commentators remain consumed with the political impact of Obamacare and Bowe Bergdahl, one under-the-radar issue that could gain traction in several Senate races is student loans — framed on Warren’s terms, as a battle between those who prioritize protecting the wealth of billionaires and those who want to help ordinary Americans still struggling under crushing debt in the wake of the Great Recession.

In coming days you can expect Grimes to focus specifically on how Mitch McConnell’s filibuster of the student loan bill would impact Kentucky women in particular, linking that to Grimes’ effort to tailor other issues, such as the minimum wage, to a broader argument about women’s pocketbook issues.

Warren’s student loan bill would have allowed millions of students to refinance loans at lower interest rates, paid for by the “Buffett Rule” ending tax breaks for millionaires paying low rates.

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/06/13/the-elizabeth-warren-effect/