Will the Real Elizabeth Warren Please Stand Up?
The New Republic is dishing out a dizzying amount of Elizabeth Warren to its readers.
Taking a cue from the poster for “Being John Malkovich,” the publication plastered dozens of cutouts of Warren’s face on their front cover, conveying a message they felt would create a “nightmare” scenario for potential presidential-hopeful Hillary Clinton, as well as candidates looking to represent the Republican Party in 2016.
The accompanying article to the Warren-filled photo came out two days prior to the story’s release online. The designers who conceptualized the cover said they were trying to get across—in the most powerful way possible—Warren’s immediate threat to Clinton for a Democratic presidential nod in the next election cycle. (Side note: mission accomplished.) The cover was specifically aimed at people who may not know the Senator’s face on a “commercial” level, they said.
The article, which opts to use a question mark on the headline to address the subject matter, gives readers a glimpse at what makes Warren tick and some historical context behind the Congressional delegate’s rise to stardom.
“Someone suggested a coverline like ‘Hillary’s Nightmare,’ and executive editor Greg Veis had the idea of riffing off the ‘Being John Malkovich’ movie poster,” said creative director Dirk Barnett, of the design process. “I hired designer Jacqueline Mellow, who I worked with at Newsweek, and we built the exact same image, but with Warren’s face instead of Malkovich’s.”
The tagline for the article reads “A Democratic Party that realizes its soul lies with Elizabeth Warren instead.”
As the cover implies, there’s been much speculation about Warren’s plans for higher office, creating a roadblock along Clinton’s own path. But Warren herself has said on numerous occasions that it’s not in the cards at this time.
“Warren … said in an interview that she was not interested in seeking the presidency. And despite talk of a draft movement among some activists, it is difficult to imagine her taking on former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton,” according to a New York Times story from September.
Boston reached out to Warren’s press office to get a statement about the excessive use of the freshman Senator’s image on the latest issue of The New Republic, and whether their inclination about her political future carried any weight. Her office did not immediately respond, however.
As The Washington Post points out, the idea has been cycling through the rumor mill since Warren first stepped into office. And, based on the momentum she was able to build during her campaign leading up to her Senate win, the money could be there. “Warren collected more than $42 million for her 2012 Senate campaign, a massive sum that is indicative of the passion — and national following — that Warren evokes,” The Post wrote. “Then there is the speech she gave at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, which, if you forgot, was among the best received addresses of the gathering.”
But alas, as has been noted, her political backers claim she is genuinely un-intrigued by a run for president.
Then again, didn’t she say as much when asked about a Senate bid?
